LGFA Club Story

1980

Womens Gaelic football began in Longford with the formation of the first club in May 1980 when a group of girls from Dromard suggested forming a club within the parish. A meeting was called in the Old Latin School in Moyne at the end of May, a committee was formed and the Dromard Ladies Football Club became the first in Longford. John J McCabe was Chair, Breege McEntire was Vice-Chair, Regina Mimnagh was Secretary, Margaret O’Toole was Treasurer and Peter Masterson was team trainer. The first game played by a Longford Womens Club was a challenge match on 26th May 1980 between the newly formed Dromard club and Fenagh (Leitrim). Next to form a club was Abbeylara which was formed on 22nd June 1980. The first recorded match between two Longford Womens Clubs was a challenge game between Dromard and Abbeylara on 6th July 1980. Shortly thereafter other clubs were formed in Killoe, Legan and Colmcille. The new Killoe club are recorded in challenge games against Colmcille and Abbeylara in late July 1980 while Legan and Killoe played a match at the Legan Sports Day in early August 1980. A team was also formed in Mostrim and played Abbeylara in the annual sports in late July 1980, while Moydow Womens are recorded in training at the Pillar Box in August 1980 with plans afoot to start a new womens club. By the end of August 1980 a new womens club has been formed in Ardagh. However Moydow, Ardagh and Mostrim did not affiliate or enter competition in 1980.

On 18th August 1980 the first County Board met in the Europa Tavern in Longford with delegates in attendance from Killoe, Dromard and Colmcille clubs (delegates were absent from Abbeylara and Legan). The first County Board executive was elected as follows:

• Chairperson: Terry McCormack (Killoe)
• Vice Chairperson: Seán McCabe (Dromard)
• Secretary: Anne McGuire (Killoe)
• Treasurer: Ann Brady (Colmcille)
• PRO: Anne McGoldrick (Killoe)
• Registrar: Mary Masterson (Legan)

The 5 clubs which entered competition in 1980 were:

• Abbeylara
• Colmcille
• Dromard
• Killoe
• Legan

It was decided to arrange an Autumn League and competition began on Sunday 31st August 1980 with five clubs taking part: Abbeylara, Colmcille, Dromard, Killoe and Legan. The very first games played were Colmcille v Legan at Rathmore and Dromard v Abbeylara at J.J. Donohoe Park, both on 31st August 1980. Killoe went on to win the Senior League title that year with victory over Legan in the final, on a scoreline of 1-3 to 0-2. They were the first to receive the new Anthony Curren Cup which Anthony at Curran’s Garage Arva had sponsored, while The Breffini Arms (Eamon Gray) sponsored medals for the competitions. That 1980 League competition was played as 9-a-side but was 13-a-side by 1981 as more clubs formed and league competitions were later played at 9-a-side, 13-a-side and 15-a-side.

1981

By 1981, womens football was expanding rapidly and Anthony Curren from Arva (member of the Dromard club) was elected Chair of the Longford County Womens Board. The clubs of Ardagh, Cashel, Clonguish, Éire Óg (Drumlish), Forgney, Kenagh, Longford Slashers, Mostrim, Moydow, Seán Connollys and Shroid were formed and competed alongside Abbeylara, Colmcille, Dromard, Killoe and Legan in 1981, to bring the club count to 16 registered clubs – the most of any county in the country at the time. The 1981 Senior League was won by Ardagh who defeated Longford Slashers by 4-7 to 2-0 in the final to win the Anthony Curren Cup. Ardagh had beaten Legan to get to the final, while Longford Slashers had accounted for holders Killoe in their semi-final. The Longford Slashers club organised a 9-a-side Tournament which was played on a league basis and was eventually won by Ardagh who defeated Dromard in the final on 2nd August 1981.

The 16 clubs in competition in 1981 were:

• Abbeylara
• Ardagh
• Cashel
• Colmcille
• Clonguish
• Dromard
• Éire Óg
• Forgney
• Kenagh
• Killoe
• Legan
• Longford Slashers
• Mostrim
• Moydow
• Seán Connollys
• Shroid Slashers

By the resumption of the Senior League in June 1981, the number of clubs was down to 15, with Mostrim withdrawing from competition.

1982

By 1982 the number was back up to 16 clubs (some lapsed, others formed) with County teams also involved in inter-county competition and enjoying various degrees of success particularly in youth competition. New clubs made an appearance in competition for the first time, including Ballymore, Carrickedmond, Granard & Young Grattans, while Clonguish, Mostrim, Moydow and Seán Connollys disbanded after 1981. The first Longford Womens Senior Football Championship competition began in July 1982, with Ardagh winning the inaugural title by beating Éire Óg (later renamed St. Helens) by 5-6 to 0-0 in the final to lift the new J.J. McCabe Cup.

The 16 clubs in competition in 1982 were:

• Abbeylara
• Ardagh
• Ballymore
• Carrickedmond
• Cashel
• Colmcille
• Dromard
• Éire Óg
• Forgney
• Granard
• Kenagh
• Killoe
• Legan
• Longford Slashers
• Shroid Slashers
• Young Grattans

1983-1985

Records from 1983 are difficult to come by as a result of a newspaper strike. The number of clubs in active competition halved from 16 in 1982 to just 8 clubs by start of 1984:

• Ardagh
• Carrickedmond
• Colmcille
• Dromard
• Éire Óg
• Granard
• Legan
• Longford Slashers

Killoe, Cashel, Ballymore, Grattans, Shroid Slashers, Kenagh, Abbeylara and Forgney had all disbanded by the end of 1983 and Dromard did not play any games in 1984 but are noted back playing in 1988 and then disbanded by the end of the decade (later reformed in 1996). Seán Connollys club was revived in August 1984. Rathcline formed a club in 1985 while Mostrim reformed briefly around the middle of the decade after lapsing for a couple of years.

It is worth noting that the captain of the Granard winning Senior Championship teams of 1985 and 1986 was Bridget Smith who was originally from Mullahoran. Bridget had previously captained Cavan Womens to win the 1977 All-Ireland Senior Championship and captained Mullahoran to the 1977 All-Ireland Club Championship title. She won four All-Stars, was Cavan senior player of the year in 1976, won nine Cavan SFC titles with Mullahoran, nine Ulster titles with Mullahoran, managed Mullahoran Camogie club to the Cavan Junior title, and continues to be a strong match official/referee for Cavan Womens Gaelic Games to this day.

The first youth competition got underway by the middle of the decade, with Minor Championship commencing in 1985 and Juvenile and U-14 Championship towards the end of the decade. As youth competition took hold, so too did the emergence of youth club teams across the county.

1986-1989

The AGM in January 1986 was attended by seven clubs and it was decided to only have one Division in the League as there was not enough teams to form a second Division. It was also decided to run a Senior ‘B’ Championship, involving teams knocked out of the 1st round of SFC proper. Clonguish reformed in March 1986 after an absence since 1981, and had an immediate impact by winning the Senior League that year.

The AGM in March 1987 noted that interest in the womens game in Longford had rapidly decreased, with only six clubs in attendance (Carrickedmond, Legan, Clonguish, Rathcline and Éire Óg/St. Helens) while Dromard are also cited in competition in 1988. The numbers warranted the league to be reduced to one division. Ardagh and Legan clubs came together to compete as St. Annes in 1987 and 1988, reaching the SFC final in both years and winning the title in 1988. That arrangement dissolved in 1989 and some of the Ardagh players in particular went to play with Clonguish.

By 1989 activity had reduced considerably with only 3 clubs in adult competition:

• Carrickedmond
• Clonguish
• St. Helens (Drumlish)

In total, 6 clubs enjoyed Senior Football Championship success during the 1980’s:

• Ardagh (2)
• Longford Slashers (1)
• Granard (2)
• Carrickedmond (1)
• St. Annes (Ardagh/Legan) (1)
• Clonguish (1)

It is worth noting that by the end of the 1980’s the womens club in Drumlish parish was called St. Helens. The womens youth club in the parish was formed in 1986 and called St. Helens, while the womens senior club in the parish was formed in 1981 and called Éire Óg. The combination of adult and youth was often cited as St. Helens/Éire Óg from 1986-1989. By the time of the county final in late 1989 the youth and adult clubs are both called St. Helens.

1990-1995

The 1990’s belonged to St. Helens and Ballymore who won four Senior Championship titles each during the 1990’s.

The early part of the decade saw the revival of some lapsed clubs. Abbeylara which had lapsed in the early 1980’s was revived in March 1990. Granard which lapsed in the late 1980’s was revived in May 1990. Both clubs entered the newly instituted Senior ‘B’ Championship and ended up playing each other in the final in November 1990 (this later became the Junior Championship) with Abbeylara emerging victorious. The two clubs then decided to join forces in 1991 and won the Senior Football Championship together with victory over St. Helens on 31st July 1991. In early 1992 the combination of Granard and Abbeylara disbanded due to lack of numbers, with some girls opting to play with the newly formed St. Fintans club in nearby Streete parish. St. Helens recovered from their defeat in the 1991 SFC final to win three-in-a-row of SFC titles from 1992-1994. Meanwhile Killoe reformed in 1991 after an 8-year absence. The Ballymore club was revived in 1992 after a long period of absence since it’s original formation in 1982 and brief appearance in competition in those early years. Ballymore would go on to become a significant part of the history of womens football throughout the decade and developed a fast rivalry with the kingpins St. Helens, who they beat in the 1995 SFC final to win Ballymore’s first SFC title.

By 1993 there were 5 clubs in the county:

• Ballymore
• Clonguish
• Killoe
• Rathcline
• St. Helens

In addition to the five senior clubs listed above, Carrickedmond and Killashee also had teams in youth competition for a brief period (many would then play with Rathcline afterwards) and St. Fintans from Streete/Multyfarnham also competed briefly in youth competition in Longford during the first half of the 1990’s. By 1995 the Senior game was dominated by St. Helens, Ballymore and Rathcline in particular.

1996-1999

The 1996 Senior Championship decider was memorable for two reasons; Firstly, it was played in February 1997 due to delays caused by the success of the county team. Secondly, the scoreboard at full time read 2-7 to 2-6 to St. Helens/Rathcline and while the combination was celebrating, the referee was convinced the scoreboard was wrong, and so counted his scores and informed both teams that Ballymore had in fact won by 1 point. With Ballymore now celebrating, the referee counted the scores again and concluded a draw. A later review of the video by the Ballymore club found that St. Helens/Rathcline had indeed won by a point. While it was a dramatic event at the time, the episode probably belongs in the ‘to err is human’ column.

From 1998 the Senior ‘B’ Championship which had been played at club level in Longford since 1990, became the Junior Championship (same structure, just different name). In the years prior to 1998, the Senior ‘B’ Championship was contested by teams who lost in the Senior Championship at Round 1 or Quarter Final or Semi Final stage. The Junior Championships of 1998 and 1999 continued this exact same structure until 2000 when the Junior Championship became a graded competition (i.e. not the offshoot of losing in the Senior Championship, but a competition contested by Junior clubs). The Senior ‘B’ Championship would re-appear as a separate competition some years later.

In 1999 the Intermediate Championship was introduced for the first time. For the 1999 season, teams beaten in the earlier rounds (Round 1 or Quarter finals) of the Senior Championship would contest the Junior Championship, while the beaten semi-finalists of the Senior Championship contested the Intermediate Championship final. St. Helen’s won the first Intermediate Championship in 1999. By 2000, the Intermediate Championship structure changed to include teams beaten in all rounds up to and including the semi-final of the Senior Championship. Intermediate Championship didn’t become a independent graded competition (with predefined Intermediate teams) until some years later.

By the end of the 20th century, Longford womens clubs were competing in Senior, Intermediate, Junior, Minor, Juvenile, U-14 and U-13 competitions. Some clubs which had previously lapsed were revived, including Killoe, Colmcille, Dromard (reformed 1996), Carrickedmond and Mostrim, while new clubs were formed in Ballymore in 1992 and Mullinalaghta in June 1998. It is curious to note that one of the most successful periods for the Longford county team overlapped with a period in the 1990’s when there were less than a handful of womens clubs in competition.

By the end of the decade the number of active clubs had tripled from 1989, with 10 clubs in competition:

• Ballymore
• Carrickedmond
• Clonguish
• Colmcille
• Dromard
• Killoe
• Mostrim
• Mullinalaghta
• Rathcline
• St. Helens

2000-2009

The 2000’s saw a changing of the guard on the club scene, moving from the dominance of St. Helens and Ballymore in the 1990’s, to successes for Rathcline, Clonguish and Killoe in 2000’s. Rathcline dominated the early years of the new century and didn’t lose a game in League or Championship in 2000, 2001 and 2002. A healthy rivalry began to emerge between Clonguish and Killoe which would define much of the 2000’s and 2010’s with the two clubs sharing all of the Senior Championship and Senior League titles from 2004 to 2017.

The 2006 All-Ireland Womens Club Championship Finals took place at Páirc na nGael in Dromard on 26th November with Emyvale (Monaghan) taking on Eadestown (Kildare) in the Junior final, and Donaghmoyne (Monaghan) taking on Carnacon (Mayo) in the Senior final.

The second half of the 2010’s saw Longford clubs making their mark provincially and nationally. This began with Clonguish winning the 2005 Leinster Intermediate Club Championship title with victory over Kilanerin (Wexford) by 4-12 to 0-10 in the final played in Athy on 23rd October 2005. Killoe went on to win that same Leinster Club IFC title in 2008 with victory over Railyard (Kilkenny) by 2-8 to 1-8 in the final played in Athy on 19th October 2008. It is worth noting that the Longford Womens Board decided at the Convention in December 2006 that Longford Senior Football Champions would play in the Leinster Intermediate Club Championship.

The 2008 & 2009 Senior Championships were played under the banner of Intermediate ‘A’ Championship and included Killoe, Rathcline, Ballymore, Carrickedmond, Mullinalaghta, Clonguish and St. Helens. Longford SFC winner in 2008 and 2009 would typically have played in Leinster Club SFC competition. However due to a series of heavy defeats in Leinster Club SFC competition in the years prior, a decision was made to play the local SFC under the banner of ‘Intermediate A Championship’ instead in both years to enable the winner to play at Leinster Club Intermediate grade. Hence Senior Championship was instead played as an Intermediate A Championship in 2008 and 2009 even though it was the same competition with same teams and same trophy as previous and subsequent Senior Championships. In match reports for both years, you will see the decider referenced as Intermediate ‘A’ Championship. Teams knocked out of the Intermediate ‘A’ Championship in the first round competed in Intermediate ‘B’ Championship which was the equivalent of the IFC title. In terms of Rolls of Honour, the 2008 and 2009 IFC ‘A’ winners are included with SFC winners for continuity, while the IFC ‘B’ winners are included with IFC winners for continuity.

By the end of the decade there were 11 adult clubs in Longford:

• Ballymahon Forgney
• Ballymore
• Carrickedmond
• Clonguish
• Colmcille
• Dromard
• Killoe
• Mostrim
• Mullinalaghta
• Rathcline
• St. Helens

2010-2019

Club activity in the 2010’s was dominated by the rivalry of Killoe and Clonguish. Both clubs would go on to win all of the Senior Championship and Senior League titles from 2004 to 2017. The 2010’s also saw clubs formed and reformed including clubs which had been to the fore in the 1980’s starting to re-emerge and assert themselves once more, including Carrickedmond, Longford Slashers (reformed in 2012) and St. Brigids Gaels of Ardagh (reformed in June 2012 in youth and in 2021 at adult grade). The Ballymahon Forgney club was formed at the start of the decade and a new club was formed in Killashee in 2016 and competed up until the 2021 season.

Longford clubs continued to feature at provincial and national level in the 2010’s and beyond, winning titles at various grades. Colmcille won the Leinster Junior League in 2011 with victory over Crossabeg Ballymurn (Wexford) by 4-13 to 1-1 in the final in Portarlington in May 2011. In 2013 St. Helens won the Leinster Junior Championship title with victory over Monasterevin (Kildare) in the final on 3rd November 2011 in Kinnegad and progressed to the All-Ireland JFC semi-final, losing out to Dunedin Connollys from Edinburgh. An impressive feat for the women from Drumlish/Ballinamuck given that the club was on the brink of being disbanded just 18 months prior. Killoe won the 2013 Leinster Senior League title with victory over Arklow/Balllymoney (Wicklow) by 6-19 to 4-4 in the final on 31st May 2013 in Kilcock.

In 2015 Mostrim won the All-Ireland 7-a-side Junior shield with victory over Castleknock (Dublin). The Mostrim team was Danielle McLoughlin, Becky McLoughlin, Brianna Connell, Louise Monaghan, Sinead Sheridan, Gemma Kenny, Edel Kenny, Anna Coyle & Meagan Lynn. In 2018 Clonguish won the All-Ireland 7-a-side Intermediate Shield title with victory over Saval (Down). The Clonguish team was Sarah Duffy, Niamh Darcy, Sinead Macken, Laura Healy, Aisling Greene, Mairead Moore, Aoife Darcy, Clara Healy & Catriona Moore. In 2019 Clonguish won the All-Ireland U-15 Féile Division 4 Cup with victory over Knockainey (Limerick) by 2-3 to 0-4 in the final played at Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence on 30th June 2019.

The 2010’s was also a period of sadness with the sudden death of 29 year old Alison Smyth in December 2011. Alison who played with Rathcline and was a midfielder on the Longford womens team, was one of the most talented sportswomen of her generation. Ali had been an All-Star nominee in 2009 and a county player from the age of 19, winning the coveted Longford ‘Womens Player of the Year’ award in 2009. As well as enjoying success with Longford and her club Rathcline, Alison had also helped Ballymahon Convent of Mercy to an All-Ireland title in 1999 and as a basketball player with the Falcons, had guided them to a national title in 2000. In 2012 the Alison Smyth memorial cup was presented for the first time to the winner of the Longford SFC.

By the end of the decade there were 14 adult clubs in Longford:

• Ballymahon Forgney
• Ballymore
• Carrickedmond
• Clonguish
• Colmcille
• Dromard
• Grattans
• Killashee
• Killoe
• Longford Slashers
• Mostrim
• Mullinalaghta
• Rathcline
• St. Helens

Both Seán Connollys and St. Brigids Gaels (Ardagh) were also competing in youth competition only.

2020-2025

Seán Connollys club had revived at youth level in the 2010’s and then returned at adult grade too in 2023, while St. Brigids Gaels (Ardagh) also started to compete at adult grade from 2021. Granard, which had previously disbanded in the early 1990’s, was revived as St. Marys Granard LGFA in 2023, initially at underage and then also at adult (Junior) grade from 2026. This took the number of clubs in Longford to sixteen. A very sad note was the death of St. Brigids Gaels goalkeeper Leah Sheridan in 2021.

The 2020’s saw Longford clubs continue to make an impression at provincial and national level. Ballymore won the 2020 Leinster Junior Championship, beating Kilmore (Wexford) by 2-19 to 1-11 in the delayed final which was played on 23rd June 2021 in Portlaoise. In 2022 Longford Slashers completed four-in-a-row Longford Senior Championship title wins and went on to win the Leinster Intermediate Club Championship with a 3-10 to 3-6 victory over Skryne (Meath) on 13th November 2022 in Kinnegad, becoming only the third Longford club to win the Leinster Intermediate title. The Slashers women then went one further and defeated Charlestown in the All-Ireland semi-final en-route to the All-Ireland Intermediate Club Final on 10th December 2022 in Croke Park. Longford Slashers made history by becoming the first club from Longford (in either LGFA or GAA) to reach and win an All-Ireland Club Championship final and the first Longford club in GAA or LGFA to win a competitive game in Croke Park, when they defeated Mullinahone (Tipperary) by 4-11 to 2-8 on a frosty December afternoon in Croke Park. The team that day was: Emer Casey, Laura Kenny, Emily Reilly, Grace Kenny, Orla Nevin (1-2), Eimear O’Brien, Clare Farrell (0-1), Aoife O’Brien, Aisling Cosgrove (captain, 1-0), Lisa Nolan, Grace Shannon (2-0), Kyana Lee (0-1), Kate Shannon (0-3), Jessica Barry (0-3), Kara Shannon (0-1). Subs: Jill Glennon for L Nolan (49 mins), Grace O’Donnell for L Kenny (52 mins).

In February 2023 the Clonguish women made it 3-in-a-row of Senior Cup titles at the Comórtas Peile Páidi Ó Sé tournament in Kerry, with wins in 2020, 2022 and 2023 (no tournament held in 2021). The Comórtas takes place across the Dingle Peninsula each February with teams invited from across Ireland in both women’s and men’s football at Junior, Intermediate and Senior Level. Clonguish beat Thomas Davis (Dublin) in the 2023 final by 1-12 to 1-6, beat Ratoath (Meath) in the 2022 final by 4-9 to 1-4, and beat Ballyboden St. Endas (Dublin) in 2020 final by 5-8 to 5-7, all played at An Ghaeltacht GAA grounds.

In 2023 Longford Slashers made it 5-in-a-row of Longford Womens Senior Football Championship titles with victory over Clonguish in the final and became the first Longford club to compete in the Leinster LGFA Club Senior Football Championship since 2014. In 2024 changes were made to Leinster club participation following an external mandate which required winners of County Senior, Intermediate & Junior Championships to compete in Leinster club competition at that same grade. This led to a reassessment and reallocation of teams across Senior, Intermediate & Junior grades in Longford, leading to the introduction of a new Junior B Championship too in 2024 alongside a new cup – Theresa McDermott Quinn cup, named in honour of Theresa who died in February 2024, was very involved with Gaelic Games in Ardagh-Moydow and was President of the St. Brigids Gaels LGFC in the parish at the time of her death.

In 2024 Longford Slashers made more history by becoming the first club to win six in-a-row of Womens Senior Football Championship titles, while Carrickedmond won the Intermediate title and Ballymore the Junior title.

In 2025 Clonguish won the All-Ireland U-15 Club 7’s at Kilmacud Crokes. Clonguish beat Derry champions Ballinderry Shamrocks, Carbury (Kildare) and Westmeath champions Garycastle to top Group 3. In the knockout stages Clonguish beat Fergus Rovers (Clare) in the Quarter Final, Claregalway (Galway) in the semi-final and Charlestown (Mayo) in the final to lift the cup as All-Ireland 7’s champions. Team captain was Alisha Manning, and Sophie Carey was named Player of the Tournament.

In 2025 Longford Slashers becoming the first club to win seven in-a-row of Womens Senior Football Championship titles, becoming the first Longford club in any code or grade (GAA or LGFA) to win 7 in-a-row of titles in consecutive years. Killoe won the Intermediate title, Dromard won the Junior ‘A’ Championship and Rathcline won the Junior ‘B’ Championship.

By 2025 there were 16 clubs in Longford – a return to the previous high of 16 clubs in 1982:

• Ballymahon Forgney
• Ballymore
• Carrickedmond
• Clonguish
• Colmcille
• Dromard
• Grattans
• Killoe
• Longford Slashers
• Mostrim
• Mullinalaghta
• Rathcline
• Seán Connollys
• St. Brigids Gaels
• St. Helens
  
• St. Marys Granard

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