Ardnaree Sarsfields GAA – A Brief History
Ardnaree Sarsfields was founded in 1921 in Mayo, having competed in the Sligo Championship up until the turn of the century with the change in County borders and was attached to Ballina Stephenites, until 1949, when the club went on its own. The men responsible for the reinvigorating and independence of the Ardnaree Club can be seen below -
The first team to line out under the new banner of Ardnaree Sarsfields in the North Mayo cahmpionship were as follows:
The first North Mayo junior championship was won in 1949, and retained in 1950, and in 1952 Ardnaree won its first county junior title. During this successful period for the club, their captain was John Forde, and John's leadership together with that of his fellow Mayo colleague Fr. Peter Quinn was inspirational to those around them. Both were members of Mayo's All Ireland winning teams in 1950 and 1951. 1953 saw Ardnaree reach the County senior final, where they were pitted against a strong Castlebar Mitchels. This was no mean achievement for a club just four years in existence, but unfortunately for them defeat was their lot on a scoreline of 1-8 to 0-5.
In 1954 the club returned to junior status, and they were again successful in the North Mayo championship, winning three successive junior titles in 1957, 1958, and 1959, with the County junior title being won for the second time in 1959. 1959 was also a signal year for the club, with four of its players representing Mayo on the county senior team, namely Joe Corcoran, PJ Gilmartin, Ivan McCaffrey and Jim Fleming.
Following a stint at senior level, the club returned to the junior grade in 1962, with emigration among other things being a factor in this. Further North Mayo titles were won in 1964, 1966, 1969, and 1971, when the club again won the County junior for the third time. This impressive team, showcasing an array of talented footballers, marched on to Intermediate finals in 1972 and 1973, losing out to Knockmore and Kiltane respectively narrowly missing out on retaining senior status.
1979 saw further success in North Mayo, with the team being defeated by Tourmakeady in the County final. While Championship honours remained elusive Ardnaree Sarsfields played their way into the Senior League in the mid to late '80s with agood deal of success.
More recently, Ardnaree made losing Junior final appearances in 2009, 2011, 2012 & 2013. After the disappointment of the Junior Championship final in 2013 Ardnaree Sarsfields finished strong in the League and gained promotion to the Mayo Senior League 1B and was the only Junior team to compete in the Senior League in 2014 and 2015.
Finally the gap between County honours was closed in 2015 after overpowering Killala 6-14 to 0-07 in the Mayo Junior Final, a week after securing the Minor Championship, the first time since 1996, beating Shrule/Glencorrib on both occasions 19 years apart.
A few weeks later in Castlebar Ardnaree Sarsfields stood proud Connaught Champions after seeing away the efforts of Cliften, the Galway Champions.
A showdown with Rockcorry, Monaghan and Ulster Champions, was fixed for the new year in Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim. All the preparation and hard work through the winter months paid dividends in the hotly contested encounter with Ardnaree coming out on top and on the way to Croker!
The boisterous Ardnaree support at Páirc Seán MacDiarmada in Carrick-on-Shannon
The dream of playing in Croke Park alongside your club-mates, your brothers, neighbours and close friends became the reality for the large Ardnaree panel. Pitted against the young and vastly talented Templenoe, Kerry and Munster Champions, it was never going to be easy. As many Kerry teams before them the Templenoe boys blitzed the Ardnaree goal at vital periods of the game despite the best efforts of the Green and Gold defence. Although some moments were bitter and the outcome was unfavourable to the Sarsfields faithful, each moment was savoured and will be cherished for many years to come.
The Ardnaree Panel at Croke Park
The Ardnaree supporter's enthusiasm reverberated about the hallowed grounds at GAA Headquarters, easily outnumbering all other support in attendance. A special occasion for the green and gold!
