The following is only a short summary of the history of Dundalk Young Irelands. Our Honorary Club President, Fr. John Mulligan S.M. published the history of the club "Dundalk Young Irelands - An Historical Record of the Green & Blacks" on 8th December, 2004. Fr. Mulligan S.M. has already published 2 books on the history of the GAA in Louth in 1984 and 2000.

More information on Fr. Mulligans book �30

Shortly after the inaugural congress, the first branch of the GAA in Louth, which concerned itself with playing football according to the rules of the new Association, was established in Dundalk by the Dundalk Young Ireland Society, itself founded on 10 th March, 1884. From this beginning, Dundalk Young Irelands now celebrate 120 years in existence.

The first Louth Championship was played in 1887 and it was fitting that Young Irelands were the first winners, beating Dowdallshill before 12,000 at McGeoughs field, Haggardstown. This win entitled Young Irelands to represent Louth in the inaugural All-Ireland Championship. Young Irelands subsequently went to the All-Ireland Final after wins over Ballyduff (Waterford) and Castlebridge (Wexford). The 1887 All-Ireland Final took place at Benburbs Grounds, Donnybrook, Dublin on 29 th April, 1888. Young Irelands were paired with Limerick (Commercials) who proved too strong, winning on a scoreline: Limerick (Commercials) 1-4 Louth (Young Irelands) 0-3. The Young Irelands team on this historic occasion was:

Edward Feely (goal), Pat Clarke, John Dowdall, Henry Fagan, Jack Connor, John McCrave, Pat McGuinness, Tom Murphy, Edward Murphy, Tom O'Rourke, William Whately, Arthur O'Hagan, Michael John Carroll (Capt.), Pat Morgan, Edward Goodman, John Maguire, Jim Keating, James Campbell, Pat McGinn, Peter Jackson, Tom Lavery. Reserve: Sam Keating. Arthur O'Hagan and Tom Lavery replaced Charles Mc Alester and Ned Mc Alester who did not play owing to the death of their uncle. Jim Keating was the first player to register a score in an All-Ireland Final.

Young Irelands followed the successful 1887 year and claimed back-to-back Louth Championships with a win over Dundalk John Dillons in 1888. When the first Senior League was competed for in 1903, Young Irelands were again the first winners. Indeed Young Irelands have currently amassed 8 Senior League (Cardinal O'Donnell Cup) wins the most memorable being the 4-in-a-row between 1938 and 1941. The most recent win was in 1978. Louth Senior Championships were won in 1905 and 1911 before the First World War and the Irish Civil War severely curtailed the activities of the club. It was not until the mid-thirties under the chairmanship of Larry McCrudden that Young Irelands revived their fortunes. This revival indeed led to Young Irelands best ever era with well known names like Larkin, Quigley, Carroll, Ross, Burns, Mac Artain, White and Cunningham helping the club to 6 Senior Championship wins in 1938 , 1940 , 1941 , 1944, 1947 and 1950 . The club again had a remarkable achievement in 1950, winning both of Louth's premier titles, the Senior and Junior Championship.

Unfortunately, the club went into another decline during the 50's and 60's. Many would feel that the main factor in the decline was the loss of the Athletic Grounds in 1959. In this respect, a great debt is owed to the Marist Fathers who provided their facilities to Young Irelands between 1960 and 1989. Thoughts of a contesting a Senior Championship Final were far from the minds of the group of Young Irelands stalwarts who got together in the mid sixties and decided that something would have to be done to revive the somewhat flagging fortunes of the club. Indeed it is probably fair to say that the group which included among others Charlie Connolly R.I.P., Sean Óg Flood, Jimmy Ross, Arthur Mc Donald R.I.P., Tommy Larkin R.I.P. and Larry Mc Crudden R.I.P. was more interested in putting a team on the field than on becoming world beaters overnight. They did however decide that if the “Irelands” were to scale the heights of previous years, a youth policy would be needed. The success of this policy, led by Louth's 1957 All-Ireland winning goalkeeper and committed clubman Sean Óg Flood, can be gauged from the fact that Young Irelands again returned to the top table, winning the Junior Championship in 1977 , the Senior League (Cardinal O'Donnell Cup) in 1978 and the Louth Senior Championship in 1979 .

The Louth Senior Final was again contested in 1980, losing to Roche Emmets at Ardee. This indeed was Young Irelands last appearance in a Senior Final. In the 1980's the committee set their sights on acquiring grounds which the club could truly call their own. This was achieved with the purchase of 7 acres at Upper Marches and following trojan work by a group which included among others, Fr. John Mulligan S.M., Cathal Mac Artain, Tommy Carroll and Michael Flood, the club played its first Senior League game at Pairc Eire Óg in 1989. Niall O'Callaghan (Bay Estate) was the first Young Irelands player to score a point at Upper Marches.

The move to Upper Marches led to an inevitable transition period among our juvenile ranks. Following relegation to Intermediate in 1990, Gerry Nixon and Jim Hande took over the managing of the premier team who were unlucky to fail twice in the Intermediate Finals of 1991 and 1993. This period also saw the opening of new dressing rooms and The club had to wait until 1996 before capturing the clubs first Intermediate Football Championship with a win over Naomh Foinnbarra at Castlebellingham. The team was managed by Enda Murray and captained by Kevin Gorham. After 2 seasons in Senior and 1 season in Intermediate, the team was relegated to Junior for 2001. They did enjoy a good first season in Junior, reaching the 2001 Junior Championship Final, losing to O'Raghallaigh's.

In 2002 the renovated clubrooms were completed at a cost of €165k. The club has placed a lot of emphasis on the juvenile ranks with large numbers taking part in weekly coaching sessions in Pairc Eire Óg and Cluan Enda Green. A new crest along with new leisure and playing gear was introduced in 2003. As we finish the 120th year of this great GAA club in 2004, there is hope for the future and a return once again to the top table of Louth football. The club celebrated 120 years with a Dinner Dance on 29th October in the Fairways Hotel. The fruits of the hard work by many club members is paying off with floodlights switched on 1st December and juvenile teams competing well at all grades. Fr. Mulligans history of the club was launched on 8th December. Ground Developments are on-going. The degree of optimism that was present in 1884 is alive and well in Dundalk Young Irelands 120 years later.

“We are still Young Irelands, brave Young Irelands, Young Ireland Boys Hurrah”