Lavey GAC

Infobox GAA club
club gaa = Erin's Own GAC Lavey
crest = lavey_gac.jpg
irish = Leamhthaigh
nickname = "Lavey Lions"
county = Derry
province = Ulster
colours = Orange and Black
founded = 1933

f1=1|f2=2|f3=8
h1=-|h2=-|h3=17
l1=?|l2=?|l3=?
c1=?|c2=?|c3=?

pattern_la=_blackborder
pattern_b=
pattern_ra=_blackborder
leftarm=FFA000
body=FFA000
rightarm= FFA000
shorts=000000
socks=000000
kit1=Football

kit2 =Hurling
pattern_la2=_green_hoops
pattern_b2=_greenhorizontal
pattern_ra2=_green_hoops
leftarm2=FFA000
body2=FFA000
rightarm2= FFA000
shorts2= white
socks2=FFA000
|

Erins Own GAC Lavey ( _ga. Leamhthaigh) is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the parish of Lavey, Derry, Northern Ireland. The club is a member of the Derry GAA and currently cater for Gaelic football, Hurling, Camogie and Ladies' Gaelic football.

The club's biggest success is when they won the 1991 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship. They have won the Ulster Senior Club Football Championship twice and won the Derry Senior Football Championship on eight occasions. The club have won the Derry Senior Hurling Championship 17 times. Lavey won Club of the Year at the 1990 Ulster GAA Writer's Association Awards. [cite web |url=http://www.ulstergaawriters.com/1990a.htm |title=Ulster GAA Writer's Association Awards - 1990|accessdate=2007-09-11 |format= |work= ]

Underage teams up to U-12's play in South Derry league and championships, from U-14 upwards teams compete in All-Derry competitions.

Gaelic football

Lavey fields Gaelic football teams at U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, Minor, Reserve, and Senior levels.

Well known players

*Henry Downey - Captain of Derry's 1993 All-Ireland winning team. All Star winner and Texaco Footballer of the Year for 1993.
*Séamus Downey - Member of Derry's 1993 All-Ireland winning team.
*Johnny McGurk - All Star winner and member of Derry's 1993 All-Ireland winning team.
*Anthony McGurk - Two-time All Star winner.
*Kevin McCloy - All Star winner and current Derry footballer.
*Jack Convery - Derry footballer who represented Ulster in the Railway Cup on two occasions.
*Eugene Laverty - Footballer in 1960s and 1970s.
*Paddy Chivers - Footballer in 1960s and 1970s.

Hurling

Lavey are the second most successful Derry hurling club of all-time. They have won 17 Derry Senior Hurling Championships. Only Kevin Lynch's have won the competition more often.

Camogie

Lavey has U10, U12, U14, U16, and Senior Camogie sides.

History

Football

In 1926 Irish Republican, Liam O'Connor, from County Mayo, settled in Lavey. He was instrumental in setting up Knockloughrim Erin's Own GAC. The team wore green and gold jerseys with white collars, like Kerry. He also helped set up the Derry County Board and the Erin's Own GAC Cargin in Toome, County Antrim. O'Connor was also a talented player and played for and captained the Derry Senior side.cite web |url= http://www.laveygac.ie/FootballHistory.aspx|title= Football History |accessdate=2007-09-09 |format= |work= ] O'Connor christened the club Erin's Own in memory of his home club in County Mayo, which bore the same title. In 1928 O'Connor emigrated to America for a few years, his departure led to the folding of Knockloughrim Erin's Own. In 1933 under the guidance of Mick Crilly and others the club were officially reorganised as Erin's Own GAC Lavey and the pitch moved to the townland of Gulladuff.

Lavey's first trophy came in 1936 when they won the Dean McGlinchey Cup. Lavey thought they had won their first Derry Senior Football Championship in 1937, when they defeated Newbridge by a point at Magherafelt. However Lavey were stripped of the title under the Foreign Games Rule, when a Lavey player had been reported attending a soccer match. They won the next year's Derry Senior Football Championship, defeating Pearses of Derry City in the final. In 1947 Lavey schoolteacher Master John Fay originally from County Tyrone, managed Derry to their first ever National League success.

In 1977 after a gap of 23 years seen the side win their fourth Derry Senior Football Championship, beating Ballinderry in the final. They also won the Senior League, Derry Reserve Football Championship and Reserve League that year. The current grounds were opened in 1979.

The late 1980s and early 1990s were a glory period for the club. They won the Derry Senior Football Championship four times in six years (1988, 1990, 1992 and 1993). They also won the Ulster Senior Club Football Championship in 1990 and 1992. The club biggest success came on 17 March 1991 when they were crowned All-Ireland Senior Club Football Champions.

Hurling

Between 1934 and 1935 hurling was introduced to Lavey.cite web |url= http://www.laveygac.ie/HurlingHistory.aspx|title= Hurling History |accessdate=2007-09-09 |format= |work= ] Fr. James McLaughlin helped launch a hurling club in Lavey by the name of Shamrocks GAC, who until the amalgation in 1941, were officially independent from the football club. They originally wore green jerseys with a white shamrock on the breast. Because there were few hurling teams in the area, Shamrocks originally competed in the South West Antrim League with teams like Cargin, Creggan and Randalstown.

Shamrocks won Lavey's first Derry Senior Hurling Championship in 1940. The team was helped by a few playing members they had from "traditional hurling counties" such as Tipperary and Galway. 1944 was a special year for the club when they completed the "Football and hurling Double". They won the Derry Football Championship beating Mitchel's of Derry City in the final, and also won the Derry Hurling Championship after defeating Sarfield's (also of Derry City).

In 1983, Lavey played in the Antrim Minor Hurling League, and won it. They also collected the Derry Minor Hurling Championship in 1983, 1984 and 1985. These Minor successes laid the foundations for Lavey 1985 Derry Senior Hurling Championship success. It was the club's first Senior Championship success in 23 years and they would go on to win 11 of the next 17 Senior Championships after that year up until 2002. The club have reached five Ulster Senior Club Football Championship finals, but have been beaten on each occasion.

Honours

Football

enior

*All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship: 1
**1991

*Ulster Senior Club Football Championship: 2
**1990, 1992

*Derry Senior Football Championship: 8
**1938, 1943, 1954, 1977, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993

*Derry Senior Football League: 4
**1954, 1969, 1977, 1978

*South Derry Senior Football Championship: 4
**1938, 1943, 1944, 1947

*Derry Football League Division 2: 1
**1967

*McGlinchey Cup: ?
**1936

Reserves

*Derry Reserve Football Championship: 1
**1977

*Derry Reserve Football League: 2
**1977, 1978

Minor

*Derry Minor Football Championship: 3
**1975, 1983, 1984

*South Derry Minor 'B' Football League: 1
**2006

U-16

*Derry U-16 Football Championship: 1
**1969

*South Derry U-16 Football Championship: 2
**1969, 1980

U-14

*Derry 'B' Féile na nÓg: 1
**2007

*South Derry U-14 Football Championship: 1
**1978

*South Derry 'B' U-14 Football Championship: 1
**2001

*Derry U-14 'B' Football League: 1
**2006

Hurling

enior

*Derry Senior Hurling Championship: 17
**1940, 1944, 1946, 1948, 1962, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002

Minor

*Ulster Minor Club Hurling Championship: 2
**1996, 2006

*Derry Minor Hurling Championship: 5
**1983, 1984, 1985, 1996, 2005

*Antrim Minor Hurling League: 1
**1983

U-16

*Derry U-16 Hurling Championship: 8
**1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2005

U-14

*Derry 'A' Féile na nGael:1
**1996, 2003

*Derry 'B' Féile na nGael: 2
**2004, 2007

Camogie

*Derry Intermediate Camogie Championship: ?
**2006? (won by Lavey Reserves)

Note: The above lists may be incomplete. Please add any other honours you know of.

ee also

*Derry Senior Football Championship
*Derry Senior Hurling Championship
*List of Gaelic Athletic Association clubs in Derry

External links

* [http://www.laveygac.ie/ Erin's Own GAC website]
* [http://www.derrygaa.ie Official Derry GAA Website]
* [http://www.clubgaa.ie/derry/index.htm Derry Club GAA]

References