Ballyheigue G.A.A. Club was founded in 1892.
The field was purchased in the 1960’s and is named after John Joe O’Sullivan. The club rooms were built in 1974 and are named as the Paddy Casey Memorial Clubrooms.
The club is primarily a hurling club but also
promotes football at a number of levels. Ballyheigue’s first honour
was winning the County junior championship in 1915. Ballyheigue
first entered the Kerry Co. Senior championship in 1918, and not
again until 1934 and only occasionally thereafter until 1940. In the
early 1930’s the parish was represented by two junior teams,
Ballyheigue and Castle Rovers. The teams amalgamated in 1933 winning
the Junior championship and on the following year they entered the
Senior Championship.
Players from the club won county medals with a St. Brendan’s
combination side that won the 1936 senior Co. title. This team
comprised of players from Ballyheigue, Ardfert, Abbeydorney and
Causeway. Ballyheigue were represented by Christy O’Mahony, John
Kearney, Paddy Reidy and John O’Halloran. A Ballyheigue / Causeway
combination known as Shannon Rovers entered the senior championship
in 1939 reaching the final. However defeat was their lot at the
hands of Crotta. And Ballyheigue tasted defeat, again at the hands
of Crotta in the 1941 senior final after a replay.
The Clubs main avenue of competition for many years was at North
Kerry Divisional level. Its earliest success was in the 1926 North
Kerry Junior Championship. The club entered its first golden era in
the mid nineteen forties when in 1946 they won the Co. Senior
Championship for the first time, also winning the North Kerry Senior
League, under the captaincy of Christy O’Mahony, The victorious side
was : Johnny Guerin, John Kearney, Christy Mahony, Pat O’Connor,
Michael J Dineen, Timmy Reidy, Willie Guerin, Michael McGrath,
Patrick Godley, Timmy Leahy, Paddy O’Mahony, John M Reidy, Paddy
Reidy, Bill Browne, Gerald Lawlor. Subs Johnny Casey, John Martin
O’Halloran, Din Joe Sweeney, Paddy Griffin, Mike Joe O’Connor.
The Victorious 1946 Senior Hurling Team
There followed some lean years as the club was ravaged by the
scourge of emigration, which saw many promising players depart the
hurling scene. On the local scene young fellows gathered to play
hurling in the “Bull’s field” at Ballylongane and in Paddy Reidy’s
field in Tiershanahan. Some sporadic success saw a County Minor
Championship title won in 1960. The club had to go down to
Intermediate ranks in the late 1960’s and again in the mid 1970’s.
They managed to win the Co. Intermediate Championship in 1975 before
going back up to Senior level.
A new sports-field was acquired in the mid 1960’s. . A good deal of
development work was carried out including drainage and building of
club/ dressing rooms. Prior to that club games had been played in
the Church field ( Casey’s Caravan Park) or in the Castle Lawn
In the mid 1970’s juvenile parish leagues were
started by Mike Burkett and Oliver Leen and there was a greater
emphasis on coaching in the years that followed. Mike Burkett was
the ever present and ever patient coach to successive generations of
young hurlers, a task that he continues to do with enthusiasm. [He
was honoured with a National President’s award in 2004 which was
presented to him by Mary McAleese, Uachtaran na hEireann]. The
Father Jerry Kirby Fund facilitated the annual Parish Leagues and
with more competitions available from Under 10 to Senior, a new
generation of successful Ballyheigue hurlers grew up.
The Roll of Honour details the amount of success that came on stream
but the pinnacle was reached in 1992 (the club’s centenary year)
when the County Senior Championship was regained after an absence of
46 years, under trainer Sgt Eugene O’Sullivan and team captain
Patrick O’Mahony. A new golden era had arrived. The club also won
the minor championship in 1992, won 4 Co.Under 21 titles in a
row1994 -1997, won the North Kerry Senior league in 1995 and the
North Kerry Senior Championship and the Co. Senior Div 1 League for
the first time in 1996. Several underage titles had been won in the
lead up to 1992 and further success continued thereafter. Further
Co. Senior titles followed in 1996 (captain Patrick O’Mahony), 1997
(captain Nicholas Roche) and 2000 (captain Mike Slattery).
The 1992 Senior Hurling Champions
At present the club competes at all levels of hurling at County and
North Kerry. The club also plays some underage football as well as
competing in the Co.Junior football league and the Co. Novice
football shield.
The most prominent of all Ballyheigue G.A.A. personalities was the
late John Joe O’Sullivan of Glenlea. A former Labour party member of
the Kerry County Council, he served Ballyheigue G.A.A well over his
long lifetime both internally and at Divisional and County Board
levels. He was the clubs long-term county board delegate and had the
distinction of attending over 50 consecutive County G.A.A
conventions. He held various officer-ships in the North Kerry Board,
including Secretary, Treasurer, Vice Chairman, was Chairman of the
board in 1958 and 1959 and finally President of the Board. He was an
accomplished referee and served as a county hurling selector. The
North Kerry Senior Championship Cup is named after him and the
Ballyheigue G.A.A. field is fittingly named John Joe O’Sullivan Park
after him. He had played a leading role in acquiring the field.
Other notable Ballyheigue G.A.A facts:
Liam O’Mahony (top scorer with a goal and six points) won the man of
the match in 1992 Co. Senior Hurling Final.
Brendan O’Sullivan won man of the match in both the 1996 and 1997 Co. Senior Hurling finals. He also won a Railway Cup hurling medal with Munster in 1996.
Michael Lucid won man of the match award in the 2000 Co. Senior Hurling final.
Nicholas Roche had the distinction of Captaining Kerry in its 1993 Munster Senior Hurling Championship defeat of Waterford. This was the first win Kerry had in this competition in over 67 years. Brendan O’Sullivan and John Healy were also members of the team on that historic occasion.
Four Ballyheigue players were members of the only Kerry minor hurling team to reach a Munster final in 1938 losing to Cork side that included Christy Ring. They were Willie O’Connor, Clarke Moynihan, Fineen Moynihan and Patrick Godley.
David Lucid was a member of the Kerry panel that won the All Ireland Junior title in 1961 ( Kerry’s first All Ireland since 1891).
Anto Casey was goalkeeper on the victorious Kerry Junior team winning the 1972 All Ireland
Mike Stack, Christy O’Sullivan and John Brendan Casey were members of the Kingdom Hurling club that won the London Co.Championship in the mid 1960’s. James O’Connor was a selector with the team and Chairman of the club.
Pat Joe Godley, his late brother Eddie(RIP), Martin O’Connor(RIP) and Christy Dineen (RIP) won several Yorkshire County Championships both hurling and football with the Huddersfield team in the 1960’s.
Cannon Donal Stritch was President of the first Yorkshire County board.
Tom Lawlor is the current Chairman of the North Kerry Hurling Board.
James O’Connor is the current Joint Treasurer of the North Kerry Hurling Board, having previously served as P.R.O. and Oifigeach Culturtha. He was a founder member of Huddersfield G.A.A Club in Britain.
Four Ballyheigue boys have represented Kerry at the All Ireland Feile na Gaeil skills competition, they are Patrick Dunne, Brendan O’Sullivan, Patrick Corridan and Padraig O’Connor.
Four members of the Ballyheigue Senior squad are members of the Kerry Senior Hurling panel. They are John Healy, Michael Lucid, Kieran O’Sullivan and Mike ‘Boxer’ Slattery.
Willie Leen is President of the club and a trustee of the club grounds since the grounds were first acquired. A little known fact is that Willie put his farm up as collateral in the Bank in order to secure a loan to buy the field. He is also a delegate to the North Kerry Hurling Board.
The Club dressing rooms are called after the late Paddy Casey who was club Chairman at the time of construction. This is in recognition of his contribution to the project.
Three North Kerry trophies are named after Ballyheigue men – North Kerry Senior Hurling Championship after John Joe O’Sullivan; North Kerry Under 15’B’ Hurling Championship after Edmond Flahive; North Kerry Under 10 Hurling blitz after Eddie Godley.