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Ballycran

GAA club in County Down

Summary

GAA club in County Down

Field	Value
club gaa	St Joseph's GAA Club, Ballycran
irish	CLG Naomh Iósaf, Baile Crann
founded	1939
province	Ulster
county	Down
nickname	The Crans
colours
grounds	McKenna Park
coordinates
pattern_la	_oneillswhite
pattern_b	_blackstripes
pattern_ra	_oneillswhite
pattern_so	_hoops black
pattern_sh	_goldsides
leftarm	000000
body	FFC125
rightarm	000000
shorts	000000
socks	ffcc00
kit1	Home Kit
kit2	Change Kit
pattern_la2	_oneillsgold	pattern_b2 =	pattern_ra2= _oneillsgold	pattern_so2 = _hoops black
leftarm2	ffffff	body2 = ffffff	rightarm2 = ffffff	shorts2 = 000000	socks2 = ffcc00
pattern_sh2	_goldsides
h1	0
h2	3
h3	27

St Joseph's GAA Club, Ballycran, referred to mononymously as Ballycran, is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in the Ards Peninsula, County Down, Northern Ireland. The club is affiliated to the Down County Board and fields teams in both hurling and camogie.

History

Located at the parish of Ardkeen, about 25 miles from Belfast, St Joseph's GAA Club, Ballycran was founded in 1939 to provide hurling for the local boys and men of the parish. Hugh Gilmore, Pat Hamilton and Frank McKenna were the driving forces of the new club in its early days. The club colours of black and amber were chosen in tribute to McKenna's long-time friend – Lory Meagher of Kilkenny.

Ballycran had its first major success in 1949, when the club claimed their inaugural Down SHC title. The club went on to be regular winners of the Down SHC title in the decades that followed. Ballycran also became the first Down club to win the Ulster Club SHC title in 1974. Further provincial titles were won in 1976 and 1993.

The club won its 24th Down SHC title in 2015 to overtake Kilclief and move into first place on the all-time roll of honour. Kilclief's record had stood since 1956. Ballycran won its 27th Down SHC title in 2021, after a 2–25 to 3–20 extra-time win over Portaferry.

Grounds

Ballycran's home ground is McKenna Park. It is named in honour of founder-member Frank McKenna. The official opening took place on 26 June 1966. It is frequently used as a venue for games involving the Down senior hurling team.

Honours

Ulster Senior Club Hurling Championship (3): 1974, 1976, 1993
Down Senior Hurling Championship (27): 1949, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021

Notable players

Greg Blaney: All-Ireland SFC-winner (1991, 1994)
Gary Savage: Ulster SHC-winner (1992, 1995, 1997)

References

"St Joseph Ballycran HC". Club Info.
"About us". Ballycran GAA website.
"Club Titles - Down". Hogan Stand.
(10 November 2018). ""One day like '93 can make up for 20 years of ups and downs," says Dermot Woods as Ballycran prepare for Ulster final against Cushendall". The Irish News.
(28 September 2015). "Ballycran seal title with late flurry". Irish Independent.
(31 October 2021). "SHC champions crowned in Down and Sligo". Hogan Stand.
(16 April 2021). "Loughed away from the world: Hurling in Ards". GAA website.
(17 May 2025). "'We have an absolutely great chance': Down's McDonagh Cup survival hopes boosted by dogged victory over Kerry". The Irish News.
(11 March 2012). "Where are they now?". Irish Independent.
(4 June 2004). "Gary and Ger still in fine fettle". Belfast Telegraph.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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