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Straffan

Teach Srafáin
Founded:	1885
County:	Kildare
Colours:	White with Blue sash
Grounds:	Straffan GAA grounds, Straffan
Coordinates:	53°18′40″N 6°36′24″W / 53.311213°N 6.606538°W / 53.311213; -6.606538Coordinates: 53°18′40″N 6°36′24″W / 53.311213°N 6.606538°W / 53.311213; -6.606538
Playing kits
Standard colours

Straffan Gaelic Football Club is a Gaelic football club in Straffan, County Kildare, Ireland, which played a leading role in establishing the games in the county.

History

Straffan GAA grounds

GAA official Tom Cribben claimed in 1934 that Straffan had kicked the first ball in county Kildare, the ball being brought over from Clongowes by Tom ‘Rabbit’ Delaney. Local tradition records games on Straffan estate, now the K Club, between insiders (estate workers) and outsiders (the villagers). Cribben also says the first man to throw in a ball to set two teams in motion under the GAA code was a Straffan man, Edward Kelly. Straffan is one of eight clubs, four in Kilkenny and four in Kildare, to participate in the first series of Gaelic football matches ever played on February 15, 1885. Straffan JL Carews played Sallins. RIC records indicate Straffan had 45 members in 1890, with officers listed as James Ennis, Edward Melia, James Pitts and Pat Leonard.

Gaelic Football

Straffan’s greatest achievement was the Intermediate Championship of 1966, with Tony Kane and Thomas “Cub” Walsh featuring on a team that was promoted to senior. Area side with Celbridge, St Wolstan’s fought a semi-final battle with Ballyteague in 1974 that took three matches to decide and another in 1975 with Clane that took two matches. They also lost the 1976 quarter-final in a replay.

After being beaten in two successive finals, Straffan won the Junior B Championship in 1986. A lean period followed, however with the club having no notable successes in the 1990s. A revival occurred with the appointment of Billy Farrell as first team manager in 1999, and the team won the Junior B championship in 2001. 2005 was a reasonably successful year for the club, with the first team gaining promotion to division 2 of the Kildare Senior Football League, while the second team also won promotion to division 2 of the Junior Football League. Straffan began to gather momentum ever since promotion to division 2. priority for the club was to win the Junior football championship which had been a scorn for the club over the years. A junior final appearance was made in 2006 but Straffan were narrowly beaten by Nurney GFC. Numerous semi final appearances were made after that but with little success. However, in 2009 under the management of Liam McLoughlin Straffan finally broke the hoodoo and won the Junior football championship with a last minute goal by Andy O'Neill. Straffan fields 2 adult teams at the moment and forms St Edward’s along with Ardclough and Rathcoffey for underage purposes and St Edwards fields teams at all levels from Under 9 to Under 21.

Camogie

Anne Kearney-Hughes and Fiona Farrell revived camogie in Straffan in 1984 (the previous club ceased in 1955) with the registered colours tangerine and black. Liz Kane, Patricia O’Brien and Yvonne Farrell, members of the 1994 junior championship winning team, played for Kildare.

Honours

• 
  Kildare Intermediate Football Championship 1966


• 
  Kildare Junior Football Championship (1) 1946


• 
  Jack Higgins Cup (1) 1964


• 
  Kildare Junior A Football Championship: 1964


• 
  Kildare Junior B F Championship (4) 1959, 1986, 2001, 2008


• 
  Kildare Intermediate Football League (3) 1937, 1960, 1964


• 
  Kildare Junior Football League 1929, 1937


• 
  Kildare Junior Camogie Championship 1962 (combined with Straffan),


• 
  Kildare Junior Camogie Championship 1994


• 
  Kildare Junior Camogie League (2) 1993, 1994

As St Wolstan’s F team with Celbridge

• 
  Kildare Senior Football Championship Semi-finalists 1972 and 1975 (beaten in replays on both occasions)


• 
  Kildare Under–21 Football Championship 1985


• 
  The Leinster Leader Junior Club Cup 2004


• 
  Kildare Junior A Football Championship Winners 2009


• 
  Dowling Cup Champions 2007, 2009


• 
  Kildare Under 21-B Football Championship 2009 (St.Edwards)


• 
  Kildare Minor C Football Championship (1) 2009

Bibliography

• Cradle Days And Winning Ways - A Centenary History Of Straffan GFC 1886–1986 by Hilary Allen:. (Maynooth, Published By Straffan GFC 1986), 76pp.


• Kildare GAA: A Centenary History, by Eoghan Corry, CLG Chill Dara, 1984, .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
  ISBN 0-9509370-0-2 hb
  ISBN 0-9509370-1-0 pb


• Kildare GAA yearbook, 1972, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 2000- in sequence especially the Millennium yearbook of 2000


• Soaring Sliothars: Centenary of Kildare Camogie 1904-2004 by Joan O'Flynn Kildare County Camogie Board.

External links

• Kildare GAA site


• Kildare GAA club sites


• Kildare on Hoganstand.com