Northern Towns/villages without GAA clubs

[SouthOfThe Bann]

Are there GAA Clubs in Craigavon, and is there only the one in Portadown?

Mad that Bangor which is now official a city has no club.

[ardchieftain]

Tir na nOg in portadown and Eire Og in craigavon.

[SouthOfThe Bann]

Tir na nOg in portadown and Eire Og in craigavon.

Two big towns for only one club.

North East of the country full of big towns that as a someone living in a 'border' county I would know very little about.

Larne
Newtownards
Bangor
Lisburn
Portadown
Craigavon
Ballymena

Just to name a few.

[Slemishgael]

Listened to Liam og Hinphey on a recent podcast about his father Liam Snr helping to found the Kevin Lynches Hurling Club in the late 70s early 80s - as he said himself, what a legacy to see folk now years later walking around with hurls and going to the club and competing at a decent level. I know Dungiven would have a football tradition but just thought what a great thing to do and pull it off... a few lads had the thought and from that the hurling club formed and still going well.

[imtommygunn]

Ballymena division 1 in Antrim(just this year) and have floated up and down for the guts of my life. They are getting stronger at underage I think. They have two county starters, a sub and a guy who would be a starter but he did his crucially.

Lisburn an interesting one. They have been on the go ages. They were very poor when I played but the last number of years have tapped into new population and are improving. They are division two now and seem to yo yo a bit between two and three.

Larne have a club, hurling, and won junior b in Antrim about four or five years ago but haven't been able to sustain the numbers. They may have some underage teams or amalgamations.

It'd be a cold day in hell before there was a gaa club in Newtownards. Bangor has nothing to best of my knowledge.

Portadown have a club but don't know anything about them. Craigavon I don't know about.

[lurganblue]

Tir na nOg in portadown and Eire Og in craigavon.

Tír na nÓg yoyo a bit. They've had some excellent sides but I'd say for some the focus can be on the soccer.

Eire Óg have also produced some wonderful players, but they can be few and far between. They are in craigavon but really the "city" is just an area between two large towns. Eire Óg face difficulties competing for players with the many clubs in Lurgan not a mile or 2 from them. 

[Armagh18]

Ballymena division 1 in Antrim(just this year) and have floated up and down for the guts of my life. They are getting stronger at underage I think. They have two county starters, a sub and a guy who would be a starter but he did his crucially.

Lisburn an interesting one. They have been on the go ages. They were very poor when I played but the last number of years have tapped into new population and are improving. They are division two now and seem to yo yo a bit between two and three.

Larne have a club, hurling, and won junior b in Antrim about four or five years ago but haven't been able to sustain the numbers. They may have some underage teams or amalgamations.

It'd be a cold day in hell before there was a gaa club in Newtownards. Bangor has nothing to best of my knowledge.

Portadown have a club but don't know anything about them. Craigavon I don't know about.

Tir Na Og in Portadown. Decent team, have been at senior level in recent years down in intermediate now and have one of the top forwards in the county in Oisin Conaty.

[imtommygunn]

Ballymena division 3 in hurling too but Lisburn no hurling.  Ballymena have a strong enough mageean contender in St Louis each year though most come from surrounding clubs closer to glens.

The east coast of Antrim a no go for the way round from Belfast to larne and borderline inclusive of larne but they have some boys who put in some good work. You go up past ballycastle and very little there too with bushmills, dervock etc not exactly places that would be welcoming.

[bennydorano]

St malachys hurling club in Portadown as well - assuming they're still on the go?

[lurganblue]

Yeah they are. At underage they have recently amalgamated with Sean Treacy's in Lurgan to play as North Armagh

[Slemishgael]

https://www.youtube.com/live/DqN6e19-7-o?feature=shared

Brilliant documentary about the All Saints Club in Ballymena and how it was formed etc. From humble beginnings to where its currently at is a credit to all involved. Continues to grow from strength to strength it would seem also.

[Norm-Peterson]

Coagh in Tyrone/South Derry border, it is down the road from Ballinderry Shamrocks but is a Protestant village.

Castledawson in South Derry. There is a club called Castledawson but it isn't really in Castledawson, it is in a townland called Broagh and serves mainly the rural area. This is where Seamus Heaney was born but Bellaghy try to gatekeep him. Castledawson is a Protestant town with a soccer club called Moyola Park.

Ballyronan, South Derry. It is a mixed village, people there have to play for St. Patrick's Loup which is an area further west. It is some sort of hamlet.

[markl121]

Coagh in Tyrone/South Derry border, it is down the road from Ballinderry Shamrocks but is a Protestant village.

Castledawson in South Derry. There is a club called Castledawson but it isn't really in Castledawson, it is in a townland called Broagh and serves mainly the rural area. This is where Seamus Heaney was born but Bellaghy try to gatekeep him. Castledawson is a Protestant town with a soccer club called Moyola Park.

lol wise up. Dawson is majority catholic now. All the newer housing estates majority catholic. Most of the businesses Catholic owned.

[marty34]

Forming a new club  in such  places will no doubt lead to more extreme sectarian behaviour  from those  who feel they are "under siege" from all things Irish. Look at the attacks,  bigotry and  threats East Belfast have had  to deal with.

It only takes a handful  of bigots to unravel things.

Like burning a boat with a tricolour on it. 

[marty34]

Ballymena division 1 in Antrim(just this year) and have floated up and down for the guts of my life. They are getting stronger at underage I think. They have two county starters, a sub and a guy who would be a starter but he did his crucially.

Lisburn an interesting one. They have been on the go ages. They were very poor when I played but the last number of years have tapped into new population and are improving. They are division two now and seem to yo yo a bit between two and three.

Larne have a club, hurling, and won junior b in Antrim about four or five years ago but haven't been able to sustain the numbers. They may have some underage teams or amalgamations.

It'd be a cold day in hell before there was a gaa club in Newtownards. Bangor has nothing to best of my knowledge.

Portadown have a club but don't know anything about them. Craigavon I don't know about.

Larne having a hurling club is mad.