John Mitchels GAA (Liverpool)

John Mitchels GAA
Sean Misteid CLG
Founded:1901
County:Lancashire
Nickname:Mitchels
Colours:Blue and yellow
Grounds:Greenbank Park, Mossley Hill
Playing kits
Standard colours

John Mitchels Gaelic Athletic Club (Irish: Sean Misteid Cumann Lúthchleas Gael) is a Gaelic football club in Mossley Hill, Liverpool.

Mitchels play football at men's senior and junior level, and ladies' intermediate and junior level, as well as having a growing under-age structure. They are one of the member clubs of the Lancashire County Board.

History

The origins of the club go back to 1901, with the "Young Irelands" becoming the first club formally registered in Liverpool. The first Gaelic game in Liverpool was a hurling match against Manchester Martyrs on Easter Monday 1901, with the Young Irelanders coming out on top. The match attracted Special Branch attention.[1]

In 1913, the Young Irelanders' home grounds at Greenwich Park in Aintree were used to host that year's All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship.[1] The local Liverpool Irish Volunteers also paraded at Greenwich Park in the 1910s,[2][3] and the GAA in Liverpool was used as a "recruiting ground" for both Sinn Féin and the Liverpool Irish Volunteers who later took part in the Easter Rising.[2][3][4]. The club later changed their name to the Irish "Éire Óg". With many of the team deported to Ireland during the Second World War for failing to join the army, the team amalgamated with "St Patrick's" in 1940, named for the Widnes-based parish of the St Patrick's founder, Fr. Paddy Spain.

John Mitchels GFC was registered out of the local Irish League club of the same name in 1947, and amalgamated with St Patrick's a year later to become the "St Patrick's Hurling and John Mitchels Gaelic Football Club".[5]. While there was a break of 2-3 years in the club's continuity in the early 2000s, the team began to field again in 2006, with players joining from the local university teams.[6] Two years after reforming, John Mitchels won the All-Britain Club Championship for the first time.

The club had no permanent pitch for long periods in the 20th century, bouncing around pitches at Broad Green, Yew Tree, Sefton RUFC, Ellesmere Port, Bootle, and Newsham Park.[6] They opened their current, permanent home pitch at Greenbank Park, Mossley Hill in 2007, playing an exhibition match against Enniskillen Gaels, Fermanagh.[7]

In 2009, John Mitchels became the first team from outside Ireland to reach an All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship final,[8][9]. They were beaten by Skellig Rangers, Kerry.[10][11] They were runners up again in 2015, beaten on that occasion by Brosna, also of Kerry.[12][13][14]

Honours

Source:[6][15][16]

Men's football

  • All-Britain Club Football Championship (5)
    • 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015
  • Lancashire Senior Football Championship (14)
    • 1952, 1965, 1966, 1999, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2023, 2024

Ladies' football

  • All-Britain Intermediate Ladies' Club Football Championship (1)
    • 2017
  • All-Britain Junior Ladies' Club Football Championship (2)
    • 2007, 2008
  • Northern Intermediate Ladies' Football Championship (3)
    • 2016, 2017, 2021
  • Lancashire Junior Ladies' Football Championship (4)
    • 2010, 2015, 2019, 2021

Further reading

  • The Story of the G.A.A. in Liverpool, John Mitchels Gaelic Football Club, 1984 (Booklet; 32 pages)

References

  1. 1 2 Belchem, John (2007). Irish Catholic and Scouse: A History of the Liverpool-Irish, 1800-1939. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. p. 242. ISBN 978-1-78138-679-8.
  2. 1 2 Gleeson, Joseph. "Statement by Witness Document No. W.S. 0367" (PDF). Militaryarchives.ie. Bureau of Military History. p. 1 (2). Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  3. 1 2 Thornton, Frank. "Statement by Witness Document No. W.S. 0510" (PDF). Militaryarchives.ie. Bureau of Military History. p. 1 (4). Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  4. ↑ Doolin, Declan (2022). The 'Liverpool Lambs'. Independent Publishing Network and Mixam Print. pp. 57–58. ISBN 978-1-80352-364-4.
  5. ↑ Walsh, Tommy (2011). Being Irish in Liverpool. Liverpool: St Michael's Irish Centre. pp. 157–181.
  6. 1 2 3 "GAA Oral History - Members of John Mitchels GFC Liverpool". gaa.ie. 23 October 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
  7. ↑ Rigg, Danny (7 August 2022). "The game that's 'more a culture than a sport'". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  8. ↑ "All-Ireland Club JFC: Brave Mitchel's make history". Hogan Stand. 25 January 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  9. ↑ "About John Mitchel's GAA Liverpool". johnmitchelsliverpool.com. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  10. ↑ "Merseysides Go Home Empty Handed". Irish Independent. 15 February 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  11. ↑ Murphy, Murt (18 February 2009). "Rangers never took Mitchells for granted". Irish Independent. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  12. ↑ Sweeney, Peter (15 February 2015). "Kerry's Brosna claim All-Ireland Junior Football Club Title". The 42. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  13. ↑ "Brosna break Mitchels' hearts in low-scoring final". Irish Independent. 15 February 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  14. ↑ Prentice, David (23 February 2015). "Liverpool Gaelic Football Side So Close To Making History". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  15. ↑ "Lancashire GAA Roll of Honour". Lancashire GAA. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
  16. ↑ "John Mitchels secure fourth successive Lancashire Senior Football title". Irish Post. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
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