Beginnings (1959–1960) Naomh Moninne Hurling Club started as a youth club, ‘Cumann Ógra Naomh Moninne’, in the Castletown area of
Faughart in 1959. It was there that local priest, Father Pól Mac Sheáin but more commonly referred to in Irish as ‘an tAthair Pól Mac Sheáin’, set up the first underage hurling team. Most of the young hurlers were from the Fatima estate in Castletown. Fr Mac Sheáin was originally from
County Armagh and was not just a hurling enthusiast, but also an advocate of the Irish
language and
culture. He named the club after
St Moninne, a local saint who founded a convent in Faughart during the 5th century. The clubs first set of jerseys were obtained from a local club called Mount Rovers and had black and amber stripes. Naomh Moninne adopted these as their official colours and still use them to this day. The club first played on a small strip of land at Toberona corner known as ‘Hoey's Plot’. As the game grew in popularity, the necessity arose for a larger playing field. Fr Mac Sheáin was successful in obtaining permission from the then
town clerk to use a piece of land at the back of Fatima known as ‘The Meadows’, commonly referred to in Irish as ‘The Bainseach’. Two
railway carriages were obtained for use as changing rooms while the
ESB provided lighting for training. Local residents who were instrumental in this development included Tom Casey, Frank Myles, Peter Callan, Sam McGuinness, Sean Murphy, Micheal Coburn, Tom Kinch and Dermot Keelan. In 1960, the local underage
Gaelic football association, ‘Cumann Peile na nÓg’, were approached with the view to organising an underage hurling league in the town of Dundalk. Following on from discussions with Hugh O'Hare and Jim Whitty, the league was established. Naomh Moninne competed firstly at under-16 level, where they were to be successful, beating Castletown in the final after a replay, a victory that was met with great celebrations in the community. From these beginnings, there would soon be leagues running from under-8's to under-60's.
Start of the Poc Fada (1960–1963) On 8 August 1960, Fr Mac Sheáin staged a hurling event for the young hurlers of Fatima in the
Cooley Mountains. Inspired by the stories of
Cú Chulainn travelling over these mountains pucking his sliothar before him, six under-16 hurlers pucked from Anaverna to Aghameen, a distance of nearly , with the aim of completing the course in the fewest pucks. The final result was Damian Callan, 115; Jerome McDonagh, 117; Peter Myles, 125; Peter Crilly, 127; Seán McAneaney, 134; Mal Begley, 153; many of whom would later play senior hurling for Louth. Fr Mac Sheáin named the competition thereafter ‘An Poc Fada’, which is the Irish translation for ‘The Long Puck’. The winner that day was Damien Callen with 115 pucks; he is recognised as being the first person to ever win the Poc Fada. In 1961, Fr Mac Sheáin and the Naomh Moninne club founded the
All-Ireland Poc Fada Championship. Sixteen hurlers from all over Ireland were invited to take part in the tournament. The winner of the first Poc Fada was a teacher from
County Limerick named Vincent ‘Godfrey’ Huggins. The club did not reach another final over the next five years but remained positive, focusing their energy at underage level with the intention of rebuilding their once dominant senior team. In 2004 the club made history and headlines when 20 players from the underage section toured Croatia with senior player and youth coach
Alan Moore. In 2009, Naomh Moninne celebrated their 50th anniversary. Jubilee celebrations took place at Fairways Hotel in Dundalk on Friday, 11 September 2009 and included guest speakers,
Christy Cooney and
Brian Cody. The club, which had been homeless throughout these 50 years, announced that they had agreed a lease with Dundalk
town council to develop land in Toberona into a playing pitch. To help finance this development, sporting memorabilia were auctioned on the night. In 2010, Naomh Moninne made it to the county final, ending a five-year run of finals between Knockbridge and Pearse Óg, all of which Knockbridge had won. On 26 September, Naomh Moninne played Knockbridge in the final at
Castlebellingham. Knockbridge were now competing for their sixth title in-a-row, a record that Moninne had set back in 1987. However, Moninne kept their record intact, beating their opponents in a thrilling comeback by 1–11 to 0–11. This was their first county title in 11 years, the longest period the club had gone without winning a title since it was first founded over 50 years previously. However, success did not last long as Moninne experienced another dry spell and did not reach the final again for another 7 years. On this occasion, they beat reigning champions St. Fechin's in the decider at Castlebellingham by 0–16 to 0–14. ==Honours==