G.A.A.: Co. Waterford, Erin’s Hope G.F.C. Original Team Photograph from1895

A rare original sepia albumen team photograph, 330 x 380mm of Erin’s Hope Gaelic Football Club, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, by W. B. Moore, Dublin, depicting the full playing squad together with club officials. Mounted bearing the contemporary manuscript title “Erins Hope G.F.C. 1894–95”, together with an extensive ink key identifying each of the players and officials. An exceptional visual record from the formative years of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Waterford.

The photograph itself remains strong, well-defined and highly presentable. A rare and important survival from the earliest era of the G.A.A. in County Waterford.

Erin’s Hope G.F.C. was established in 1895, following a split within the original Dungarvan club, one faction forming Erin’s Hope and the other Shandon Rovers. The new club immediately emerged as one of the dominant forces in Waterford football, capturing three consecutive Waterford Senior Football Championships in 1896, 1897 and 1898, an extraordinary achievement during the pioneering years of organised Gaelic games. Few surviving photographs document these early clubs, and examples retaining a contemporary identification of every sitter are exceptionally scarce.

[WR GAA]