 | |
| Irish: | Uíbh Fhailí |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s): | The Faithful |
| Province: | Leinster |
| Dominant sport: | Dual county |
| Ground(s): | O'Connor Park,Tullamore St Brendan's Park,Birr |
| County colours: | Green White Gold |
| County teams | |
| NFL: | Division 2 |
| NHL: | Division 1A |
| Football Championship: | Sam Maguire Cup |
| Hurling Championship: | Liam MacCarthy Cup |
TheOffaly County Board of theGaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (Irish:Bord Contae Uíbh Fhailí de Chumann Lúthchleas Gael) orOffaly GAA is one of the 32county boards of the GAA inIreland, and is responsible forGaelic games inCounty Offaly. Separate county boards are also responsible for the Offaly county teams.
Thecounty hurling team wonAll-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (SHC) titles during the 1980s and 1990s. Thecounty football team wonAll-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) titles during the 1970s and 1980s.
Clubs contest theOffaly Senior Hurling Championship. That competition's most successful club isCoolderry, with 31 titles.
After a scheme developed by the Gaelic Athletic Association in the 1970s to encourage the playing of hurling in non-traditional counties, Offaly was one of the first teams to benefit. As a result, the county won sixLeinster Senior Hurling Championship titles in the 1980s, as well as its firstAll-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship in 1981.
The county team has since gone on to win three other All-Irelands. Perhaps Offaly's most famous win came in the All-Ireland Final of 1994 in what has come to be remembered as the "five minute final."Limerick looked set to win their first All-Ireland title since 1973 until Offaly staged one of the greatest comebacks of all time, scoring two goals and five points in the last five minutes. They defeated Limerick by 3–16 to 2–13.
The Vocational Schools team has made it to 12All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship finals but have never won one.
Clubs contest theOffaly Senior Football Championship. That competition's most successful club isRhode, with 30 titles.
Perhaps the most famous moment in football history came in the 1982 All-Ireland Final when Offaly playedKerry. The match was a repeat of the previous year's final; however, not only that but a win for Kerry would have given them an unprecedented fifth consecutive All-Ireland SFC title. Kerry were winning by two points with two minutes to go whenSéamus Darby came on as a substitute and scored a critical goal.Kerry fumbled the counterattack which allowed Offaly to win by one single point with a score of 1–15 to 0–17.
The Offaly vocational schools' team have made it to six All-Ireland finals but lost all six, including the first final when they were beaten by the Cork City team in 1961.
Nine Offaly camogie clubs were organised in the 1930s.
Drumcullen reached the final of theAll Ireland club junior championship in 2003.[1] Kinnity won the Division 3 shield atFéile na nGael in 1997, Drumcullen won the Coiste Chontae an Chláir Shield in 1997.[citation needed]
Under Camogie's National Development Plan 2010–2015, "Our Game, Our Passion",[2] five new camogie clubs were to be established in the county by 2015.[3]
Offaly entered the Leinster championships of 1935 and 1936, but the game declined amid theCamogie Association disputes of the 1940s and had to be revived by Clare-born Mary O’Brien in 1973, and a county board re-formed in 1979.[citation needed]
Offaly's first major national titles were in 2002 (the second division of theNational Camogie League),[4] and in 2009 (beating Waterford in theAll Ireland junior final).[5] Notable players include soaring star award winners[6] Karen Brady, Elaine Dermody, Audrey Kennedy, Michaela Morkan, Fiona Stephens and Arlene Watkins.[citation needed]
Miriam O'Callaghan served aspresident of theCamogie Association.[citation needed]
Offaly Camogie launched home and away jerseys in May 2021.[7][8]
As of 2024, Offaly were playing in the intermediate championship.[9] As of the2025 National League, Offaly were playing in Division 2A.[10]
Offaly has a ladies' football team.
