'We knew this day was coming'
August 10, 2019
A view of the Ogra Colmcille GAA grounds in Derry. Pic via Ogra Colmcille GFC on Facebook.
A Derry GAA club has been forced to disband due to a lack of numbers.
Ogra Colmcille, who celebrated their centenary in 2011, have opted out of this year's county JFC on the back of deciding not to enter the league this year. Their last game was a 0-10 to 3-10 defeat to neighbours Moneymore in last year's championship.
The Drummullan parish outfit had no underage structure and were dependant on players transferring in from nearby Ballinderry and Cookstown.
“At the back of our mind, we knew this day was coming. Anyone who knows Ogra will feel we survived two, three or four years longer than we should’ve,” chairman Martin Devlin told the Derry Post.
“Ballinderry gave us, over the last four or five years, 11 or 12 players and it kept us afloat."
The decision wasn't taken lightly by Ogra who defeated holders Magilligan in the 2017 JFC before losing the semi-final to Doire Transa after a replay.
TweetOverwhelmed with the support we’ve received over the last few days - hopefully take this positivity forward with the community group & St Finbar’s to help grow the parish again - who knows we could see the jerseys on next year in some form ... https://t.co/RQujaJ4Ygj
— Ogra Colmcille (@Ogracolmcille) August 9, 2019
