Tara Ladies History

The History of Tara Ladies GFC

Founded in 1978

The 1970’s

Tara Ladies are a London based club and are the longest existing Ladies Gaelic club in Britain.

So where did our story begin?  Once upon a time in the late 1970’s, Fr. Ryan, a Tipperary man based at St Agnes Church, Cricklewood, London, was aware that immigration from Ireland had created a large Irish community and called on girls or ladies in the parish who were interested in playing gaelic football to come forward.  Anna Clarke, Roz Walsh, Brenda Harte, Siobhan Faughnan, Fiona O’Connor and Grainne O’Sullivan were among the first girls to play for St Agnes’s.  As often happens, Fr Ryan was asked to return to Ireland to provide support in another parish and it was at this point that St Agnes’s became Tara Ladies GFC with the help of Proinnsias Redican in 1978.

In the early years there were only three ladies clubs in London which Tara were one, and they were reliant on Annual Irish Festivals, such as Roundwood Park and Harrow Irish Festival to provide an opportunity for a competitive match and silverware.  In 1986, the Tara Ladies were instigative in forming the first London Ladies County Board and from here Ladies Gaelic football in London flourished with the formation of several new clubs and a structured league and championship competition.  Tara Ladies have had some glorious years.

The 1980’s

In 1987 they won their first Championship under Tom Mohan and 2005 was another high point for Tara lead by manager Conor Mone, when they won the London Junior Championship and the All Britain Junior Title.  Like all clubs, there have been glorious years and rebuilding years.  Tara have been blessed over the years and with wonderful players and committee members, too many to mention.

The 1990’s

In the late 1990’s Tara started to focus on their youth structure when the Celtic Tiger pulled many girls back home to Ireland and this has continued over the years.

The 2000’s

Need paragraph of history for the 2000’s

The 2010’s

Need paragraph of history for the 2010’s

The past 40 years there have seen close to 200 ladies playing for Tara Ladies, they have come from far and near.  The memories of training, matches and nights out are endless and too many to recount.  Aside from all of this are the life-long friendships that have been made along the way, too valuable to put into words.