| This was the
club's first ever county title and this team was to prove the
backbone of the 1955 Junior team that went on to win the North
Board League title. One of the great legend's of Headford football
was Mick "Cos" Costello, son of Garda Costello of
Headford. "Cos" had the distinction of being the only
player to link the 1953 County Minor Champions, 1955 North Board
Junior League Champions and the great 1966 County Junior Champions.
"Cos", in later years, was rewarded for his efforts
by winning further honours with St. Loman's, Westmeath, and
also played at county level for both Galway and Westmeath. Another
Headford great, Ger Nohilly, also had the distinction of representing
Westmeath at county level. Probably the most important link
between the those same three victorious Headford teams was the
fact that they were all managed by the legendary Tom Fitzgerald,
who was also a member of the victorious, back-to-back winning
Junior teams of 1932 and 1933. The
1966 County Junior Championship winning side was remarkable
in that on their first outing they were beaten by Turloughmore
and were entered in the losers section, which they won, and
thus qualified for the championship first round proper. They
qualified for the North Board Final where they overcame our
neighbouring rivals, Caherlistrane.
They proceeded to the County Semi-Final,
where they beat Ballindereen and then advanced to the Final
to beat Killanin. The main reason for the success of this
team was due to the hard work done by Tom Geraghty, chairman
at that time. He had succeeded in encouraging many of the
club's great players of the 50's, who had moved away, to return
to play for the club in its quest for glory. This bunch of
players, along with the young home based players, were blended
into a formiddable team by the great Tom Fitzgerald. |
After the historic
victory in 1966, Headford were promoted to the Senior ranks
where they acquitted themselves quite well, but fell short
of victory. Heaford were regraded to the Junior ranks in 1974
and by 1976 they were challenging for honours again at that
level. After winning the North Board League Final (the last
team to do so before the old divisional boards of 1913 were
abolished later that year) against rivals Caherlistrane, the
sides met again in the North Board Championship Final, but
this time it was Caherlistrane who came out on top on a scoreline
of 0-7 to 0-4.
The 80's held mixed fortunes for Headford
G.A.A. club as it sometimes struggle to come to terms with
Intermediate football, though at the same time it produced
the name most synonymous with Headford football, Seamus McHugh,
who was to play for Galway on numerous occassions and won
an All-Star in 1984, along with representing his country on
the compromised rules tour of 1984. 1987 was as close as Headford
came to winning major honours at Intermediate level, as they
were beaten in the Championship final by the narrowest of
margins, by a Carraroe side that would go on to win two County
Senior Championship titles in the 90's. ollowing a brief spell
at Junior level in the early 80's, the team returned to Intermediate
level in 1994. Success at under-14 level in 1990 and 1991,
under-16 in 1985 and Minor in 1987, success was sure to follow
in the near future. In 1998, Headford had arguably its best
year ever on the football field with the club capturing none
other than five prestigeous trophies, the North Board Minor
"B" league title, Under-21 "B" North Board
and County Championship titles and the Junior "B"
North Board and County Championship titles. These victories
were built around a small number of the victorioius minor
team from that year and the development of these players,
and their introduction to the Intermediate squad, has ensured
that Headford will push for honours into the new millenium.
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