Getting to Know: St Senan’s GAA Kilkee

 1: When was your club founded?

Although there is evidence that St. Senan’s Kilkee had a football club as far back as 1887, the club was officially affiliated with the county board in 1900 by the late Tom Falvey

2. Could you give us a brief history of your club ?

Our club was officially founded in the year 1900. There was a 26 year wait before the club started gathering momentum and achieving success, winning Senior County Championships in 1926 and 1928. 14 Years later The Jack Daly troops returned to Kilkee and wasn’t seen again in the town until 42 years later, in 1984 when it was held aloft in the home of Michael Cusacks Cairn in North Clare. In total our Club have won the County championship on 8 occasions, the remaining in 1989, 1992, 2003 and 2005. And we participated in 4 Senior Munster Club Finals, only to run short on all occasions! Underage were at their most dominant in the 70s and 90s with the club winning every underage Grade from Under 12s all the way  up to Senior Level

3. What would you describe as being the club’s role in the community?

Our role is to cater for boys and men from the Kilkee parish who wish to play football or be part of a team environment. Off the field, we cater for anyone, male or female, who wishes to become involved in a club / organisation. Despite the fact that we are a male only club on the playing front, ladies have played, and continue to play, a huge part in our club. 

4. What achievements are the club most proud of?

The achievements our club are most proud of are having a history of feeding high quality players to play at the highest level at Inter county. We are also proud of the successes we achieved in the early 2000’s qualifying for 2 Munster Club Finals within 3 years. Our standout most decorated individual that we would be most proud of would be Noel Roche who amassed the following credentials and has most notoriety within the club:

·         3 x Minor Championships

·         1 x County U -16 Championship

·         1 x Munster U-17 Schools Football Championship…

·         2 x County U-21 Championships 

·         2 x Senior Cusack Cup Championships

·         2 x Gaelic football Sports Star of the Year Awards

·         3 x County Football Championships

·         2 x McGrath Cup Championships with Clare

·         1 x All-Star Award

·         4 x International Rules series - 1984, ’86, ’87 & 1990

·         1 x All-Ireland B’ with Clare

·         1 x Munster Championship with Clare

5. What is the best part of being a GAA club on Loop Head?

The best part is having the ability to field teams and being a focal point for social interaction within the community. In a sparsely populated community, our club is integral in organising events and bringing members of the community together to support their wellbeing and other social needs.

6.  What are the club’s current challenges? i.e.  fundraising? Volunteers? New Members? Others?

Our current challenge is getting volunteers. What was once a big draw to the community appears to be no more. The social landscape is changing, with the overuse of technology, depopulation of the region and new social interactions, have all played their part in the new challenges we face in participation

7. In an ideal world, where would you like to see the club in 5 years- time? 

We would like to see ourselves participating at the top level in all competitions, but being realistic, this is not accurate. On a more realistic level, we’d like our club to have outstanding facilities that accommodates everyone in the community. Be that a floodlit running/walk track around the perimeter of the football grounds. A large wall Ball that facilitates all youngsters to play hurling and football outside of organised trainings and a place for social gatherings where we can display our memorabilia and history in a warm and comfortable environment and have the ability to entertain social gatherings

8. What is your club working on/towards right now?

Fielding teams and fundraising initiatives. Predominantly we have created some local interviews with a proposed focus on monetizing for revenue generation. We also intend on rolling out our online lotto facility to obtain more of a revenue stream for the club! Creating social awareness and in turn sparking interest towards volunteerism!

9. What is the best way to connect with the club for the purpose of enrolling, joining or generally volunteering?

You can connect with us via Social Media: 

Twitter: @stsenanskilkee 

Instagram: stsenanskilkeegaa 

Facebook: (2) St. Senan's Kilkee GAA | Facebook