History
of Mayobridge
The
minutes of the Central Council of the G.A.A. record that on April 30th, 1888 an.application
for affiliation was received from St. Patrick's, Mayobridge, Co. Down. The acceptance
of the application makes the club the oldest registered G.A.A. Club in the County.
The club and its members played a leading roie in the formative
years of the association in Down; the County S. F.C. trophy wa presented by a
Mayobridge man; the club was prominent at County Board level with Paddy Downey
Secretary in 1912, P. J. Murphy Secretary in 1917 and Ted Butterfield Chairman
in 1924. Paddy Downcy, representing Antrim, won an Ulster S.F.C. medal in 1910.
The period 1910 to 1940 marked the zenith of Mayobridge
achievements. The S.F. Championship victories of 1916 and 1919 were followed by
defeats in 6 County finals; club members were prominent on the County team.; the
Feis Sevens were won in 1940 and Ted Butterficid was founder Chairman of the South
Down Board.
The club re-emerged as a major force in the
1950's. The All-County League was won in 1953 and the Championship Semi-Final
was reached in 1954. However, emigration took its toll and in 1959 Mayobridge
were losing finalists in the Junior Championship.
The Sixties
saw two major developments in the Mayobridge club; the formation of a youth club
to better channel the young people into club activities and the nation- wide acknowledgement
of Tom O'Hare as one of "the defenders of the decade". The inspiration his play
provided for younger members made him extremely influential.
The
club's youth programme bore fruit in the 1980 Minor and 1981 Junior Championship
wins; Mickey Linden won a N,F.L. medal with Down in 1983 and was a member of the
Down All-Ireland winning teams in 1991 and1994, when he was voted Footballer of
the Year, Mickey continued to play for down until 2002. The club marked its centenary
with an outstanding historical exhibition, neatly summarising a century of Gaelic
tradition and achievement. In 1999 the club won the Senior Football Championship
for the first time since 1919. In 2001 they were defeated in the Ulster Final
by Ballinderry who went on to claim the All Ireland. They retained the Down Senior
Football Championship in 2002 as well as claiming the league.
