|
Roll of Honour.
14x Senior Football titles: 1889, 1891,
1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1931, 1932, 1937, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1956,
1957.
1x Senior Hurling title: 1925
2x Intermediate Football titles: 1979, 2003
1x Div. 1 Under-21 Football title: 1981
7x Div. 1 Minor Football titles: 1943, 1948, 1977, 2000,
2003, 2004, 2006
2x Div. 2 Minor Football titles: 1999, 2008
Brief History.
Elphin is one of the oldest clubs in Co. Roscommon.
It is reasonably certain that it was formed in April 1888. Following
the formation of the first County Board in Boyle in January 1889,
Elphin was one of eighteen clubs affiliated and it has continued to
play up to the present day. According to local tradition, Michael
Kelly, club secretary for many years, was one of a number of
Roscommon men to attend the first meeting in Thurles in 1884?
From 1888 to 1906 the team was known as the "William O'Brien's".
O'Brien was a Member of Parliament and editor of ‘United Ireland’.
The "William O'Brien's" team was a leader in the county in that
period and won five finals in a row between 1901 and 1906. The team
represented Connacht in a match at Jones’s Road in 1906, defeating
Monaghan, the Ulster champions, but lost the final, at the ‘Market’s
Field’ in Limerick, to Kerry. During the following two decades
success on the field was limited but “The Orchard” was acquired and
opened as one of the first GAA pitches in the county, in 1916.
From 1927 to 1937 another Elphin team "The All Blacks" became the
best team in the county. Having won the Junior Title in 1927, they
won Senior titles in 1931, 1932 and 1937. They took their name from
the colour of their jerseys, which were black. Two reasons are given
as to why they changed from their original green and gold: one, that
there was not enough money to buy a two-tone jersey and two,
that “The All Blacks” of New Zealand Fame were touring Ireland in 1927
and their black strip was adopted by the Elphin team. Elphin also won
a Senior Hurling title in 1925, though the final was played in 1926.
Lean times followed once again until a Junior Championship win in
1945 and a Minor Championship in 1948 formed the basis of what was
known as the "1950's team" . From 1948 to 1961 was a "Golden Age"
for Elphin at senior level as the club contested all but 2 county
finals during that time. This team won five senior championships,
1950, '51, and three in a row in 1955, '56 and '57. The team broke
up after the 1961 defeat in the county final to Clan na Gael.
The senior team struggled in the championship through the 1960`s
with many first round exits, but did contest the 1966 county final,
again losing to Clan na nGael. However, poor results continued in
the following years, resulting in relegation to intermediate ranks
in 1972.
Things slowly improved through the '70`s. The under 12`s won the
championship in 1971, the under 14's contested the '73 final and
then won in '74. In 1976 the senior team won the intermediate
league, which meant playing senior in the league but not the
championship. 1977 was a great year for the underage teams. The
under 14`s again won the county final, as did the minor team. The
minors also contested the All Ireland 7-a-side final, losing to
Tullamore. Finally, after nearly a decade in the lower ranks, Elphin
finally won the Intermediate Championship in 1979.
The 1980's began with more underage success. The under 12 team
winning the county final in '80 and the under 21's winning their
championship in '81. The senior team reached the 1986 county final,
20 years after their last appearance in one, but again were beaten
by Clan na nGael. This Clan na nGael team contested no fewer than 5
All Ireland Club Finals during this decade.
The beginning of the new decade saw the reopening of Orchard Park
after some major redevelopment of the pitch. The '86 senior team
broke up in the early 1990's and again the team struggled to
maintain its senior status. In 1994 it were relegated to the O'Gara
Cup but managed to make a return the following year, beating Western
Gaels in the '95 League Final. However the slide continued and the
team was relegated to the Intermediate Championship in 1998 and back
to the O'Gara cup in '99. But things at underage level were looking
much brighter with a lot of hard work put in. The under 12's won the
'95 County Final, the under 14's the '97 title and the minors won
the '99 Div. 2 final.
The new century started in great style with the senior team
returning to the senior league by winning the 2000 O'Gara Cup and
the minors won their first Division 1 minor title for 23 years. The
seniors also returned to the senior championship ranks in '03.
Having lost to St. Faithleach's in the '02 Intermediate Final by a
point, Elphin beat St. Croans in the following years decider.
2003 was one of the clubs most successful in recent years and
resulted in the club being named Roscommon Club of the Year. Elphin
won the intermediate county title, and 2003/04 also saw them capture
the inaugural Connaught Intermediate Championship, beating Louisburg
of Mayo in the semi final and Cortoon Shamrocks of Galway in the
final. The club bowed out in the All Ireland semi-final losing
narrowly to Glen Rovers of Cork, who went on to win the final that
year. 2003 also saw the minors win the 1st division league and
championship double. The clubs best performance since returning to
senior ranks was a semi-final finish in 2005, being defeated by
Padraig Pearses in a replay. Pearses scoring a goal late into injury
time to win by 1 point.
The current decade has seen huge success at minor level winning the
2000 and 2003 championships. The Minors were runners up in '01, but
won the league, were championship semi-finalists in '02, winners in
'04 and winners of the never to be forgotten '06 final v Clan na
nGael when the team came back from 6 points down to score 3-1 in
injury time and win by 4 points. 2008 saw the Minors capture their
sixth County title in 10 years when they defeated St. Aiden's in the
division 2 decider. The Under 21's also reached the division 1 final
losing to St. Brigid's, who collected their 7th title in a row.
The Elphin Club supplied one GAA President, Dr. Donal Keenan, and
Dr. Mick Loftus, another to hold this position, had lived in Elphin
for a number of years as a very young boy.
    
 
Images are not to scale.
We welcome further material for Elphin GAA Club. If you have
anything please contact us. |
 |
|