Celbridge's Jim Creighton discusses his club's only SFC title win and much more

The Creighton family have enormous ties with two clubs in County Kildare, Celbridge and Confey.
Jim Creighton and his son, who bears the same name, both have prominent roles in the history of the two clubs.

Jim Sr is a founding member of Confey GAA and was club chairman in the early 90s, a man so significant in the club’s history that the club grounds are named in his honour.

However, this piece is about Celbridge and how Jim Jr. was a member of what is still the only Celbridge team to lift the Kildare Senior Football Championship title. Jim talks about his part in an incredible club achievement that was inspired by his father’s role in his life inside and outside of the GAA.

“I am a very proud Celbridge man, but I would be an even more proud GAA man,” Jim said. “My father instilled that in me, he was a staunch GAA man and he left that to be carried on, it’s nearly in the blood. He was the one that made us love Gaelic football and Celbridge, he is the reason behind it all.”

Years after his success on the field, an emigration to Australia and subsequent return, Jim is back to volunteering through coaching at Celbridge with his own son coming through the ranks.

After his father’s move from his native Roscommon to Kildare a long time ago, there is now another generation of Creighton’s playing for Celbridge.

“You are trying to emulate what he’s done, which you never could. He was the one that brought us all around the country following Kildare or Roscommon games. He was the one that dropped us off at the GAA club, even if we wanted to play soccer, he’d just drive off and all of a sudden you found that you are loving the GAA and thank god he did it,” Jim recalled.

The Celbridge team of 2008 would have their own leading figure on their way to their first Kildare Senior Football Championship success. That came in the form of Dublin legend, Barney Rock.

“We had Barney, who everybody adored, he was a real man-manager. He kept everyone happy on the side instead of in front of people. He was really good at spurring people on to make us all do what we needed to,” Jim said.

“Everybody had great things to say about Barney as a person, he was just a good fit. Everyone was saying after (the win) that it was easy to manage the team because there was a Championship in us, but it wasn’t really. Barney was the glue, he had been there, done it, and nothing phased him at all. He was hugely important for all of us.”

Rock would also bring more eyes with him too as his side’s quest for glory gathered national media attention in 2008. Their final with Sarsfields was also broadcast on TG4 for the country to see, a far less common occurrence at the time.

There would be no glory for either side the first time around as Celbridge drew 0-7 each with Kildare’s most successful club. The Sash were on a mission of their own to reclaim their county crown after back-to-back Moorefield title wins.

“When we got to the final we naturally thought we could win it, but we saw Sarsfields as a big task. They had Dermot Earley and a few others. Maybe even looking back on it, I don’t think we ever truly believed we were going to do it, until we did it,” Jim said.

“The draw was nearly like a loss in the first game because your emotions are so built up to winning or losing and then we just drew.”

The week delay would not be enough for the then 22-year old to make a final appearance after he was carried off with a serious ankle ligament injury in his side’s semi-final win over St Laurence’s.

He said, “I missed the final, which was devastating for me, and still is a bit sore because I played half-back throughout the league and Championship that year.”

It would be second time’s the charm for Celbridge as they clinched their first County Championship in a 1-9 to 0-10 win. After late controversy in the first encounter, Celbridge started brilliantly with a Tom Fitzgerald goal after just 40 seconds of play. Mark O’Sullivan hit 0-7 on the day, matching his side’s tally from game one all on his own.

“It was brilliant, the atmosphere around the town was incredible, everybody was talking about it. Everywhere you went, everyone you saw, older Celbridge men and women around the town were all coming out of the woodwork to say congratulations during that week of celebrating,” Jim recalled.

Adding, “In fairness to the club they did so much around the town, they decorated the whole place. The atmosphere around the bar in the club was huge, they organised a big 40-foot trailer to bring us up and down the village like we had just won the World Cup, it was amazing.”

The town of Celbridge went ballistic with celebrations of their first SFC title and seemingly only one person was aware or worried that the Leinster Championship was around the corner.

“The funny thing is that our physio, Davy Lyons, was trying to get us to calm down because we had lost a week and we were playing Kilmacud (Crokes) in the first round. In hindsight, he was dead right because Kilmacud went on to win the All-Ireland that year,” Jim said

“Maybe if we had a bit more experience in that scenario, it could have been different. But we had won it (Kildare SFC) now, we were delighted, it was hard to keep going.”

After a horrendous start to the game against Crokes, Celbridge battled well but came up short against the future All-Ireland champs by 0-13 to 0-8.

The Celbridge team of ‘08 remain the club’s only County football champions, a fact that most in the county are shocked by given the talent that has passed through the north Kildare club. “We probably feel a bit aggrieved by that (still being the only winners), because we have probably let a few go,” Jim said.

“We are still very proud to be the only team that has ever done it, there are only 30 of us there with a Senior Championship medal.”

It is an achievement that will stand the test of time in Celbridge folklore, as the club continue to hope their 2008 team won’t be the only side to climb that mountain, but they will always be the first.

The Leinster Leader will be doing a feature article from every club in Kildare as part of the Love of the Game series. If you have a suggestion for someone from your club, a legendary player, selfless volunteer or an idea of your own, send them to daragh.nolan@leinsterleader.ie.