OUR STORY
How it Started
Holloway Gaels has been in existence since November 1993 when we were founded by two student nurses, Joan McEvoy (Laois) and Ann Dunning (Westmeath). Joan, who had played for club and county at home missed playing gaelic and wanted to get playing in London. Ann had never played before but was up for the challenge!
They badgered friends and acquaintances who they knew played the game - and even some who didn't - to join their new team and the great adventure began. As with all teams the first year was a struggle trying to keep a team together and learning the game. Their first game was against the Holloway firemen in a practice match at Whittington Park on Holloway Road.
But the second and third seasons (1994 and 1995) saw things pick up on the pitch. Holloway reached the London Junior Championship under the guidance and expertise of their coaches Denis Dowling (Kildare) and Paddy Kelly (Roscommon) respectively.
The girls had high hopes for winning the junior championship in 1996, when they were once again coached by Paddy Kelly. However, it was a case of so near yet so far and the girls were defeated by London's best - Father Murphy's.
1997 saw the arrival of a new coach, one Tosh Kilcommons (Offaly) who brought a new level of experience. This year also saw the start of Holloway Gaels 'Aussie Invasion' a link that continues to this day. The new look team didn't bring home silverware this year but off the field they more than made up for that on their first end of season trip to Ireland. The crew ended up in Mullingar and as the saying goes 'the craic was 90'. The girls did manage a football match against a local team (Moate) but sore heads and hangovers won the day as the girls were defeated by a point.
Tosh stayed for another season, determined to see some silverware come to the club and the long wait finally came to an end in 1998. Holloway won the Junior Championship for the first time defeating long-term rivals Heston (3-6 : 2-3) making all the hard work of the past 4 years worthwhile. They went on to represent London in the All-Ireland Junior 7-a-side in Dublin and further honour was bestowed on the team as two of the girls, Anne-Marie Dargan and Dorothy Connor were chosen to play for the London Senior Ladies team.
As any female Gaelic player knows, men may come and go but football lasts forever and so 1999 started with a new taskmaster named James Power. The team was now a force in the league in London. Training was gruelling but paid off when Holloway walked away with the British Provincial 9-a-side shield in Birmingham. They came 3rd in the senior league and were runners up in the Junior Championship, beaten by old rivals Heston. For a third year, Holloway went to Ireland. They competed again in the All-Ireland 7-a-side and went to see the All-Ireland Finals at Croke Park. Holloway can boast of having 6 of the team playing for the London Junior team including Dorothy Connor (captain), Ann Dunning, Noreen Kennedy, Sinead Norris, Helena Keating and Georgia Spokes.
The year 2000 was a great year for trophies: Holloway, under the leadership of Kenny Maleady, won the Junior Championship with a convincing win over KKG, successfully defended their British Provincial 9-a-side shield in Manchester and reached the senior league final against Parnells.
Since 2000, the club won a further Junior title in 2004, and consecutive titles in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, the Gaels progressed to play in the Senior ranks for the first time in the club's history. Since then, the club has continued to grow, winning the London and British Provincial Junior Championship in 2012 and the London Intermediate Championship in 2014.
How it's Going
2020
In 2020 lockdown rules cut out the league campaign while the zoom training sessions took over. In September of that year the Championship was given the go-ahead in London. Holloway Gaels secured 3 wins, a draw and a loss on the way to the final that year but were beaten by a clinical Parnells side on Oct 24th in Greenford.
2021
In 2021, with growing membership, the club entered two teams for the very first time in London competitions. The Intermediate team continued to be managed by Ciaran McElhinney and Jack Day from the previous year and the Junior Team was managed by Ciara Holland, Anne-Marie Dargan and Aisling Clifford. In their first season the Juniors reached the Championship semi final against Dulwich Harps on Oct 2nd, an amazing achievement for the club and a campaign which saw 40 Holloway players don the junior jersey with pride.
The Intermediate team began their championship campaign with a 2-point loss to Round Towers on Saturday July 3rd. Wins against TMC and KKG and a walkover from TCG, along with a loss to Parnells saw our girls finish third in the table, setting up a semi final encounter with Round Towers on Oct 2nd. An amazing team performance saw the inters run out comfortable winners on a score line of 3-10 to 0-04, setting up a County final meeting with Parnells. Our girls fought valiantly in McGovern Park on October 16th, but it was not to be, losing by 4 points on the day. A road-trip to Birmingham was on the cards for the All-Britain semi-final against John Mitchel’s Liverpool. After a determined second-half fight it was delight for Holloway Gaels and back to McGovern Park for the All-Britain final against London rivals Parnells.
On Saturday November 20th 2021, Holloway Gaels, captained by Emma Mulhern (Down) made club history by winning the Intermediate All-Britain for the first time since the club was founded - Holloway Gaels 3-10, Parnells 3-08.
The team travelled to Dublin in January 2022 for the All-Ireland quarter final but were beaten by a strong St. Sylvester's side.
2022
The club again fielded both Intermediate and Junior teams in the County League and Championship competitions. The junior team and management continued to progress in their second season and built on their performances from 2021. The Intermediate team, under the reins of Jack Day, reached the League final against Parnells on May 21st but were beaten on the day. They bowed out at the semi-final stages in the County Championship against TCG in October.
2023
The club again fielded two teams in 2023. The Juniors kicked off their Div 3 League campaign with a 9 point win over TCG junior in April. We showed our mettle in the remaining rounds earning a place in the League final on June 4th against our first opponents of the year TCG juniors. Under the captaincy of Aine Maguire (Offaly), we fought valiantly until the final whistle but it was success for TCG on the day. With the split season format it wasn't long until we were out on the pitch again for the Junior Championship campaign on June 24th with a win against Wandsworth Gaels. Some tough games followed but we fought to the final whistle in all games.
James Power became Intermediate manager in 2023 having previously managed the club in 1999. James did a lot of the Junior and Intermediate training, no easy task for one person! The Intermediate team reached the League semi-final again this year and were once again pipped to the post by Parnells. In the Championship, the team bowed out at the semi final stage to Round Towers, the All-Britain Champions in 2022.
The team did pick up silverware in August when they won the Monica Dee Cup during the tournament day in Greenford, and Holloway player Saoirse Hourigan (London) was named Player of the Tournament.
On November 25th, the Club celebrated its 30th Anniversary at the Irish Centre Camden. It was a wonderful opportunity for past and current players, coaches and friends of the club to come together to share memories and create new ones.
2024
Our Junior team, under the management team of Shane Hanrahan, Emily de Caires and Pat Walls, started their Division 3 League campaign against Wandsworth Gaels at Wormwood Scrubs on April 13th and faced two further games against Tara Ladies and St. Kiernan’s, whilst receiving a walk-over from St. Anthony’s. The league gave the opportunity for game time for a number of our players and was a great introduction to adult football for some of our underage players from NLS.
The Junior Championship was divided into two pools, with our girls drawn to face Dulwich Harps who played Division 2 League and Tara Ladies. There were some gallant performances and great teamwork shown in these games, but the team were unable to progress to the next round.
The Intermediate team, ably managed by Oran Hilley and Cliona Twohig, had convincing wins over Round Towers and Parnells in their league campaign to earn a League Final encounter with TCG. A slow start (what’s new) put our girls on the back foot, but they should incredible determination to make a comeback, however it was not enough and TCG ran out winners with a 5 point margin.
In the Championship the team had a 100%-win record in the group stages with wins against TMC, TCG and Tara, whilst receiving two walkovers from Parnells and Round Towers, to set up a semi-final encounter against Tara Ladies in Greenford. With a County Final up for grabs the girls were focused and dominated the game, with 12 points between the sides at the final whistle. This set up a Championship final with TCG on Oct 26th in Ruislip. Another slow start but this time, the team and management had enough to see the game out and won on a scoreline of 4-08 to 2-08. Intermediate Champions for the first time since 2014 with Emma Mulhern (Down) collecting the cup for the club.
A road-trip to Birmingham was on the cards for the All-Britain semi-final against John Mitchel’s Liverpool. Another slow start (sensing a theme here!), our girls put in a determined second-half fight to go within a point but Mitchells were very clinical and won with just one point to spare.
The Club also entered the Mary Feehan competition where they once again progressed to a final against TCG in June. It was deadlock after 60 minutes and decided that a replay was the next option. A date is yet to be confirmed.