Western Gaels GAA
Western Gaels is a Gaelic Athletic Association club concentrating on Hurling in west County Sligo, Republic of Ireland.the club has players from 4 football clubs in west sligo ,st pats ,st farans ,enniscrone/kilglass & castleconnor. The club is affiliated as an Exclusive Hurling Club to the sligo County Board. The club won its first Sligo Senior Hurling Championship in 2010.
| Gaeil an Iarthar | |||||||||
| Founded: | 1999 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County: | Sligo | ||||||||
| Colours: | Green and White | ||||||||
| Playing kits | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Senior Club Championships | |||||||||
| |||||||||
history
Club History Western Gaels Hurling Club was founded on 7 th February 1999 at the inaugural meeting in Brownes Harbour Bar. The membership was open to U-14 boys from the parishes of Enniscrone/ Kilglass, Castleconnor, Easkey, Dromore & Templeboy. In the clubs first year the team won the County Final and from there the club went from strength to strength. This columinating in the club winning its first Senior County Hurling Championship in 2010 with the players from the original U-14’s being the back bone of this team. In the following years the club was deciminated by emigration due to the recession but kept going with limited numbers. However in the last number of years the club has rebuilt and now has teams at every level from U-6 right up to senior and with an ever growing interest and membership base the club has a bright future. Role in the community Over the past 20 years Western Gaels has promoted hurling as regional club across parish and club boundaries, serving an area where participation was historically limited to National School competitions. As a club with no official ground of our own, we have relied on utilising the facilities of local football clubs from Castleconnor to Templeboy, which we have been most grateful for down through the years. Our club was founded on the ethos that football club rivalries staying at the entrance gate, which has enabled the development of relationships and the supporting of social sustainability across parish/club boundaries, for the promotion of hurling under one banner. For over 20 years friendships have been developed across parish boundaries through participation in hurling, friendships that would not have blossomed but for the existence of our club. Having facilities we can call our home and putting down roots in an area accessible to all of West Sligo will only further galvanise the roots we have put down. We see the club as a possible focal point of the community which can only benefit the social fabric of the area.
References