When Letterkenny Rovers took the Donegal SFC crown to the Cathedral Town

With St Eunan’s taking on Dungloe on Sunday in the final of the Donegal SFC, it means the club based at O’Donnell Park have a chance to win a record 16th crown.

However, they weren’t the first club from the Cathedral Town to take home the Dr Maguire Cup, as Letterkenny Rovers - no, not the football club - won the 1927 title.

In 1924, two GAA clubs were formed in Letterkenny – the Geraldine’s and Letterkenny Rovers – both sharing a pitch at Ballymacool – known locally as the Burn Field.

Success came for the Geraldine’s in 1926 when they won the Dr McGinley Cup – the League title, without defeat while Letterkenny Rovers had to wait for their silverware, being defeated in the Championship final by Ardara 0-5 to 0-2.

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They did not have long to wait though, as the following season saw them win the County Championship for the first time for a Letterkenny club.

Run on a league format in the spring of 1927, on March 4 in Newtowncunningham with a crowd of over 300 watching, victory against Carrigans assured them of the title with a scoreline of 1-5 to 0-3.

The Rovers team consisted of Patrick Doherty (captain), Michael Peoples, John Harvey, William O’Donnell, John McManus, Anthony Gallagher, Frank Larkin, Jack Doherty, William Strain, William Roarty, Hugh McGlynn, Patsy Sweeney, Phil Doherty and John Larkin.

However, only a few weeks after this Championship success, due to the majority of their team being decimated by emigration, the club merged with the Geraldine’s to form St Eunan’s GAA Club in August 1927.

This club was in existence for only a short time though, playing only 15 matches, and broke up in June 1928. Two years later, a meeting was held in the Literary Institute to reform and take on all debts of the old club and the current St Eunan’s GAA Club was born.

The first match for this new club took place on March 2, 1930, on the grounds of St Conal’s Hospital, almost three years to the day of the Championship success of Letterkenny Rovers.

Fittingly, former Rovers star Anthony Gallagher from Sallaghgraine was chosen as captain.
In October 1927, only a few months after the break up of the GAA club, the first record of Letterkenny Rovers Football Club can be found, beating Ballyshannon 5-1 in Ballymacool.

Letterkenny Crusaders FC were founded in 1938 – and reformed in 1951 – before the current Letterkenny Rovers FC as we know it was formed in 1957.