Rounders in Longford

GAA Rounders is one of the four official GAA sports included in the original GAA charter back in 1884 along with Gaelic Football, Hurling and Handball. Rounders is a bat and ball game and is not that dis-similar to baseball. For much of the 20th century, Rounders was largely played informally, particularly in schools and at parish gatherings. In the 1950s and 1960s, efforts were made to formalise Rounders competitions at local and national levels. By the late 20th century, the All-Ireland Rounders Championships had become an established part of the GAA calendar, offering structured pathways for clubs and players.

There are 70 clubs in Ireland, with 2 clubs in Longford:

🔴  Seán Connollys (Estd. 1980’s)
🟢  Clonguish (Estd. 2022)

The Seán Connollys (Clonbroney) club has been playing rounders competitively since the 1980’s when Club President Mary Farrelly introduced the game to the national school in Ballinalee. The club lapsed for a period in the 21st Century and was revived in 2017 at underage and then at adult grade from 2018. The club competes in U12, U14 , U15, Minor, Junior Mens, Junior Womens & Junior Mixed competitions. National titles won by Longford clubs over the years has been dominated by the Seán Connollys club as the foremost Rounders Club in Longford.

The Clonguish Rounders Club was established in February 2022, at underage initially, and now includes Junior Womens team too.

🗓️ 1994

Clonguish hosted All-Ireland Mixed Seniors Championship and All-Ireland U15 Girls Championship Finals.

🗓️ 2017

Ballymahon hosted the All-Ireland Championships in August 2017.

🗓️ 2018

Ballymahon hosted the All-Ireland Championship Quarter Finals in June 2018.

🗓️ 2021

Clonguish hosted the All-Ireland Féile Competition and All-Ireland Championship games in August 2021.

🗓️ 2022

Clonguish hosted the All-Ireland U13 Féile Competition in June 2022.

🗓️ 2023

Clonguish hosted Senior and Intermediate All-Ireland Championship semi-finals in August 2023. All games were due to take place at Clonguish GAA Club, Longford. However, due to weather, two games were moved to the Shroid grounds.

🗓️ 2024

Jack Cheyne (ex Sean Connollys) was appointed the Leinster representative on Rounders Ard Chomhairle in 2024 & 2025.

🗓️ 2025

Clonguish hosted All-Ireland Championship Junior Womens & Junior Mixed Championship Quarter Finals in July 2025.