Ballyhale Shamrocks
| Seamróga Baile hÉil | |||||||||||||
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| Founded: | 1972 | ||||||||||||
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| County: | Kilkenny | ||||||||||||
| Nickname: | The Shamrocks | ||||||||||||
| Colours: | White & Green | ||||||||||||
| Grounds: | Páirc na Seamróg, Main St., Ballyhale | ||||||||||||
| Coordinates: | 52°27′43.48″N 7°12′48.69″W / 52.4620778°N 7.2135250°WCoordinates: 52°27′43.48″N 7°12′48.69″W / 52.4620778°N 7.2135250°W | ||||||||||||
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Ballyhale Shamrocks is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in the parish of Ballyhale in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland. The club was founded in 1972 and is primarily concerned with the game of hurling. Ballyhale Shamrocks are the most successful club in the history of the All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship with six titles.
Gaelic Games had been played in the parish of Ballyhale long before the Shamrocks club was established. By the early 1970s there were two competing clubs in existence in the parish, Ballyhale and Knocktopher, however, they were both facing extinction. A third club, Knockmoylan, had ceased to exist at some time in 1959. Because of the situation facing both clubs they decided to amalgamate in 1972 under the new name of Ballyhale Shamrocks. The club adopted as its logo a three-leaf shamrock with the letters K, B and K, representing the three clubs that had existed in the parish, inserted on each leaf. The Ballyhale Shamrocks colours are green and white. Success for the new Shamrocks club was instant. The club won the Kilkenny Junior Hurling Championship in 1973 before claiming the Kilkenny Intermediate Hurling Championship title in 1974, a victory which allowed Ballyhale Shamrocks to play in the Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship.
Four years after joining the senior grade, Ballyhale Shamrocks reached the final of the county senior championship in 1978. It was a great occasion for a club that was only founded six years earlier. On that occasion the Fenians club, the reigning champions, provided the opposition. After an interesting hour of hurling Ballyhale were the winners by 0-15 to 0-10, allowing them to take their first county title at senior level. This victory also allowed the club to represent Kilkenny in the Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship series of games. The fairytale continued for Ballyhale as they reached the final of that competition where they defeated Dublin champions Crumlin. A 1-13 to 1-6 victory gave Ballyhale Shamrocks their first Leinster club title. The subsequent All-Ireland club final saw Ballyhale take on the famous Blackrock club from Cork. Two first-half Ray Cummins goals gave ‘the Rockies’ the edge going into the second half and they won the game, only just, by 5-7 to 5-5.
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