East Belfast GAA (Irish: CLG Oirthear Bhéal Feirste) is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in east Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. The team currently plays in the Down Senior County League.[1][2] The team is noted for its cross community inclusion which differs from other GAA teams in Northern Ireland where the majority of followers are usually derived from the Nationalist community. East Belfast GAA have been a cross-community team since its inception with the inclusion of both Unionist and Nationalist personnel, and actively promotes friendship and cooperation between both sides of the political divide.[3] It is the first GAA club to be based in East Belfast since St Colmcille's was formed in the 1950s but folded at the beginnings of the Troubles.[4]
| Oirthear Bhéal Feirste | ||
 | ||
| Founded: | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|
| County: | Down | |
| Colours: | Black and Yellow | |
| Playing kits | ||
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History
edit
The club was formed in May 2020 by cross-community worker and former Carryduff GAA player Richard Maguire, and former London GAA player David McGreevy who had moved back to Northern Ireland in late 2018. They were joined by Irial O'Cealliagh, Kenny Caldwell and David Doherty, when the five held the first meeting at Bunscoil Mhic Reachtain, Belfast to create the club. After decades long absence of a GAA club in the historically Loyalist East Belfast, McGreevy initially hoped to set up a boys U12 team, and put out a message on Twitter asking for help setting up a GAA club.[5]
The club crest was revealed on 16 July 2020. It features primarily an outline of the Harland and Wolff cranes which is an iconic symbol of the area, a shamrock, a thistle & a red hand, along with the club's motto "Together" written in the three languages of Northern Ireland; English, Irish ("Le Chéile") and Ulster-Scots ("Thegither").[6] The crest was designed by creative director Rory Millar.[7]
On 5 August 2020, there was a hoax bomb alert at the team's training ground at Henry Jones Playing Fields which was believed to have been aimed at East Belfast GAA.[8] The incident was condemned by all local politicians on both sides of the divide including the unionist DUP's Gavin Robinson MP & nationalist SDLP's Lisnasharragh Councillor Séamas de Faoite.[9]
On the 19 September, the senior camogie team had its first win, beating St Enda's GAC reserve camogie team 7-11 to 2-2. This is the club's first win since forming the GAC.[10]
References
edit- ^ "East Belfast camogs look to the future after historic debut". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- ^ Lynch, Connor (16 July 2020). "East Belfast GAA unveil new club crest ahead of first matches". BelfastLive. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- ^ "New East Belfast GAA club unveils tri-lingual crest to symbolise communities coming together". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- ^ Magee, Kevin (9 March 2015). "The team that disappeared". BBC News. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ @EastBelfastGAA (31 May 2020). "Invitation" (Tweet). Retrieved 17 September 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ Mahoney, Donny. "East Belfast GAA Launch New Tri-Lingual Crest Ahead Of Historic Day". Balls.ie. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- ^ "East Belfast GAA". Roaaaary. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ "East Belfast GAA security alert sectarian hate crime, say police". The Irish News. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- ^ "East Belfast security alert met with widespread condemnation". ITV News. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- ^ @EastBelfastGAA (19 September 2020). "SUPERSTARS IN THE SUNSHINE 😎 The East Belfast Camogie team have won their first ever game against St Endas GAC 7-11 to 2-2! Well done ladies, great to see the hard work is starting to pay off 👏🏻 👏🏻#camogie @OfficialCamogie" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2022 – via Twitter.
External links
edit- Official website
- Cafolla, Anna (18 October 2020). "'I've never had so much craic': Gaelic games come to loyalist east Belfast". The Guardian.
Founded in May, and explicitly designed to be non-sectarian, a community club has already attracted 1,000 members
- A video interview with one of the co-founders of East Belfast Dave McGreevy about East Belfast GAA