Our Crest

Man O’War GFC organised a schools’ competition in April 1995. Pupils from Balrothery, Hedgestown, and Milverton were invited to design a club crest. Each school received a short history of both the Man O’War area and the football club.

The children learned how pirates lit beacons to lure ships onto the rocks at Barnageera. One shipwreck left behind a carved Turks Head. Locals carried it to the Man O’War Inn, where it stood on a column until the 1950s. Historian Jim Walsh later recovered the artifact from private owners and now keeps it safe.

At the Executive Committee meeting on 11 May 1995, members praised the strong standard of the competition entries. The winners were Karyn Shaw (Balrothery NS), Eoin Shortt (Hedgestown NS), and Elaine Caffrey (Milverton NS).

A pirate ship appeared in many designs, and it soon became the central theme. Deirdre Sheridan used this idea to draft a crest. She brought her version to O’Neills in September 1995. Around the same time, the club received 25 jerseys for being named Evening Herald “Team of the Month.”

A graphic designer at O’Neills polished Sheridan’s draft, digitised it, and added banners around the shield. The club chose the text for those banners: “Cumann Peile,” “1946” (the founding year), and “Long Cogaidh.”

The new crest appeared for the first time in October 1995 on the set of free jerseys.