Carrickmacross Emmets is a Gaelic football club from Carrickmacross in County Monaghan in Ireland. The club was founded in 1887. The club participates in Monaghan competitions. The club has won the Monaghan Senior Football Championship eight times and have come runner-up seven times. The Club colours are Green and Yellow. The first club grounds played on were Athletic Grounds, then the Gaelic Grounds. In 1938 the club moved to its present grounds at Emmet Park, which was developed into one of the best venues in the county. It was officially opened in 1953 when Monaghan played Meath. In recent years the club secured property on the Donaghmoyne Road and have developed a full size playing pitch and a training area along with modern changing facilities that can cater for four teams. At present the site is chiefly used for training purposes for adult and juvenile teams as well as ladies and hurling teams but games can be played there when necessary.
The Early Years
Carrickmacross Emmets have been in existence since the 1880s and are reckoned to be the oldest club in County Monaghan. In 1884 a great revival in Gaelic games was underway with clubs springing up all over the county but they had no real organisation or supervision and the many tournaments that were being run ended in disorder and chaos! By 1887 all counties were instructed by the GAA to affiliate to the governing body under the rules of the Association. The first ever GAA meeting in Monaghan was held in O’Neills Hotel in Carrickmacross on 27 December to elect a County Committee, it was attended by the Carrickmacross Sextons and the Carrickmacross O’Briens; both remnants of the original Emmets team; this split arose out of a complete disunion within the GAA which had taken place in November 1887. The first official meeting of the new County Board was also held in O’Neills Hotel in February 1888; when the following officers were elected; (President) Rev William McKenna CC (Vice President) Rev J McCarney, who was later Monaghan's first delegate to Central Council; (Secretary) Owen Cahill, Carrickmacross; (Treasurer) Patrick Lee, Carrickmacross.
It was decided to hold a Football Championship at Capragh on 27 May 1887. The Carrickmacross Sextons reached the final of the competition but were well beaten by the Inniskeen Grattans who went on to represent Monaghan in the All-Ireland championship. Later that year the Carrickmacross Emmets made their reappearance as a team; with a challenge match against the Baileborough Raparees which was played at Shercock on 29 July with the return game being staged in a field close to Carrickmacross town on 5 August; both games proved to be a great success for both the players and supporters. The following year the Sextons and the O’Briens and a team called the Farney Wanderers represented the town in the County Football Championship; however with the GAA in disarray in Monaghan; the competition was never concluded.
Next mention of the Emmets came to notice in April 1896 when they played the Aghalile Grattan’s in a challenge match and again in August when they played Virginia Sarsfields in the Killanny Tournament. In October of the same year the Emmets ran a fine football tournament in close proximity to the town and the vast crowd of spectators were thoroughly satisfied with the day’s proceedings. In the subsequent years games were practically non-existent in relation to Gaelic activity and it was 1901 before we read about a football game near Carrickmacross "The pitch wasn’t properly marked and so ended the tournament under the auspices of the Carrickmacross Gaelic club whose existence is a myth"