Áth Dara CLG
Adare GAA club history goes back to the late eighteenth Century with the parish being represented under the names Adare, Adare Faughs, and Adare Desmonds.
We had to wait until 1929 to find records of the formation of the club, with many of the old parish names prominent among the founding fathers. They got up and running surprisingly quickly, only to lose the West Senior Hurling Final in 1932 to Newcastlewest after a replay.
However this level of success was not to continue and during the 30’s and 40’s the club played at Junior level – using a field virtually across the road from the present pitch. The club played under the name Shauntrade in the forties, enjoying much success, and reformed as Adare in 1948.
The history of the club in the fifties shows the increasing influence of the Christian Brothers, with greater mention of schools and underage activity. The prestigious Leader Cup for Post Primary Schools in the county was won in 1952 and ’53. This base of coaching ultimately bore fruit with the winning of the West and County Junior hurling Championships in 1964. This victory moved the Club into Senior status. Reaching the first Senior County final- losing to Claughan in 1968 confirmed the clubs arrival in senior ranks, where we have resided ever since.
The county Senior hurling Championship was, for many years played on a divisional basis, and there were years when Adare were beaten in the West, by teams who didn’t find stronger opposition in the rest of the County.
Our present playing pitch was acquired in 1966 for the princely sum of £850, having been leased for the previous 20 years, and the club was one of the first in the County to build dressing rooms in 1968 – a job undertaken completely by voluntary labour.
The seventies through the nineties were years of great achievements in underage, regularly winning West Limerick titles and winning County Minor titles in ’90,’98 and 99. Our first U 21 County title came in 1979, with further successes in ’83, ’99 and 2000. Mark Foley’s All Star Awards, while wonderfully individual in their merit, were further grist to the mill in this period.
With this base of underage success, and the hunger built up by failing in Senior finals in ’86, ’90, ’93 and ’96, County Senior victories were inevitable. They came in 2001 and ’02, and after a few years of disappointment we came good again the last two years and will be delighted and very proud, if we achieve three in a row!!
Our club has provided many officials at West and County level over the years, both in administration and team management, the high point being Limerick’s three U 21 teams managed by Dave Keane and captained by our people on a couple of occasions. Many Adare players have worn various County jerseys with distinction over the years, and we look forward to cheering many more of them on, in the future.
Endless time spent coaching our young players has won the club many honours at underage level and of course has been the bedrock of the clubs ethos over the years. Success at all underage levels last year heralds the arrival of new groups of players, who, along with their parents, have bought into the regime of coaching, training and skills improvement. The construction of the ball alley has further added to the club’s facilities.
Our Footballers won County Junior in ’85 but gradually slid back to Junior B level. In a remarkable run they progressed through to Senior status winning the Junior B, Junior and Intermediate Championships along the way and failing in a replay in the Senior Final in’02 in what would have been a wonderful double. Many of the players involved at that time are still trying for that elusive football medal, and hopefully much deserved success will come their way soon.