Armagh GAA

infobox GAA county
county gaa = Armagh GAA
crest =
irish = Ard Mhacha
province = Ulster
nickname = The Orchard County
county colours = Orange and White
grounds = Athletic Grounds, Armagh
dominant sport = Gaelic football
nfl div = Division 2
nhl div = Division 2
football champ = Sam Maguire Cup
hurling champ = Christy Ring Cup
ladies football = Brendan Martin Cup
camogie = O'Duffy Cup
pattern_la= |pattern_b=_thinwhitesides|pattern_ra=
leftarm=ff4500 |body=ff4500 |rightarm=ff4500 |shorts=FFFFFF |socks=ff4500
|The Armagh County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( _ga. Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae Ard Mhacha) or Armagh GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Armagh. The county board is also responsible for the Armagh inter-county teams

Gaelic football

History

Armagh has a long tradition of football stretching back to the 19th century when they became only the second team to win the Ulster SFC in 1890. Despite early success at provincial level, national success at junior and minor level and All-Ireland final appearances in 1953 and 1977, it took until 2002 for Armagh to win their first All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. The following year saw the Orchard County almost become the first team for more than a decade to retain the Sam Maguire cup but they were narrowly beaten in a tense final with their fellow northern rivals Tyrone. Since then the county has netted a further three Ulster championships and won their first ever National Football League title.

Honours

All-Ireland Senior Football Championships: 1

All-Ireland Junior Football Championships: 1

Hurling

Like most counties outside of the game's heartland of Munster and south Leinster hurling has, with the exception of border areas such as Keady, Derrynose and Middletown, tended to live in the shadow cast by Gaelic football in Armagh. However, in recent years the county hurlers have shown a marked improvement under the guidance of manager Mattie Lennon and his assistant Ger Rogan.

In 2006 Armagh won the NHL Division 3 championship, winning all their games in the group stages before beating Louth 3-10 to 1-11 in the final at Breffni Park in Cavan. The step up to Division 2 proved to be a difficult one for the men from the Orchard County. While the team failed to win any of their group games they were unfortunate to lose to Meath and also managed to come within a point of the 2006 Christy Ring Cup finalists Carlow. Heavier defeats were suffered at the hands of more established counties such as Derry and Laois.

In another sign of the progress being made with the small ball game in the county, Armagh returned to the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship in May 2007 for the first time in almost 60 years with a match against Derry. Despite putting in a strong performance the team lost out on the chance of a semi-final encounter with neighbours Down to an injury time score.

The advances made in the county over the past two years placed them as favourites in the Nicky Rackard Cup encounter on August 12 against Roscommon, however they lost this game by two points.

Honours

*All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships: "None"

*All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championships: "None"

*All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championships: "None"

*All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championships: "2000"

*National Hurling Leagues: 1
**Division 3 Champions 2006

*Ulster Senior Hurling Championships: "None"

*Ulster Under-21 Hurling Championships: "None"

*Ulster Minor Hurling Championships: 1
**1975

*Ulster Junior Hurling Championships: 5
**1949, 1965, 1973, 1990, 1991

External links

* [http://armagh.gaa.ie/ Armagh GAA site]
* [http://www.orchardcounty.com/ Orchardcounty.com - Unofficial Armagh GAA site]
* [http://www.hoganstand.com/Armagh/ Armagh on Hoganstand.com]
* [http://www.hoganstand.com/Armagh/Profile.aspx Titles won by Armagh teams]
* [http://www.hoganstand.com/Armagh/Titles.aspx Club championship winners]