Annascaul GAA Club (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Abhainn an Scáil ) is a Gaelic Athletic Association club that plays Gaelic football and is based in Annascaul, County Kerry, Ireland. They play in Division 4 of the County Football League and in the Kerry Junior Premier Football Championship. Annascaul is formed by three communities- Annascaul, Inch and Camp. Camp has the proud distinction of having the most All-Ireland medals per head of population of any village in Ireland. There are reports of Hurling being played in the area during the early part of the 20th century.
History
In the mid-1950s, the parishes of Annascaul and Camp joined forces to establish the Annacaul GAA Club.[1] The club won the West Kerry Championship in 1957.[1]
In 1993, the club played in the Kerry Senior Football Championship for the first time and made it to the final, where shorn of many of their star players due to injury, lost out to Laune Rangers. There were some notable wins along the way, including a first round win over then holders Mid Kerry and over locals West Kerry in the semi-final.
The club was the first in the county to have a weekly lottery.
The club's home ground is named after Paddy Kennedy who played for Kerry in the 1930s and 1940s. Regarded by many as one of the all-time greats of Kerry football, he was captain of the 1946 All-Ireland winning team. The pitch was opened in 1984; the first game played there was between Kerry and Dublin. Since then, there have been many West Kerry League championship games and finals played there by all age groups as well as many County League championships. In 2003, the Munster Ladies Minor Football Championship final between Kerry and Cork was played there. In 2008, a round of the Ladies National League was played between Kerry and Mayo.
In 2011, clubs in West Kerry set up a scholarship to honour the memory of Annascaul footballer Brendan "Bawnie" O'Driscoll who collapsed during a match and died.[2]
