Kilrea GAC
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Founded: | 1943/1956 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
County: | Derry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname: | The Pearse's | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club Colours: | Red and White | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Grounds: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Senior Club Championships
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Pádraig Pearse's Kilrea GAC (Irish: CLG Pádraig Mhic Piarais Cill Ria) is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Kilrea. The club is a member of the Derry GAA. Underage teams play in the South Derry league and championships. They currently cater for both Gaelic football and Camogie. The club is named after Irish patriot and revoltuionary Pádraig Pearse.
The first Kilrea football club was established on the 15th of November 1943. The club was named O'Cahan's Kilrea and played in blue and gold jerseys. Many of the inaugral minor team of 1946 went on to help Kilrea win the Junior Champoinship in 1951. In the early 1950's the club changed its name to the Kevin Barry's, named after the patriot Kevin Barry and played in black and ambers colours.
Soon after in 1956 the club reformed again and named Padraig Pearse's wearing red and white shirts. The club won junior league and South Derry Championships before moving to compete in senior football in 1958.
In 1966 the Pearse's won the inaugural under 16 championship with a young Martin O'Neill, later famed as a soccer player and manager of Celtic and Aston Villa. Members of this team went on to win the County minor title in 1970.
By 1979 Kilrea had been successful, however they went in to the duldrums of football at all age levels for 15 odd years. Recently the club have been successful at all undeage levels, but this as not transferred itself to the senior stage, evidenced by the fact that the Derry Senior Club Football Championship still eludes them.
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[edit] Pearse Park
Work was commenced on Pearse Park in late 1977 and opened two years later. A second pitch which was completed in 2001. Club development is currently preparing for the construction of a new pavillion including four new changing rooms to compliment this second pitch. Coleraine Borough Council volunteered some money to help with this development, but recently the Democratic Unionist Party have started petitions to try and stop this investment.