Glanmire Parish/Club History
Glanmire has a long and rich history that dates back to early Christian Ireland. The stone bridge located in Riverstown is one of the oldest constructions in Cork. Oliver Cromwell is reputed to have ridden over it, when he inspected Glanmire during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Brian of Glanmire, nephew of the Gaelic king Brian Boru, also lived in Glanmire.
In the 1800s, Glanmire was much smaller, and mainly just consisted of the village area. It was a highly industralised area with woolen factories and mills scattered around the nearby river Glashaboy. A smallpox fever once killed many people in the village.
Riverstown House, actually located nearer Brooklodge, was resided in at this time. It was in the 20th century that Glanmire started to expand. In the later half of the century, more houses and facilities were built. Today it boasts a population of over 17,000 people.
In 1894 a group of men led by Billy O'Neill of Sarfield's Court established Sarsfields GAA Club. Organised matches were played by Riverstown hurlers in the 'Pike Inch' field under the parish church of Glanmire, and before long Billy O'Neill and his loyal companions had completed the organisational formalities.
One of the most abiding memories of all for the older club members is the never-to-be-forgotten county final of 1951 in which Sars stalwarts emerged victorious after half-a-centry of untiring club perservance, and the repetition of that glorious performances in 1957.
It's base and cornerstone has always been Riverstown, five miles from Cork on the road to Dublin and in the parish of Glanmire. But its catchment area stretches from Dunkettle Bridge to Watergrasshill and from Dillon's Cross in the city to Glounthane. Or, it's territory might be described as the valley of the Glashaboy River, which includes the district of Carraig na bhFear, Upper Glanmire, Knocknahorgan, Templemichael, Sallybrook, Riverstown and Glanmire Village.
Glanmire Parish extends from midway on Tivoli dual carriageway, east of Cork city, to within three miles of Watergrasshill, to White's Cross via Templemichael. There are two Catholic churches in the Glanmire and Saint Michael's church in Upper Glanmire and Springhill in Riverstown.
St Michael's Church in Upper Glanmire was dedicated and reopened for worship in 1808 following major restructuring. The bi-centenary of this church was celebrated in 2008 with a special Mass of Thanksgiving on Saturday 11 October 2008, with Bishop John Buckley as principal celebrant.
St Joseph's Church in Springhill is the Glanmire Parish Church and was dedicated in 1837. The church is located not far from the banks of the Glashaboy river. St Joseph's Church is in close proximity to the Crestfield Shopping Centre and overlooks the far end of Glanmire Football Club's pitches. The parochial house is situated on the grounds of the church.
Both St Joseph's church and St Michael's Church in Upper Glanmire are built on or near the sites of pre-penal times churches.
They have various parish groups including the altar society, baptism teams, grotto committee, IT team, Ministers of the Word, Eucharistic Ministers, the finance committee and the parish assembly.
'Glanmire' is used by residents of the area to mean the greater Glanmire area, encompassing Riverstown, Brooklodge and Sallybrook areas. These are all semi-distinct adjacent villages with many facilities shared between them. There also is an area outside Glanmire called Upper Glanmire, which includes White's Cross, Sarsfields Court, Ballyphilip, Ballinaparson, Coolgreen, Templemichael and Buck Leary's Cross.
Glanmire GAAClub is closely associated with Sarsfields GAA Club which is a seperate hurling Club in the area. In the 1890s Cumann Peile Gleann Maghair had a ground in Rathcooney where they trained and played their games. Organised matches were also played in the Pike Inch field close to St. Joseph's Church. They participated in many tournament games throughout the county. In the early 1920s when the Club went out of existence, Sarsfields Hurling Club entered football teams and won six Divisional 'A' Grade Championships between 1929 and 1937. They won a County title in 1937. Sarsfields also captured four 'A' Grade Minor Football Championship titles between 1930 and 1937 including two County Titles in 1936 and 1937. Since Glanmire GAA Club re-formed in 1945 many Imokilly Divisional and County Championship titles have been won. A County Intermediate title was won in 1987 and Glanmire were Intermediate Runner-Up in 1985, 2005 and 2006. At Divisional level Glanmire won thirteen Junior 'A' titles between 1946 and 1977. Two County Junior 'A' titles were won in 1951 and 1958 along with two League titles in 1963 and 1965. The Imokilly Junior 'B' Championship has been won four times and the League has been won once. Cumann Peile Gleann Maghair leads the Roll of Honour in East Cork U21A Championship titles wining the competition 13 times between 1972 and 2010. The East Cork U21B Championship was won in 1979 while the 'C' Grade Championship was won in 2009 when the Club fielded two U21 teams. At Minor Grade Glanmire have won twenty-five East Cork 'A' Championship titles between 1946 and 2005. The East Cork Minor 'B' Championship was won in 1981. In the League, eight East Cork titles have been won between 1974 and 2001. Glanmire also won the County Minor 'A' League in 1981.
On the 7th October 2017 the Glanmire GAA Club ground at Sallybrook was officially named Paddy Duggan Memorial Park in honour of Paddy Duggan RIP who along with Mick Barry RIP combined thier individual talents brilliantly to encourage/coach the youth of the Glanmire area to achieve their full potential in the GAA. In addition to the facilities at Sallybrook, Glanmire GAA operate a lease on land at Buckleary's Cross, Upper Glanmire known as Kiely Park.
