Armagh’s successful year continues as Lurgan club Clan na Gael, got a welcome boost in the run up to Sunday’s Armagh Championship final against local rivals, Clann Eireann, with the news that their club history ‘Clan na Gael - More than a Club’ had been awarded a prestigious MacNamee Award in the best Club Publication category.
The awards are named after Padraig MacNamee, the first Armagh-born President of the Association.
Written by local author and historian Dr Gerard McAtasney and containing over 500 pages, the history, from its first chapter intriguingly entitled " The Priest, The Protestant and the Patriot” to its final chapter “The BluePrint -outlining the club’s hopes for the future’, captured the opinion of the judges.
A social history of north Armagh, it charts the growth of the GAA in Lurgan as well as recording the many league and championship wins and other honours captured by the club during their 100 years in existence.
The citation stated that “the book highlights what we all love about the GAA - the fact that it is not about sport, it is about the unique bond between family place and club that continues through generations.”
They also highlighted the clever use of the QR code, which can be used to access an audio history of Clan na Gael, which was written and narrated by Oscar winner Ronan Blaney, whose father was a lifetime member of the club.
This continues the successes of Armagh in the MacNamee Awards over the years as Armagh TV won Best New Digital Initiative in 2016 and Best Digital Impact in 2020, the same year as they won the Best Programme award.
It is the second time that the club has captured a MacNamee Award as they collected the Best Club website in 2010 thanks to the work of clubman, Marty Lavery and the presentation of the Awards takes place in Croke Park on November 8 from GAA President Jarlath Burns. The club website in announcing the award praised the author, the main archivist Paul O’Hagan and the editorial group of club chairman, Colm Owens, Teddy Martin and Jimmy Smyth for their work in its production.
