In pictures: CLG Chill Chartha all set to celebrate 100 years

It all started with a match against Ballyshannon in November 1924. Kilcar staged their first ever game and now 100 years later they are celebrating their centenary.

The highlight of those centenary celebrations is set for the August Bank Holiday weekend and especially on Saturday, 3rd August.

Chairman of the Centenary Committee, James Hegarty, says they are really looking forward to it and they were able to breathe a sigh of relief on Sunday evening last when Clare defeated Cork by a point in the All-Ireland hurling final.

A highlight of the planned celebrations on August 3rd is a banquet in the Blue Haven where the special guest will be Uachtaran CLG Jarlath Burns. However, if the game on Sunday had ended level, the replay was fixed for August 3rd in Croke Park and that would have ruled out the presence of the Uachtaran in Kilcar.

“We met to bring this together about a year and a half ago. We had our launch night earlier in the year in the Aislann and it was very successful with over 200 present. We had a lot of memorabilia on show and it was a successful night,” said committee chairman James Hegarty.

“It’s all about organising this night in the Blue Haven now on August 3rd. You can see by our posters we are having a number of games in Towney earlier in the day and these are mainly players that have family outside the club. They will be playing a local selection.

“There seems to be a lot of interest outside the club and there are a lot of people returning for the weekend. It’s the traditional holiday weekend and it should work out well.

“Then we will have the banquet in the Blue Haven on Saturday night and we hope to be showing much of the memorabilia that we had at our launch,” he said.

The Kilcar club has come a long way since those beginnings in 1924. They were declared Donegal senior champions the following year, 1925, which was a year that was clouded in controversy.

And while they continued to provide an outlet for young people for games, it was not really until the second half of the last century that they made their mark, reaching Donegal senior finals in 1959 and 1963.

The early seventies was the springboard for the club with three U-21 titles and a Junior championship before they won their second senior title in 1980. From then to this day they have been one of the strong clubs in the county despite being also one of the smallest club areas.

There are plans to re-enact the first ever game played by the club in November and a separate History Committee are working on producing a Club History.

The schedule for the Centenary Weekend celebrations on August 3rd is:

First up starting at 11:30am we will have children's, men's and ladies fun GAA matches with players with family connections from all over the world getting involved in the action and we will also have children’s fun events and lots more to start the celebrations day off at our home grounds at Pairc Tamhnaigh this will run until approximately 4pm.

Then from 6:30pm in The Blue Haven join us for our centenary night (all ticket event) with drinks reception on arrival, food, exhibition of club memorabilia, GAA president Jarlath Burns will be in attendance. There will be guest speakers, a short history of the club on the big screens and music later with "The Minertones". MC for the night will be Austin O'Callaghan of Ocean FM and it’s a chance to reunite with old team mates and friends and celebrate our club’s landmark year.

“It will be a night not to be missed and definitely one to remember as we celebrate the 100th year since the founding of our club and we will remember and celebrate those who founded the club, those who kept the club going over the decades and every single person who continue to be part of the club and as part of our community. Those who have passed on will be prayed for at the graveyard mass on Friday 2nd in Kilcar.”

Tickets for this event are €30 and are now on sale, contact one of the following:

James Hegarty 087-1632797

Nicola Doogan 087-4150188

James Byrne 086-9969256

Paul McCloskey 087-6592178

Paul Hegarty 087-2610308