Clonduff GAC is a Gaelic Athletic Association club, based in Hilltown County Down, Northern Ireland. It represents the 2 areas that make up the Clonduff parish, namely Hilltown and Cabra.

History

Press reports show the history of Gaelic football in Clonduff dates to at least 1887, when the parish had two teams: the Hilltown Amateurs and The Red Hands. Gaelic games flourished for a few years but then subsided and it was not until 1910 that the parish again fielded a Gaelic football team. During the next ten years the parish fielded teams at Junior and Senior level under names such as The Emeralds, The Harps and The Sarsfields. The modern Clonduff Shamrocks club was founded in 1920. Success on the playing field over the next few years was commonplace. For most of the 1930s, the club was less successful, but re-emerged in the early 1940s. When Down won the 1946 All Ireland, Clonduff provided six of the panel. In 1955, the club split into two distinct entities – Cabra and Hilltown – the two ends of the parish. Two years later they met in the county final. The teams amalgamated again in 1959 and the following year two of their players won All-Ireland Senior football medals with Kevin Mussen being the first Northerner to bring the Sam Maguire Cup to Northern Ireland. The club opened its own grounds in 1968 and became one of the leading clubs in the newly formed Scór competitions. In the GAA's centenary year, Clonduff published its McNamee Award winning history and in 1987 when Down won its second All Ireland Minor Championship, the club provided six of the panel. In the All Ireland wins of 1991 and 1994, Clonduff's Ross Carr played a significant role. Cathal Murray was also on the panel in 1991. Clonduff are one of the few clubs in the county who have senior teams in all 5 codes (football, ladies football, hurling, camogie and handball). In recent times, the clubs camogie team have been the most successful in the club. Since winning their first Senior Championship in 2007, they have won several more county championships, three Ulster Club Intermediate Championships and won the All Ireland Intermediate Club Championship in 2018 -the very first 15-a-side All Ireland win in the club's history.

Club crest

The team crest depicts a scene with an ox, a thorn bush and a church. The crest represents a tale associated with the 6th-century saint, St Comghall of Bangor. Comghall reputedly sent his followers to this area of County Down to spread Christianity. They began building their church in the townland of Ballynanny (located on The Kilkeel Road below Spelga Dam). Each morning, the previous day's work would be demolished. Upon investigation, it was discovered that an ox, belonging to the local druid came down from the mountain (The Mournes) each night and razed the building. One of the monks cut a thorn stick and stuck it into the ground between the ox's meadow and the new church. The stick grew into a thorn bush and the monk defied the ox to pass the thorn bush - it never did and the building of the church was completed. The area where the thorn bush allegedly grew is known as Bushtown to this day. The church was eventually destroyed during the Cromwellian invasion of Ireland in 1649. The remains of the church are still standing today on the Kilkeel Road end of Old Clonduff Road.

Milestones