Dúnedin Connolly
| Dúnedin Connollys | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dún Éideann Uí Chonghaile | ||
| Founded | 1988 | |
| County | Scotland | |
|
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| Gaelic football | ||
| Scottish Championship | 9 | |
Dúnedin Connolly Gaelic Athletic Club Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Dún Éideann Uí Chonghaile) is a Gaelic football club based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The club takes their name from the Gaelic name for Edinburgh, Dúnedin and from the Irish political revolutionary James Connolly who was born in the city. They celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2013.
Dúnedin Connollys was founded by Tony Haughey in 1988 taking the name Dúnedin, which is the Gaelic translation of Edinburgh, and Connolly's, named after James Connolly, famous Irish politician and patriot who was born in Edinburgh.
Originally the club was formed in order to affiliate a team to the Scotland GAA County Board consisting of first and second generation local Irish immigrants from a working-class background. The early teams coached by Tony Haughey Sr. trained in the Meadows and played home games at St. Augustine's High School on the western outskirts of Edinburgh. Connollys first tournament success came with the O'Fiach cup winning team of 1993. The subsequent Scottish Championship triumph in 1994 however, featuring only a few of the original Scottish born contingent, marked a coming of age.
The emergence of the British University Championship over 15 years ago, which included a team from Heriot-Watt University and lately Napier University & Edinburgh University, provided a very strong platform for the current team. Connollys have played at the ground of Portobello RFC since 1998. In the same year a ladies team was also formed.
In 1993 Sean Gavaghan (ex-Chairman of Connollys) established the Heriot-Watt University side, from which Dúnedin Connollys were able to gain players and gradually improve on the playing field. In recent years Napier University and Edinburgh University formed teams and they have also helped the growth of Dunedin Connollys. Napier University formed in 2004 and have gone on to win 5 Scottish league titles & 5 Scottish Championships since they established.
Dúnedin Connollys acquitted themselves very well in the British Championships reaching 4 consecutive finals (2007-2010) finally winning the Championship in 2010. Edinburgh University also formed their own football team in 2005 and reached the final of the Scottish Championship in their first year eventually losing to a strong Napier side. in 2010 Edinburgh uni won Division 2 of the British Championships. Both university teams have become an important feeder unit for Dúnedin Connollys. Most of today’s team will have come through one of the 3 universities.
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