Club Foundation
Na Gaeil’s Foundation came about as a result of the success that was achieved in the Community Games at Under 12 and Under 14 level in the 1970’s.
On the 1st May 1978, the first motion was put forward by residents associations to set up a GAA club to cater for the needs of the youth of North Tralee and the Oakpark area.
Following this, on the 8th November, a meeting of interested parties was held in The Meadowlands Hotel in Oakpark. At this meeting, the name “Na Gaeil” was decided upon and Denis Reen was elected the first chairman of Na Gaeil C.L.G.. Pádraig Murphy was elected first president of the club.
Early Development
The first Senior team took to the field vs Ballyheigue in Árd na Lí in 1979, captained by the late Séamus Murphy. Two years later, we had our first success at underage level when the Under 12 side defeated Gneevguilla in the County League Division 3.
Later in 1981, the first Na Gaeil Dinner Dance was held in the Meadowlands Hotel.
Early Success
As the interest in Na Gaeil C.L.G. grew, more players started joining and the standard of football improved. In 1984 the Under 14 side were victorious in the Brendan’s Board.
In 1986, the Senior side tasted Novice Championship Glory for the first time. Another success was to follow in 1994. The Senior side also captured the Brendan’s league for the first time in 1986.
Perhaps the biggest achievement of the club so far came in 1991 when the minor team won the County league Division 1.
Underage success followed closely in 1996 when the Under 14 side captured the Division 2 title and in 1998 when the same group of players won at the same level at Under 16 grade.
Also in 1998, the senior team had worked its way up to Division 3 of the County League.
The Club’s Beginnings
Many adults in the Northern part of Tralee were impressed by the football teams that represented Oakpark in the Community Games in the seventies and felt it would be good for the children of the area, and for community spirit, if a G.A.A. Club were set up for that part of town.
As a result of this groundswell of support, the Residents Association called a General Meeting for Friday 3/11/78 which was chaired by Jim Fitzgibbon, Chairman of the Residents Association. This Meeting voted 50 to 5 on a motion proposed by Seamus Murphy, seconded by Pat O’Connor, to push ahead with the foundation of a Gaelic Football Club. The Oakpark Sports Committee, a sub-committee of the Residents’ Association, was asked to work on setting up the club. Seamus Murphy, Pat O’Connor and Tim Lynch, a member of the sports committee, were tasked with finding a suitable chairperson to drive the project. They approached Denis Reen and asked him to allow his name go forward as Chairperson. He agreed and remained in the position for three years.
The Sports Committee called a meeting for Wednesday 8/11/1978. The GAA club was formally set up. An Executive Committee was elected. Chairman Denis Reen: Vice Chairmen Seamus Murphy, Donie O’Sullivan: Secretary Cormac Casey: Assistant Secretary Seamus O’Donovan: Joint Treasurers Pat O’Connor and Denis O’Dowd: PRO Denis Reen: Activities Chairman Seamus Murphy. Padraig Murphy proposed that the newly formed club be called Na Gaeil. Motion passed.
While no record of those who attended this Inaugural Meeting was minuted, the attendances at Executive Committee Meetings during the first year indicate that early members of the Club included (in alphabetical order):
Harold Behan, Ronnie Brosnan, Donie Buckley, John Buckley, Corrie Casey, Gerry Cournane, Pat Dowling, Peter Doyle, Charlie Fitzell, Jim Fitzgibbon, John Jago, Jerry O’Regan, Michael Kelleher, Des Lambe, Donal Leahy, Tony Lucey, Gerard Lynch, Kevin Lynch, Tim Lynch, Denis Lyons, Des McCarthy, John McElligott, Kevin McElligott, Kieran Moriarty, Joe Motherway, John Moynihan, Séamus Murphy, John Murrihy, Pat O’Connor, Michael O’Donnell, Séamus O’Donovan, Denis O’Dowd, P.J.O’Halloran, Pádraig Ó Murchadha, Donie O’Sullivan, Denis Reen, Maurice Sexton.
Successes in the Early 80’s
Our first teams were fielded in 1979 and the Club quickly asserted itself. It was our Under 12 team which created history by becoming the first team to bring a County Title to Na Gaeil when, on May 5th, 1981, at Currow, they marched to victory in Division 3 of the County League, defeating a strong Gneeveguilla team in the final. They also emerged as winners of the Tralee Board Competition in the same year. We repeated our success in the Tralee Board Competition the following year (1982). In 1980, this same team were Runners-up at County level. Our Under 12’s have, since then, also won Division 2 of the County League (over Kenmare) in 1985 and were Runners-up in 1984. They also came in Runners-up in the Tralee Board Competition in 1980, 1984 and 1985.
A scintillating performance on June 21st, 1983, by a spirited and dauntless Under 14 team brought Na Gaeil our second County title. This same team had a taste of success when they won out in Division 3 of the County two years earlier. Our Under 14’s were Runners-up in 1981 (Div. 3).
Our first victory in competitions run by St. Brendan’s Board, to which the Club is affiliated, came in 1982 at Under 16 level when we defeated a strong Ardfert side. We won again in 1985. We were Runners-up in the County League in 1983 and were Runners-up in Tralee Board in 1985.
Our Minor side won the Tralee Board B Competition in 1985 and were knocking on the door of the County League on a couple of occasions at that time (1984 and 1985).
The Senior side, which had been comprised of some of our founders initially, introduced fresh blood and eventually introduced the players who had begun with us in 1979. They became involved in the Senior County League in 1981 and since then have supplied many players to St. Brendan’s Divisional team in the County Championship. The closest they came to success in the early 80’s was when they were Runners-up in the Tralee Junior League and in the St. Brendan’s Board League in 1984.
Land Purchase
In the early years, all playing activities were carried on at the Sports field at Árd na Lí. A most gratifying feature of the birth and early growth of the Club has been the very close co-operation between the Club and the Oakpark Residents’ Association, who made this Sports field available to us, and the Club is deeply appreciative of their support during those early years.
As the Club grew, so did our requirements where playing facilities were concerned. On August 8th, 1983, five statute acres were purchased from Tralee U.D.C. at Killeen for the sum of £90,000. As the Urban Council had purchased this land as building land, it was expensive for sporting purposes, but the alternative was to purchase outside the area. The Executive Committee decided that our own playing field within the catchment area was a priority if progress on the playing field was to continue.
Draining, levelling and re-seeding of the land and temporary fencing was completed in 1984. A pre-fabricated Dressing Room followed soon afterwards. These developments brought expenditure on the land to around £120,000.
In August 1988, the Club bought 3.3 acres adjacent to the Club’s property, again from the Urban Council, at a cost of £30,000 over 18 years. Even though the Club was not in the financial position to develop this land at the time, the Executive of the Club decided that it was a wise investment and would in time be used to provide the Club with a Juvenile pitch.
Financing the Land Development
The original purchase of 5 acres was bought on a phased basis over a three-year period, for which the Club is grateful to the Council. Raising the money to repay our loans was an enormous task and necessitated several large Draws, Card Drives, Fashion Shows and Benefit Meetings at Tralee Dog-Track. The local community responded magnificently to the requests of Na Gaeils finance committees and individual members.
Playing Success in the Late 80’s
1986 will go down in the history books as a great year for Na Gaeil. While the Club had made great strides in Under-age competitions in our first 6 years, it was not until 1986 that our Senior side brought the first ever County title at adult level to the Club, by capturing the coveted Novice title. A most gratifying aspect of this victory was that five of this team had come up through the Juvenile ranks of the club. The side were also Runners-up in the St. Brendan’s Board League and in a playoff in the County League.
1986 was also the year that saw our Minor side take their first County title when winning the County League (Div 1).
Our Juveniles also had a successful year in 1986. Our Under 12’s won the St. Brendan’s Board League and Tralee Board Championship. Our Under 14’s were narrowly defeated in the Tralee Board Final and in the St. Brendan’s Board league Final. Our Under 16’s again won the St. Brendan’s Board league.
The Under 12’s went on to win the Tralee board Competition in 1987 (two in a row). The Under 14’s won the St’ Brendan’s Board League in 1988, having been Runners-up the previous two years. In 1989 they won the County League (Div. 2) for the second time. The Under 16’s also won the County League (Div. 2) in 1989, having been Runners-up the previous year, and were Runners-up in The St. Brendan’s Board League each year from 1985 to 1988. The Minors were outright winners in the Tralee Board Competition in 1988 and were very unlucky to be beaten by the eventual winners, Kenmare, in the Co. Minor League in 1989. Our players also played a major part in the success of the St. Brendan’s District Team in 1989, which won the Tralee Town Board Minor League in that year.
Social and Cultural Activities during the 80’s
Our Annual Dinner Dance, held in early spring each year, became one of the highlights of the Club’s Social calendar. The first of these very successful social gatherings took place in 1981 at Ballygarry House Hotel and they went from strength to strength during the Eighties. The last one held by the Club was in 1990.
Amongst our other social and cultural activities have been the Inter Club Debates and Quizzes run by the Tralee District Board since 1983, and we had some memorable musical evenings at Meadowlands Hotel on such occasions. We have had no small success in these activities, winning the debating competition in 1983 and 1984, and the Quiz Competition in 1985. The Competitions fizzled out after that. The weekly Whist Drives at the Grand Hotel and later at the Meadowlands Hotel were also enormously popular. Eventually, these gave way to the popular weekly 45 drives.
One of the highlights of the year for our Juveniles has always been our Christmas Party, at which plaques and medals were presented to the victorious teams in Club and Inter-Club Competitions. These were always well attended.
Three Newsletters were published by the Club in the 1980’s and were well received. These were dated November 1986, May 1987 and February 1989.
The Clubhouse
The erection of the Clubhouse in 1991 was a further major step in the life of the Club. It was erected, at a cost of £190,000, to provide a focal point for the Club and to offset the need for annual fundraising. Under the guidance of a Design Team set up for the purpose, the plans were drawn up by Michael McGough.
Life and Five Year Membership were offered to the Community to raise the necessary finance. Corporate patronage was also sought. The Community was very generous in its response and the shortfall, which was sizeable, was made up in loans, which are still being repaid.
The Clubhouse has rewarded the trojan efforts of the Committee, under the expert chairmanship of Denis Reen, and the financial wizardry of Pat O Connor, among others, by providing the Club and the community generally with a popular meeting place. It has a bar and maple-floored function room, both of which are regularly used for quizzes, meetings, functions and card drives. It was capably managed by Michael O Neill since it opened, on July 1st , 1991 until the end of 1999, when Seán O’Connor was appointed. The Official Opening took place on Friday, August 16th, 1991, the then Kerry County Board Chairman, Seán Kelly, officiating at the opening.
The Dinner Dances of the Eighties gave way to Clubhouse Christmas and New Year Parties in the Nineties, which proved to be immensely popular, now that we had our own Clubhouse to host them. The well-known group, Na Sagairt, contributed immensely to their popularity until the death in 1998 0f their effervescent leader, Jack Casey. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
The Club participated in Scór na nÓg in 1992, and we had two finalists in the County Final, one of which, our Ballad Group, took the laurels but were defeated in the Munster final. We had two finalists in 1993, in Recitation and Solo Singing. In 1994 we had four finalists, in Figure Dancing, Instrumental Music, Ballad Group and Solo Singing, and achieved the accolade Club of the Year. We had one finalist in1995, in Instrumental Music.
Trips to All-Ireland Finals, Munster Finals etc. have become a feature of life for our juvenile squads in recent years.
The Club hosted the Kerry G.A.A. Clubs Championship Table Quiz in 1992 and 1993.
Annual golf outings were begun in December 1992, and, though popular, had a chequered history because of the unpredictability of the weather at this time of year.
Playing successes of the 90’s
Our Under 16’s began the Nineties with a fine win in 1990 in Div. 2 of the County League. They were finalists in the Tralee Board A Competition, being narrowly beaten in the final by Kerins O’Rahillys. Our Under 12’s were finalists in the St. Brendan’s Board Competition in the same year.
The Division 1 victory of the Minors in the County League1991, in a sense marked the coming of age of the Club, as the team was comprised of the six-year-olds with whom the Club started in 1979. They romped home deserving winners against An Daingean to win our first ever Division 1 Co. League at Minor level. Our Under 16’s were runners-up in the County League the same year and in St. Brendan’s.
1992 saw our Senior side win promotion in the County League, by winning Div. 5. They also emerged victorious in St. Brendan’s Board League. They also played their part in the success of St. Brendan’s Divisional team, Co. Championship finalists. Our Under 12’s were St. Brendan’s Board and Tralee Board finalists.
1993 again saw our Senior side gain promotion as County League Champions, this time to Div. 3. Our Under 14’s won St. Brendan’s Board Championship and were Runners-up in St. Brendan’s League and Tralee Board League. The Club played host to Féile Peile na nÓg the same year.
1994 stands out as a great year on the playing field for the Club. The Senior A team became Novice Co. Champions for the second time and our Senior B side did us proud the same year by winning the Urban League (Div. 6 of the County League), a marvellous double. Our Under 16’s won the triple in that year of County League (Div.3), Tralee Board League and St. Brendan’s Board League. Our Under 12’s won the St. Brendan’s Board double of League and Championship. Our Under 14’s were St. Brendan’s Board finalists in both League and Championship, and very unlucky not to be victors. The Club again hosted Féile Peile na nÓg. Altogether, a very successful year.
The Senior B team reached the final of the Urban League for the second year in a row in 1995, but failed at the final hurdle. The Under 16’s again had a successful year, winning both the St. Brendan’s Board Championship and League, and were finalists in the Tralee Board league. Our Under 14 squad won the St. Brendan’s Board League and were narrowly beaten in the final of the Tralee Board B League. The Under 12’s won the St. Brendan’s Board Championship and were finalists in the St. Brendan’s Board League.
[Details needed for 1996 on]
Though no longer playing his football with Na Gaeil Club, the Club is proud to have brought Kerry Senior footballer William Kirby up through its ranks, winning a Novice Championship withNa Gaeil. Joe Murphy played with the Kerry Junior team and is the proud holder of a Junior All-Ireland medal from 1991. The Club has also produced a number of Kerry Minors, among them Ciarán O Shea, Colm Murphy, Shane McDonnell.
The Millennium
The Club looks forward to major development of its lands in the early years of the Millennium. A Juvenile Pitch, Dressing Rooms, and who knows what else, are in the offing. It now has members, adult and youth, from all over the northern side of town – from Oakpark, Rahoonane, Shanakill, Leith, Dromthacker etc. These developments are necessary to ensure that we can adequately cater for the youth of the new Millennium.
Compiled by
Jim Fitzgibbon in 2000
