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Welcome to the Tir Conaill Harps hall of fame, or in a few cases Hall of Infamy.
| 1993: Founding Members Ann Stevenson, Ann McCallum and Isobel Porter |
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| Pictured with All-Ireland winning manager, Brian McEniff of Donegal, are three women who helped form and shape the succesfull community club we have today, Ann Stevenson, Ann McCallum(RIP) and Isobel Porter (RIP). Isobel and Ann McCallum both held the position of treasurer,while Ann Stevenson was at the forefront of fund-rasing for many years. The photograph was taken at a county board dinner in the Marriot Hotel, Glasgow. They are holding the Celtic cup, which was won by the Scotland county team that day. All three women had sons on the winning team. |
| 1994: GAA Presidential Visit |
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While on a visit to Scotland in 1994 the president of the GAA, Jack Boothman, toured the schools around Glasgow linked to the club. He is pictured with the chairman of the International Dimension Workgroup, TP Murphy (RIP) and pupils from St.Jude's school, Barlanark's gaelic football team. The school had a succesful year on the gaelic fields having won the Glasgow schools championship.
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| 1994: U10s Triumph Against the Odds. |
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In 1994, the clubs founding year, we took our under 10s down to Pairc na hEireann, Birmingham for the annual GAA for Africa Day. This event is a major GAA festival to raise funds for children in Africa.
We arrived with 10 players plus five year old Kevin McCauley. It was a ten a side competition so there wasn't much room for tactical switches. Before a ball was kicked in anger we were down to nine players when David Keltie had a difference of opinion with a rope swing. He lost.
We played throughout he tournament with a player short, although young Kevin did make a few fleeting appearances inbetween visiting the burger van and ice cream stall. The rest of course is history. Despite the handicap we went on to record our first of many famous wins on English soil. Pictured with the team are manager Tommy Main and mentors Danny McCauley and Jimmy Joe Patton.
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| 1998:All-Britain Glory |
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They say to be successful you must first taste defeat at the highest level. That was certainly the case for the management and players of our 1996 under 14s team. They lost out in the Provincial football championship final that year and also the All-Ireland feile final in Co.Mayo. However, the club was lucky to keep most of the team on board for another crack at major honours two years later. After defeating St.Patrick's to win the Scottish championship, the team had to travel to Manchester three times in the All Britain championship. They beat the champions of Lancashire in the first round and then old rivals Erin Go Bragh in the semi final, before coming face to face with mighty Kerry Gaels from London in a repeat of the final two year prior. Three weeks prior to the final the team headed off to play challenge matches in Meath and Tyrone as the level of expectation rose within the club.
Old Bedians sports grounds in Manchester was the venue for a titanic struggle which seen the sides level at the end of normal time. The greater hunger, skill and in the end superior fitnes told and the Harps ran out comfortable winners. It was the first and only time a Scottish team at any level had won a major All-Britain title and was also their opponents first defeat in five years.
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1999: Civic Reception U16s All Britain Provincial Title Winners
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| In 1999 Glasgow City Council honoured the club with a civic reception in recognition of the achievemnt of the club's under 16s, who in the previous year became the first and only club team from Scotland to win an All Britain Provincial title. GAA President, Joe McDonagh, travelled from Galway to speak at the reception. He is pictured with team captain, Anton Gallagher, Seamus McGeady and Ross Docherty. |
| 1999: Farewell to the McCauley's |
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| The untimely death of Leinster GAA coach Seamus Heaney, who had coached and trained all of the club's football coaches during the previous years deeply saddened everyone in the club. In his memory a skills competition was organised for youth players in the club and Seamus' native club Navan O'Mahoney's, Co.Meath. The first winner was Eamonn McCauley. Eamonn was presented with his award by Betty Heaney who attended the club's annual dance at the Geoff Shaw Centre. That evening was also to mark the farewell of the McCauley's, who moved home to Falcarragh, Co.Donegal. Eamon is pictured with his father Danny, a former chairman of the club and Betty Heaney. To mark the family's comtribution to the club, Eamon was presented with the jersey he wore in the previous year's Provincial club championship final. |
| 2001: Women's Shinty Showcased |
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| In 2001 the Camanachd Association brought their Shinty final to Glasgow. Women's shinty was only starting to get established and the Harps were offered the chance to play a half time exhibition match at Old Annieland in front of several thousand spectators. |
| 2001:Sam Maguire comes to town |
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The club were honoured to host a dinner for the All-Ireland champions, Galway, at Celtic Park. The occasion also offered us the chance of this unique photo opportunity when our own Sean "wee barra" O'Donnell came face to face with his namesake, Sean O'Domhnail, the legendary Galway midfielder. The lad on the right struggling to hold the Sam Maguire aloft is Chris Conroy who can best be described as the unluckiest footballer to wear the green and gold. He joined the club just as our golden years at underage level were coming to an end and a mystery knee injury and hectic social life ruled out his involvement in the breakthrough by our senior footballers
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| 2001: Rory Campbell Memorial |
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| Following the death of leading GAA figure Rory Campbell in 2000, the club wanted to remember his contribution to gaelic games in the city for over forty years. A memorial cup was presented to the county board the following year to be competed for by senior football teams. The Harps became the first winners and team captain Michael McGovern accepted the cup from Rory's wife Helena. |
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2003: Women's Shinty Team Have a Unique Warm Up Drill
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| In 2003 our women's shinty team was not quite up to the standard of the 2008 Scottish championship team. However, no team could compete with them when it came to their unique Highland Jig warm up routine. It is demonstrated at the Cowal Games in Dunoon by Laura Molloy, Roisin Campbell and Siobhan Heaney. |
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2005: Hilda Dooley Receives National Shinty Player of The Year Award
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| Hilda Doolley is pictured at the Johnstone Indoor Tournament, receiving her Player of the Year award from the Women's Camanchd Association President, Karen Cameron. Hilda has had many player awards from Tir Conaill Harps club and so it was a proud moment for the club to see her receive national recognition. Since the Harps joined the shinty league in 2001 Hilda has featured regularly in both the South select squad and the Scottish international team. |
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2008: Club Forms First Underage Camgie/Hurling Team in Scotland
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The club started our first under 12s camogie/hurling in June 2008.
The team was initially made up of the children from Thorntree and St Michael's schools, both being part of the club schools programme.
The team now includes children from various parts of the east end of Glasgow.
Much of the credit for the instigation of this new venture goes to Grace McBride who took on the the job of managing and coaching the team with support from Kirsty Byrne, Siobhan Martin and Oonagh Collins.
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2008: Women's Shinty Team Pick Up their First Scottish Cup Title
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Seven years after forming the Tir Conaill Harps Women's Shinty team came of age with a historic Valerie Fraser Cup win.
The team featured five of the original players from the first league game played on a snowy day in Glasgow against St Andrews in 2001 plus a few handy players that joined us in the intervening years.
Much of the credit for the team's success goes to George Hay who took on the job of coacing the harps (or herding cats as he prefers to call it) in 2007.
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2008: Five Harps Selected for the Scotland International Shinty Team
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The Scottish international team has included Harps representatives since the first game in October 2004. Hilda Dooley has appeared regularly, with Roisin Reid and Brenda Roddy pulling on the Scottish shirt in previous years.
2008 saw the largest Tir Conaill contingent to date. The club were proud to see Fiona Matthie, Yvonne Connaughton, Catherine McGourty, Orla Coughlan and Hilda Dooley make the grade.
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Page Last Updated - 08/08/2009
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