Louth GAA#Camogie

The officials who have chaired the Board since the establishment of the Gaelic Athletic Association are named below.

Elections for Chairman and other positions take place at the board's annual convention and are held at County headquarters in Darver.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/louth/sport/gaa/sean-mcclean-elected-louth-gaa-chairman-at-a-fraught-convention-where-officers-clash/a949225088.html|title=Seán McClean elected Louth GAA chairman at a fraught Convention where officers clash

|work=The Argus|date=16 December 2023}} The maximum term for any position under current county board rules is five years.

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In 2010, the Drogheda Gaelic football club, O'Raghallaighs, tabled a motion for convention calling for the Boyne Valley Cable Bridge symbol to be removed from the Louth GAA crest because of the bridge's main location being in the neighbouring county of Meath; this led to the county crest being changed to a simpler version.{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/regionals/droghedaindependent/lifestyle/review-of-the-year-november-cable-bridge-gets-the-boot-from-louth-county-crest-27141667.html|title=Review of the Year (November): Cable bridge gets the boot from Louth county crest - Independent.ie|website=independent.ie|access-date=4 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308051453/http://www.independent.ie/regionals/droghedaindependent/lifestyle/review-of-the-year-november-cable-bridge-gets-the-boot-from-louth-county-crest-27141667.html|archive-date=8 March 2016}}

{{further|List of Gaelic games clubs in Ireland#Louth}}

Clubs contest the Louth Senior Football Championship. That competition's most successful club is Newtown Blues, with 23 titles.

Dundalk Young Irelands is the county's oldest GAA club.{{cite news |url=https://www.hoganstand.com/county/louth/article/index/150014 |title=What a year for Louths most famous club |accessdate=29 September 2022 |work=Hogan Stand |date= 30 December 2010}} The club represented Louth in the first All-Ireland Football final which was played at Beech Hill on 29 April 1888 against Limerick Commercials.{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/argus/sport/other-sports/final-recalled-26921318.html|title= Final Recalled |work =The Argus |date=15 June 2001}}

{{main|Louth county football team}}

The earliest recorded inter-county football match took place in 1712 when Louth faced Meath at Slane.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} A fragment of a poem from 1806 records a football match between Louth and Fermanagh at Inniskeen, Co Monaghan.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

When Louth GAA sent the team into training in Dundalk for the 1913 Croke Memorial replay under a soccer trainer from Belfast, the move caused more than a ripple through the Association. For thirty years full-time training in bursts of a week or so before a big match were common. After that the two or three times a week gatherings became more popular.

Between 1945 and 1953 Louth and Meath met 13 times. The crowds got bigger and bigger each time as they played draw after draw in the Championship. The attendance of 42,858 at a thrilling 1951 replay remained a record for a provincial match other than a final for forty years until the four match series between Meath and Dublin in 1991. The rivalry with Meath has never fizzled out, as witnessed by a stirring Leinster SFC semi-final in 1998. Nor has controversy, as witnessed by Graham Geraghty's "wide" 45th minute point.

In 1957 showband star Dermot O'Brien was late for the All-Ireland SFC final and joined the team when the parade was completed. Prior to the game O'Brien had captained the side in the semi-final success, when the regular captain Patsy Coleman had been injured very early in the season, leaving O'Brien to resume his previous role as captain. Coleman today still has the match ball. O'Brien played a key role as Louth beat Cork with the help of a goal from Sean Cunningham with five minutes to go. As both Cork and Louth wear Red and White, on that day Louth wore the green of Leinster, while Cork wore the blue of Munster. Dermot O'Brien died on 22 May 2007.

On 27 June 2010, Louth reached their first Leinster SFC final in 50 years. During the decider, which was played on 11 July that year, anger and controversy erupted when, during the 74th minute of the match against Meath, a goal was awarded by the referee after brief consultation with only one of the match umpires (although close circuit camera evidence shown on RTÉ Two's coverage of the game proved that the ball was carried over the line by a Meath player). However, Meath received the 2010 Leinster Title and the cup. More on that in the main article linked above.

Clubs contest the Louth Senior Hurling Championship. That competition's most successful club is Naomh Moninne, with 22 titles.

{{main|Louth county hurling team}}

The Louth hurling team plays its championship hurling in the Nicky Rackard Cup. The Louth hurlers finished as runner-up to London in the 2005 final at Croke Park, and to Sligo in 2008. In 2016, they competed in the Lory Meagher Cup, defeating Sligo in the final 4–15 to 4–11, and Fermanagh in the 2020 final by 2–19 to 2–8.{{cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2016/0604/793358-late-goal-blitz-secures-lory-meagher-cup-for-louth/|title=Late goal blitz secures Lory Meagher Cup for Louth|first=Francis|last=Mooney|date=4 June 2016|website=rte.ie|access-date=4 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170527183114/https://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2016/0604/793358-late-goal-blitz-secures-lory-meagher-cup-for-louth/|archive-date=27 May 2017}}

By winning the 2022 Lory Meagher Cup, Louth became the first team to win that competition on three occasions.{{cite news|url=https://www.the42.ie/tailteann-cup-nickey-rackard-cup-lory-meagher-cup-wraps-5770181-May2022/|title=Wicklow win Tailteann Cup opener, Croke Park hurling glory for Tyrone and Louth|publisher=The42.ie|date=21 May 2022}}

Louth contested two All Ireland senior finals. Fr Tom Soraghan was zealously promoting the game in Darver, where players such as Ros Quigley and her Darver team-mates were involved. Other notable players include junior player of the year winner in 1982 Vivianne Kelley. As of 2025, the manager of Louth is Donal Kelly and his side operate in Division 3A of the National Camogie League.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/louth/sport/gaa/ruthless-wicklow-power-past-louth-in-camogie-national-league-opener/a1119892519.html|title=Ruthless Wicklow power past Louth in Camogie National League opener|work=The Argus|first=Paul|last=Welsh|date=22 February 2025}}

Under Camogie's National Development Plan 2010-2015, "Our Game, Our Passion",{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/sport/hurling/final-goal-for-camogie-2115510.html|title=Final goal for camogie|newspaper=Irish Independent|publisher=Independent News & Media|date=29 March 2010|access-date=29 March 2010}} Carlow, Cavan, Laois, Louth and Roscommon were to get a total of 17 new clubs by 2015.National Development Plan 2010-2015, Our Game, Our Passion information page on [http://www.camogie.ie/NationalDevelopmentPlan/tabid/71/Default.aspx camogie.ie] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100901210357/http://www.camogie.ie/NationalDevelopmentPlan/tabid/71/Default.aspx |date=2010-09-01 }}, pdf download (778k) from [http://www.camogie.ie/Portals/0/Documents/Development%20Plan.pdf Camogie.ie download site] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916083041/http://www.camogie.ie/Portals/0/Documents/Development%20Plan.pdf |date=2011-09-16 }}

Louth has the following achievements in camogie.

• All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship runners-up: 1934, 1936

Louth has a ladies' football team.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/louth/sport/gaa/refreshing-louth-begin-the-kit-henry-era-with-a-clinical-lgfa-nfl-victory-at-home-to-longford-42306406.html|title=Refreshing Louth begin the Kit Henry era with a clinical LGFA NFL victory at home to Longford|date=22 January 2023|accessdate=21 February 2023|work = Drogheda Independent}}

• {{cite book|last=Mulligan|first=Fr John|title=The GAA in Louth - An Historical Record|date=1984}}

• {{cite book|last=Mulligan|first=Fr John|title=The GAA in Louth - An Historical Record (updated)|date=2000}}

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.hoganstand.com/Louth/ Louth on Hoganstand.com]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20051126083353/http://hoganstand.com/Louth/Profile.aspx National and provincial titles won by Louth teams]
• [https://louthgaa.ie/ Louth GAA site]

{{Louth GAA }}

{{Louth GAA clubs}}

{{GAA bodies}}

{{Louth county football team matches}}

Category:Gaelic games governing bodies in Leinster

Category:Leinster GAA

Category:Sport in County Louth