Sporting Heritage
of Carndonagh
14.01.26
CARNDONAGH based Colgan
Heritage Committee is preparing an exciting new heritage
project with a sporting theme, to be held in Spring
2026.
Titled 'The Sporting Heritage of Carndonagh', the
project will celebrate Carndonagh’s rich and varied
sporting past while also highlighting notable sporting
stories from across the wider Inishowen area. Central to
the project will be a public exhibition in the Colgan
Hall, and the Committee is now calling on the community
to help bring this exhibition to life. |
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Carn’s 1950 Donegal Junior
Championship Team. Photo Carndonagh Heritage. |
The idea for the project
gathered momentum following Carndonagh GAA’s recent
historic achievement of winning two county championships
in the one season. In researching the club’s past, it
was noted that Carndonagh had already made history in
1950 by winning Inishowen’s first-ever County Junior
title. Remarkably, at least one member of that 1950 team
had grandsons involved in the 2025 championship winning
side - a powerful example of how sport has been woven
into the fabric of Carndonagh life for over seventy-five
years.
As preparations got underway, Committee members began
uncovering a wealth of fascinating local sporting
stories. Among them is the little-known fact that a
Carndonagh man, called Doherty, served as an umpire in
two All-Ireland Football Finals - both the 1938 final
between Galway and Kerry, which ended in a draw before
Galway claimed victory in the replay a month later.
Research has also revealed memorable achievements across
a wide range of sports including soccer, camogie, golf,
rugby, boxing, athletics, cycling, tug of war, tennis,
cricket and horse racing. Soccer is a sport which has
deep roots in the parish - from the famous Carn Rangers
of the 1920s to the 1960s, to Carndonagh FC’s brilliant
FAI Senior Cup run in 1991 when they took League of
Ireland side Limerick to a replay in the second round of
the competition. Many will also recall the excitement of
Ireland manager Jack Charlton’s visit to Carndonagh in
the summer of 1989, as well as the outstanding county,
Ulster and All-Ireland successes of Carndonagh Community
School teams. |
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Carn Rangers 1934. Photo
Courtesy of Carndonagh Heritage. |
Carndonagh has produced
many players and match officials who progressed to
League of Ireland level, with several earning
representative honours. The parish can also boast one of
its most famous sporting sons, former Irish
international Gary Doherty, who enjoyed a distinguished
career with clubs including Luton Town, Tottenham
Hotspur, Norwich City, Charlton Athletic and Wycombe
Wanderers, earning over thirty caps for Ireland.
Buncrana too had a famous footballer, Charles O’Hagan,
who made history in the early 1900s as an Irish
international. He played for Spurs, Middlesborough,
Everton, Aberdeen and Third Lanark, and is believed to
have been Aberdeen’s first-ever internationally capped
player, later managing several top-flight clubs after
serving in World War One.
Other discoveries include references to athletic meets
held over a century ago, boxing tournaments spanning
decades, and major cycle races - including a 1955 event
that attracted over one hundred competitors and huge
crowds throughout Inishowen.
An interesting element of Carndonagh’s sporting heritage
is the long tradition of competitions against military
teams from Fort Dunree and Fort Leenan. These included
GAA, soccer, athletics and boxing contests, first
against British Army personnel and later against Irish
Army soldiers, many of whom were Inishowen men
themselves. There are even reports of local soldiers
participating in sporting events while serving overseas
in places such as Congo, Cyprus and Lebanon.
Colgan Heritage Committee Chairperson Helen Robins said
the research has highlighted 'the depth, diversity and
importance of sport in Carndonagh and Inishowen life,'
noting that alongside great triumphs there were also
colourful and offbeat stories - from a visiting golfer
playing a round on Glashedy Island, to the 1930
'Petticoat Revolution' when women in Clonmany voted
every man off their local tennis club committee, a story
that made national headlines at the time.
However, Helen stressed that the heart of the project
will be a local community exhibition, and the Committee
is appealing to the public for help.
“If you have old photographs, medals, trophies,
newspaper articles, jerseys or any other sporting
memorabilia, in any local sport, we would love to hear
from you,” she said. “The Carndonagh community has
always been incredibly supportive of our work, and we
hope that continues as we prepare what we believe will
be an exhibition of real interest to families throughout
the parish and across Inishowen.”
Helen also took the opportunity to thank everyone who
supported the Committee’s work over the past year and
extended best wishes to the community for Christmas and
the New Year. A special word of thanks was given to
Sandra and the team at the Colgan Hall for their ongoing
support and endless patience in facilitating meetings
and exhibitions throughout 2025.
Anyone wishing to contribute material to the upcoming
exhibition is asked to contact the Colgan Heritage
Committee at
heritagecolgan@gmail.com or any member of the
Committee. |
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