Antrim Football Thread

[Milltown Row2]

Took 40 odd years for them to get their pitch.Club never made it to 50.

What happened to finish them ? Just a numbers game ?

Did the school move and that didnt help?

[clootfromthe21]

Took 40 odd years for them to get their pitch.Club never made it to 50.

Ach, that's just grim 

[Antrim Coaster]

If anything the amalgamation of the 3 schools (St Comgalls, Garron Tower, St Aloysuis) should have helped as pupils would have been actually aware that hurling exists and may have expressed an interest in taking up the game. In fact one of the first successful St Killians teams had 7 of 8 Larne lads on the panel.

One of the founders mentioned to me years ago that it wouldn't be the other side that would finish the club, it would be our own. Turned out he was right.

A combination of lack of promotion within primary schools who really didn't want to know (therefore lack of numbers), very few volunteers who would go into the schools (though there were a few diehard lads who devoted many hours), one or two stigmas attached to certain people in that club and the head as low as a Larne Catholic mentality which still exists, all contributed to their demise. One of two other reasons as well but that's the gist of it really.

[breakingball]

larne and glenarm were playing as an amalgamation for a few years as st. mcnissis.

not sure if that is still going.

[Antrim Coaster]

Fell away.Lack of numbers at the Larne end.

[clootfromthe21]

If anything the amalgamation of the 3 schools (St Comgalls, Garron Tower, St Aloysuis) should have helped as pupils would have been actually aware that hurling exists and may have expressed an interest in taking up the game. In fact one of the first successful St Killians teams had 7 of 8 Larne lads on the panel.

One of the founders mentioned to me years ago that it wouldn't be the other side that would finish the club, it would be our own. Turned out he was right.

A combination of lack of promotion within primary schools who really didn't want to know (therefore lack of numbers), very few volunteers who would go into the schools (though there were a few diehard lads who devoted many hours), one or two stigmas attached to certain people in that club and the head as low as a Larne Catholic mentality which still exists, all contributed to their demise. One of two other reasons as well but that's the gist of it really.

That's a total shame.

I always thought there was something seriously admirable about Laharna Og plowing away in fairly hostile territory through the (really) bad years.

If anything, it just shows how precarious a small club's position can be. All it takes is a bubble of players/mentors/officials to retire or move on for whatever reason and things can just collapse very quickly.

[theskull1]

Yeah the real GAA heroes for me are those type of men in small clubs

Shame it didn't work out

[Antrim Coaster]

2 of the founding members were actually from your neck of the woods Cloot.

Didn't have it easy in the early days, not on the same scale as Ardoyne or St Endas's but total sectarianism from the local council right from the start.

A few times land was sought to build a pitch as the council flatly refused to let them play on any council pitches. Planning permission denied each time so they had to buy the Feystown pitch with Glenarm on a 50/50 basis.

Shortly before their own pitch was opened they had managed to get a decent underage structure going, couple of lads making county development squads and the county minors. When a lot of these lads went on to university there wasn't the parochial loyalty which exists among other clubs (Larne not an urban nor rural club as such) and the real struggle for numbers began at senior level which eventually slid into oblivion and they haven't fielded in 5 years.

Underage the amalgamation with Glenarm didn't work out for various reasons but mainly due to lack of numbers and interest

[playwiththewind1st]

It all went downhill after Dr. Christian Jessen & "Embarrassing Bodies" went there.

[ned]

It all went downhill after Dr. Christian Jessen & "Embarrassing Bodies" went there.

😂 The humiliation was too much.
Was a great thing keeping a GAA club going in the heartlands of Sammy wilson and the ilk.
Ballymena really took off as a club with their new facilities in similar circumstances. Prior to that on their old pitch you would more likely be tackled by a branch than a player. Bigger Catholic population
helped too, obviously.

[Minder]

I remember playing for our reserves as a youngster against Larne and one of the subs had a pair of golf shoes on, with spikes, and a golf glove to help in the wet conditions 

[Antrim Coaster]

Aye,no problem getting a team out for a Channel 4 program,ha ha.Ballymena have done brilliant this past few years but they had serious problems getting permission for their pitch and club house.Thing about Ballymena is that the Nationalist population is located in the north end of the town and it was easier to foster a community spirit.They seem to have been really promoting football with their U14's winning the football Feile a few years back.Their hurling team dropped out of the All County leagues but I think they're playing in the Z Squad N Antrim league.In Larne there is no community spirit or parochial loyalty as a result of the council's policy not to house nationalists in the one area so they were scattered around the town and were easy targets for various loyalist factions.Result-keep the head as low.The lad with the golf glove was probably the keeper.Not sure about the golf shoes though.

[Belfast GAA man]

Today's Irish News doesn't give LD much of a chance tomorrow but not sure on what basis - Cavan champions haven't won a match in Ulster Club Championship in 9 years and I'm sure the Antrim Champions have! LD beat St Galls, Creggan and St Johns so they won the Antrim title the hard way.........

[Milltown Row2]

Today's Irish News doesn't give LD much of a chance tomorrow but not sure on what basis - Cavan champions haven't won a match in Ulster Club Championship in 9 years and I'm sure the Antrim Champions have! LD beat St Galls, Creggan and St Johns so they won the Antrim title the hard way.........

Gaels no mugs... club football in Ulster for them is normal, Lamhs could win it but home draw and experience should be enough for Cavan Gaels

[on the hop]

completely off the point, but I have a facebook page called gaa programme collectors. this year I am trying to collect the 70 odd county final programmes throughout the country. doing well so far but I am finding it hard to source a lot of them in ulster but especially the Antrim hurling or football ones. looking for any advice or help where they can be got. I can be contacted through the Facebook page. thanks