Welcome to Stewartstown Harps G.F.C official website. We were the 1st Tyrone club to have a website when the site was launched online in December 1997. We hope you enjoy your visit to our site and please dont forget to leave some comments in the feedback section. Stewartstown Harps Gaelic Football
Club was founded in 1912 and played in the East Tyrone league until
1918. The Harps reformed in 1923 to play in the Stewartstown District
(East Tyrone) league and we then won the first of our two Tyrone
Senior championships a year later. On our way to championship victory
in 1924 the club defeated Beragh Red Knights by 3-5 to 2-3 in the
semi-finals and then Omagh Coleman's in the final by 0-18 to 0-4.
The Harps were also East Tyrone Senior League Winners as well that
year.
Unfortunately the Harps went out of existence
at the end of the decade and it wasn't until 1957 that the club
was reformed again. This reformation was down to the hard working
Samuel Park and the club based its facilities in the townland of
Mullaghmoyle. Since this reformation the Harps have been playing
continuously ever since in the Tyrone leagues with a reasonable
amount of success, most notably winning the O'Neill Cup in 1962.
In the 1962 Tyrone Senior championship the Harps defeated teams
such as Coalisland, Pomeroy and Urney on the path to the final.
In the final the Harps met local rivals Derrylaughan Kevin Barry's
and emerged victors on a 3-3 to 0-3 scoreline. There were jubilant
scenes when team captain Paddy McNally received the O'Neill Cup
from Paddy Cullen of the Tyrone County Board.
The Sixties and Seventies was undoubtedly the
most celebrated era in the history of the club. Along with the Senior
Championship in 1962, an Intermediate League was won in 1964 as
well as Senior league titles in 1971, 1973 and 1975. The Harps also
reached the Senior championship final in 1972 but a Frank McGuigan
inspired Ardboe proved too strong. Apart from an Intermediate Championship
triumph against Augher in 1980 the Eighties and Nineties were not
as successful. Relegation to Junior football for the first time
since the club was reformed occurred in 1988. However the Harps
fought back and won promotion immediately the following year in
1989 by winning Division 3.
In 1990 the Harps reached the Intermediate
Championship final but a severely weakened team proved no match
for an Ardboe side who were Senior champions 3 years previously.
Despite a good league showing that year as well, the Harps spent
the next six years languishing in the lower regions of Intermediate
football before being relegated to Junior football again in 1997.
The Harps second spell in Junior Football only lasted two seasons
as Intermediate status was regained for the year 2000 as a result
of league restructuring. Three seasons of Intermediate football
followed for the Harps before relegation back to Junior football
again in 2002. Even though the Senior team was struggling there
was still hope for the Harps as a strong youth policy was beginning
to come to fruition. The U-16's won the league and championship
double in 2001 while Minor leagues were won in 2002 and 2003. The
majority of these players are now part of the Harps senior squad
and they have now transferred this youth success onto the senior
stage by winning Tyrone and Ulster Junior championships in 2004
and in 2005 reaching an All-Ireland Junior Club Football Final.
2005 was also a big year off the field for the Harps as a new pavilion
was built at Mullaghmoyle to replace the existing pavilion which
had been built in 1974. 2006 was the year when the Harps finally
gained promotion back to Senior Championship Football after a period
of 26 years, and it is fitting that the Harps will be back in senior
ranks in 2007, 50 years after the present Harps club was reformed.
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