News

The 2024 Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday 30 November 2024 @6pm in the GAA Pavilion. 

The meeting will be followed by a Club Social in the 'Presidents Bar' at Edenderry GAA. The Leinster Club Final will be on TV and come along to support Kilcormac/Killoughey. 

THE FULL AGM REPORT PACK FOR 2024 CAN BE DOWLOADED HERE 

The 2024 Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday 30 November 2024 @7.30pm in the GAA Pavilion. 

Any member wishing to submit a Motion to the AGM or Nominate a Member for a position on the Executive Committee must return the forms below to the Secretary of Edenderry GAA no later that Saturday 16th November 2024.

Download - NOMINATION FORM 

Download - MOTION FORM 

Returns must be posted to the address below or emailed to secretary.edenderry.offaly@gaa.ie 

Aoife Uí Neill,

Blundell Wood,

Edenderry

Co. Offaly

Mob. 087 632 0770

email. secretary.edenderry.offaly@gaa.ie

Edenderry GAA, Ladies Football & Camogie Club are delighted to announce the appointment of Cian Farrell as the Club's Games Participation Officer (GPO).  As an Inter-County & Club Star, Cian is an high profile appointment for the club and as a proud 'Red' he will bring an abundance of passion to the Role.

Cian will work with our 5 Local Primary Schools and Secondary Schools to promote Gaelic Games. He will also provide support to our Coaches, Mentors & Players across all codes in the Club, Football, Hurling, Ladies Football & Camogie.  The success of our 'One Club Model' enables us to make this exciting appointment.

We would like to wish Cian every success in his new Role - Beir Bua!

Click Here for more Information  

It is with sadness that we learned of the passing of the former Edenderry & Offaly great, Alo Brady.  Coming from family steeped in GAA, Alo made his mark and was part of the super 1950's teams that won 3 County Titles.  He played for Offaly throughout the early fifties and through his work with the ESB he travelled extensively and played for Sligo in the Championship in 1961. 

The memoir below was written by Alo himself in 2019 and was donated to the club for when the next History of the Club is written. 

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis

Alo Brady Memoir

I started to play hurling and football in my third year in Knockbeg College Carlow and was on the Junior teams in 1948. Early that year Kevin Scally who was playing fullback on the Offaly senior team got permission for me to go to the first round of the Leinster minor championship in Portlaoise. Kevin persuaded that selectors for me to replace their rightful back in the second half. Left half forward on the Kildare team was Bernie Groome, also from Knockbeg, when he kicked the ball with left or right, he always did it with the outside of the boot so I knew exactly where the ball would go, and I intercepted almost every ball he kicked. I had a great game - everybody agreed my anticipation was extraordinary!! No credit to me.

While I was in Knockbeg the rector, An t-Athair Peadar MacSuibhne would allow us to go to Dr. Cullen Park to every important match and it was my privilege to see the great Tommy Murphy play against Kildare in one of his last games in 1944. Tommy lived just a couple of miles from Knockbeg and he had a job as the Land Stewart in the college. When we were practising on the pitch beside the avenue, and we spotted Tommy in the vicinity we would deliberately kick the ball in his direction and it was a pleasure to see him in his running mode to take the letter and boot it back from where it came he had great style and most often caught the ball high with one hand.

It was a short step from that and playing well for Edenderry to be picked for the Senior County Team.  Part of the reason for my selection was because of my fitness. Leaving Portlaoise each Saturday after lunch – I was working in the ESB – I would ride the 26 miles to Edenderry and 26 miles back on Sunday evening with a game or two in the meantime. Before that I had worked on the bog, wheeling, footing and sometimes cutting turf for my Dad.  He was commercially selling turf on the Dublin Market (to pay for me to study in Knockbeg) so I was strong to start with – like almost everyone else on the team.

When we won the 1951 final against Cloghan, the thing I remember most was the behaviour of the opposite full back who was blackguarding Frank Byrne. On one occasion, as he knocked down Frank on his way out with the ball, I was close enough to jump at him head on and with deliberate intent - knocking him flat. As well as being a teammate, Frank has his office across the street and was a family friend.  Unfortunately, the fullback’s brother was playing centre-field and I spent the rest of the game trying to keep out of his way!

That presentation of the medals was in Fanagan's Hall in February 1952. I was working in Portlaoise and didn't have transport, but Oliver J Flanagan knew me, and knew about the presentation, and he offered to drive me to Edenderry. Oliver was doing a line with Mae McWey who was from a landed family in Sletty outside Graigcullen. The family were not enthusiastic - it wasn't so long before that he had been working on the buildings and not quite the son-in-law they had in mind. Oliver was giving me a lift so that I could introduce him to Fr. Jack McWey the Chairman of the club and Mae’s brother - Hoping he would integrate himself and smooth his path – Clever! Anyway, he did impress the brother, the family were persuaded and he married Mae - they lived happily ever after and their son Charlie is now a Cabinet Minister in the 2018 Government.

Two league games in 1950 and 1951 remain in my memory. We played Cavan in O’Connor Park which was remarkable for a couple of things. Paddy Casey put two 50s over the bar, one with the right and the other with the left foot. But he was an occasional man marker and his opponent Mick Higgins scored 2-05. Paddy had the extraordinary gift, even on a wet day of stabbing the ball running away from him and have the ball jump up into his hands.

The other occasion was to play Roscommon in Tulsk. It was my first time across the Shannon which allowed me to wonder at the skill of the people who built dry stone walls. The Roscommon Team we met were long past their glory days of the early 1940’s with such names as Bill Carlos, Ownsy Hoare & Eamon Boland. The match had reverberations decades later. In the 1980’s we had a country house on Lough Gara outside Boyle, and it was a sad occasion when I heard the P.P in the local church read out the sad news that the great local footballer Eamon Boland had died in England. Like so many others in those days he had no option but to emigrate to find a job because there was no work at home.

My first championship game in the Offlay jersey was when we were beaten by Wexford in 1951 in Dr. Cullen Park. When the game was over Steve Cloonan, Secretary of the County Board, who was a friend of my father, put his arm around me after the match and said “you had a fine game yourself Alo, pity about the result. Anyway, thank God that's all over till next year.” I was taken aback by his comments, but the County Board were out of pocket for Championship games whereas league games brought money into the coffers and Offaly was not a rich county in the early fifties.

One incident in the game remains clear in my mind. Kevin Scally was full back but when a ball dropped in the square in the second half he was yards away. Brady caught the ball and as I did Nickey Rackard came tearing in but instead of burying me ball & all into the net, he took pity on a nervous 19-year-old and let me slip around to kick the letter out the field. He could have destroyed me, but he was a gentle giant.

My last representative game was at centre back for Sligo in the first round of the Connaught championship against Galway in Castlebar in 1961. I was transferred to ESB’s Sligo district in 1956 and subsequently had been playing well for Craobh Rua hence my position in ‘61 versus Galway. At centre back I was marking John Nallen, a native of Mayo and he was a highly regarded forward who had previously played for Mayo, Meath & Cavan before declaring for Galway. We were both of an age but on the day, I was on top of my game and the expected service to the Galway forwards was not forthcoming so at halftime their selectors moved out Sean Purcell. I recall a rough tough contest in the second half and one incident in particular sticks in my memory. Both of us were chasing a running ball with arms tied fighting for the leather. Purcell won the battle - in the course of which he almost tore my arm out of its socket - he was as strong as a horse. Needless to remark Sligo were beaten in that first round as they mostly lost in those days.

My closing paragraph rings the praises of one of the great Gaelic footballers of any era – Mick Casey. I have seen Tommy Murphy play and seen and played against Sean Purcell, and I have no hesitation in saying that Mick was at least as good as any. The trouble is or was that Mick never featured in an All-Ireland series - he was never in the limelight as were all the others. Apart from goalkeeping he played in virtually every other position on the field and dominated in each.  In offlay I played with and against him as did my brother, Michael and he was of a similar opinion. I distinctly remember the Leinster semi-final against Dublin in Portlaoise in 1960. His opponent that day was the feared and formidable Joe Timmons at left full back. Not only did Mick win the football contest but also won the wrestling contest hands down - he threw Joe Timmons around like one would a rag doll. To boot nick was a gentle soul who never pulled a foul stroke in his life, may he rest in peace.

Alo Brady

February 2019

Offaly Appearances

08/10/1950 – 05/12/1954

Championship 5

League 11

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