Clann Na Blátha: Your 2026 Winners

Clann Na Blátha are Gaelic 4 Good’s first champions and the first team to lift the James Geraghty Cup.

On Saturday 8 August 2026, the Orchids faced Gael Force at St Peregrine’s GAA in the first ever Gaelic 4 Good match.

There was nothing between the teams by the end of normal time, meaning the first champions would have to be decided from the penalty spot.

The shootout went right down to the final kick. Gael Force’s Alex Nolan stepped up needing to keep his side in it, but his penalty was missed and that was that.

Clann Na Blátha had won it.

The Orchids were the first Gaelic 4 Good champions and the first team heading up to collect the James Geraghty Cup.

The first winners

That result puts Clann Na Blátha first in the Gaelic 4 Good record book.

No matter how many matches are played in the years ahead, they will always be the inaugural winners and the first team to have their name associated with the James Geraghty Cup.

The trophy was introduced in memory of James Geraghty, making its first presentation an important moment in the day.

The football decided who got to lift it in 2026, but James’s name will remain part of Gaelic 4 Good every year the cup is played for.

And after penalties, it was Clann Na Blátha who got that first opportunity.

Fitzy leads the first champions

At the front of the team was captain Seán “Fitzy” Fitzgerald.

Fitzy came into Gaelic 4 Good with a football CV considerably stronger than your average charity match player.

The Bearna man has played senior inter-county football for Galway and established himself in their full-back line after joining the senior set-up in 2022. He started the 2024 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final against Armagh and remained involved with Galway into the 2026 championship.

His summer then took a fairly unusual turn.

Fitzy temporarily stepped away from the Galway panel to appear on Love Island, leaving the villa in July before getting straight back into football. By August he was back on the pitch, captaining Clann Na Blátha at Gaelic 4 Good before returning to championship action with Bearna.

Away from county football, he had also built one of the bigger social media followings among Irish GAA players.

For Gaelic 4 Good, he represented Pieta House and finished the day not only as winning captain, but as one of six Clann Na Blátha players selected in the first Team of the Year.

Ellie Murphy takes Player of the Match

If there was one individual award that summed up Clann Na Blátha’s afternoon, it belonged to Ellie Murphy.

Murphy was named Gaelic 4 Good Player of the Match following her performance in the win and was also selected in the 2026 Team of the Year.

She arrived at St Peregrine’s with proper inter-county experience behind her.

The Antrim footballer has been involved with the county senior set-up for a number of years and was part of the Antrim panel during their successful 2022 season, which ended with an All-Ireland Junior Football Championship title after a final replay victory over Fermanagh.

She has also played senior club football in Antrim with Naomh Bríd.

At Gaelic 4 Good, Murphy lined out in support of Women’s Aid and finished the afternoon with about as much silverware as she could have asked for.

A winners medal, a place in the Team of the Year and the Player of the Match award all followed her performance for the Orchids.

Daragh Kelly’s GAA background

Daragh Kelly was another of the six Clann Na Blátha players recognised in the Team of the Year.

The Meath man’s connection to Gaelic football goes well beyond one afternoon at St Peregrine’s.

Kelly has played his football with St Colmcille’s in Bettystown and describes himself as a player, coach and lifelong GAA fanatic.

He has also turned that interest into a business through DK Sports, a Meath-based Gaelic games brand best known for its football gloves, while using his social platforms to talk about boots, equipment and the game itself.

So when Kelly took his place in the Clann Na Blátha side, there was plenty of football behind him.

He represented the Irish Cancer Society during the campaign and his performance on the day earned him a place among the first fifteen players ever selected for a Gaelic 4 Good Team of the Year.

Kevin O’Callaghan brings inter-county experience

There was serious experience elsewhere in the Clann Na Blátha team too.

Kevin O’Callaghan has played senior inter-county football for Kildare and club football with Celbridge, establishing himself around the middle of the field for the Lilywhites.

His route into the county team was not completely straightforward either. After dropping out of the Kildare set-up earlier in his career, O’Callaghan spent time developing physically and working his way back before establishing himself at senior level.

By 2023, that work had been recognised with O’Callaghan being named Kildare GAA Senior Football Player of the Year.

He has lined out in National League and Championship football for Kildare and brought that experience into the Clann Na Blátha squad at St Peregrine’s.

Representing the DSPCA at Gaelic 4 Good, O’Callaghan finished the afternoon as a James Geraghty Cup winner before also being named in the Team of the Year.

Six Orchids in the Team of the Year

Clann Na Blátha’s win was backed up when the first Gaelic 4 Good Team of the Year was announced.

Six of the fifteen selections came from the champions:

Daragh Kelly, Fitzy, Mitch, Kevin O’Callaghan, Eric Roberts and Ellie Murphy.

It gave the winning side representation right across the first official selection.

Fitzy added a Team of the Year place to his role as winning captain. Ellie Murphy completed her afternoon with Player of the Match and Team of the Year recognition. Daragh Kelly and Kevin O’Callaghan were both selected after bringing plenty of their own Gaelic football experience into the side, while Mitch and Eric Roberts completed Clann Na Blátha’s six.

Gael Force took the other nine positions, showing just how close the first match had actually been despite Clann being the side that ultimately walked away with the cup.

Every player, a different cause

The result mattered, but the reason behind the match went further than the scoreboard.

Every member of Clann Na Blátha had chosen their own charity or cause to represent.

Fitzy wore the jersey for Pieta House. Ellie Murphy represented Women’s Aid. Daragh Kelly backed the Irish Cancer Society and Kevin O’Callaghan represented the DSPCA.

Across both teams, dozens of different organisations were given their place in the campaign.

It meant that while one team had to win and another had to lose, every player taking the field had something different they wanted to put a spotlight on.

Where the story starts

By the end of the afternoon, the Clann Na Blátha squad were together with their medals and the James Geraghty Cup.

They had gone through a match that could not separate the teams, survived a penalty shootout and become Gaelic 4 Good’s first champions.

Fitzy was the first captain to lift the cup.

Ellie Murphy was the first Player of the Match.

Six Orchids made the first Team of the Year.

And Clann Na Blátha became the first name in the competition’s history.

Whatever comes next for Gaelic 4 Good, 2026 will always belong to the first winners.

Clann Na Blátha, your 2026 champions.