2022 proved to be yet another memorable year in the world of club GAA. Here Balls.ie takes a look back at some of our favourite stories from the club scene around the country.
David Clifford's magical season continued at club level
David Clifford starred for Kerry as they won the All-Ireland in July and quickly returned to action for both Fossa and East Kerry. At the end of a Junior Premier Championship group game for Fossa in August, Clifford faced a stampede from young fans desperately seeking photos with the biggest star in the sport right now.
He would go onto play a pivotal role as his divisonal side East Kerry won the senior title and was instrumental as Fossa won the Junior Premier title scoring 2-12 on that occasion.
His exploits didn't stop there as he opted to skip the All-Ireland winning team holiday to play for Fossa in the Munster Championship, helping them to provincial glory.
In 2022, David Clifford has won:
🏆 McGrath Cup
🏆 NFL Division 1
🏆 Munster SFC
🏆 All-Ireland
🏆 Kerry Senior Club Championship
🏆 Kerry junior championship
🏆 Munster junior championship
🏆 All-Star
🏆 Footballer of the year
Time to put the feet up for Christmas 😅 pic.twitter.com/Z8IXwcg2TH— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) December 11, 2022
The 23-year-old will be hoping to get his new year off to a good start when Fossa play Castletown of Meath in the All-Ireland Junior semi-final on the weekend of the 7th of January.
Easkey putting Sligo hurling on the map
Easkey have now made it all the way to Croke Park and will play in the All-Ireland junior club hurling final next month.
The Sligo side have been on a remarkable journey in recent years, with hurling only being "redeveloped" in the club just over a decade ago.
They lost last year's provincial final before playing in this year's; a tight encounter and low-scoring affair, as they edged out Galway's Ballygar by a single point on a scoreline of 0-05 to 0-04.
Great to talk to Bernard Feeney of @EaskeyGAA during the week. The Connaught and Sligo champions will now play in the All-Ireland semi-final the week before Christmas. @ballsdotie https://t.co/7VldFZ0zMX
— Rory Cassidy (@rorycassidy01) November 27, 2022
The Sligo senior hurling champions have won three-in-a-row but prior to that their last county title came back in 1963.
Easkey's achievements this year are all the more noteworthy given the fact that manager Michael Gordon commutes back to training or games every weekend from London.
Ruairí Canavan's incredible point sparks global reaction
Errigal Ciaran's Ruairí Canavan scored an amazing point after a cheeky dummy in the Tyrone side's Ulster club championship quarter final against Glen of Derry.
Collecting the ball near the 45, the Tyrone star dummied Glen defender Ryan Dougan, before slotting the ball over the bar.
https://www.tiktok.com/@cbssports/video/7166438676564577578?embed_source=121331973%2C120811592%2C120810756%3Bnull%3Bembed_blank&is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7166438676564577578&refer=embed&referer_url=www.balls.ie%2Fgaa%2Fruairi-canavan-dummy-solo-new-gaa-fans-532938&referer_video_id=7166438676564577578
Ruairí, who is the son of legendary Peter, was named Eirgrid u20 Footballer of the Year for his role in his county's U20 All-Ireland triumph and hit 1-7 in the final against Kildare and 1-34 throughout the U20 championship.
His Ulster club championship point went viral with CBS Sports, the American broadcaster, sharing the clip to their 3.1m followers on TikTok.
Paul Finlay shows age is just a number as Ballybay shock Crossmaglen
39-year-old Paul Finlay played a crucial role as Monaghan champions Ballybay shocked Crossmaglen in the Ulster club championship.
Finlay won man of the match in his debut in the competition scoring four points.
It came after Ballybay won their first county title in ten years in Clones in October, derailing Scotstown's hopes of winning three-in-a-row. In 2012 Finlay was on his honeymoon as his side entered the Ulster championship and little did he know then that he wouldn't have the opportunity to play at that level for a decade.
Last year's All-Ireland champions Kilcoo proved too strong for Finlay and Ballybay in the next round.
Kilruane MacDonagh's touching tribute to Dillon Quirke
Without question one of the saddest moments of the GAA year was the loss of Tipperary and Clonoulty/Rossmore star Dillon Quirke during a senior championship clash against Kilruane MacDonagh's in August at Semple Stadium.
The 24-year-old was remembered at his funeral mass as a "true legend" and "shining star."
Kilruane MacDonagh's went onto win the county title this year after a replay and paid a touching tribute to the late Quirke. The newly crowned champions knelt on the ground and raised a red helmet aloft at the spot where he died in his memory.
A touching tribute
| In partnership with Sports Direct #BornToPlayhttps://t.co/W2y9Gj0RV4— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) October 30, 2022
The gesture was widely admired both in Tipperary and across the GAA community.
Creeslough U13's win division two title to boost heartbroken community
The devastating explosion in Creeslough claimed back in October claimed the lives of ten people and left the community and country in shock and sadness.
Just a couple of weeks after the unspeakable tragedy the local GAA clubs U13 team gave the area a much needed boost when they won the division two football title.
The young Naomh Michéal side of Creeslough/Dunfanaghy beat Naomh Conail in the final 3-7 to 2-7.
Amongst those involved was former Donegal All-Ireland winning manager Jim McGuinness whose two sons were on the victorious team. McGuinness was on the sidelines helping with the management of the U13 side.
SEE ALSO: Six Of Our Favourite Interviews From The 2022 Club GAA Season
