The Durham minor team enjoyed a major share of positive events in its first year. In March 1991, twenty players attended the Skydome Games in Toronto where Mike Ensor, Aidan Laverty, Darren Farmer and Brendan O’Hara were selected as ball boys for the occasion. They capped off a great 1991 season by winning the minor championship.

Championship medals were presented to the minor team at the victory banquet in May by none other than TV presenter, newspaper columnist and footballer supreme, Kerry’s Pat Spillane. It was a night to remember and a tremendous thrill for Gaels, both young and old.

In June 1991, at the invitation of Kerry’s Michael Keane (Chairman of the New York Minor Board and present day Steering Committee member of the Continental Youth Championships), the team participated in a tournament in the Catskill Mountains, New York against New York Celtic and Rockland Hibernians. They acquitted themselves playing against much more experienced opposition, but it was a brilliant weekend for the team and supporters alike. Needless to say there are some stories that remain untold!

In 1992 Brian Healy was awarded the minor player of the year for Toronto with Darren Farmer picking up honors in the U-14 category. Darren would keep on improving his game and in 1995, was rewarded with the minor player of the year award.
Several minors have represented Canada in International Tournaments in Ireland including Brian Healy, Darren Farmer, Barry Farmer, George Curry Jr., John O’Donoghue, Mark Kerr, Brian Kelly and Mike Ensor.

There is no doubt that the evolution from this successful minor program played and continues to play a major role in the success and backbone of the present day Durham Emmets’ senior team. Today, minor programs have evolved in the City of Toronto and Durham GFC have now partnered with the Toronto Chieftains Youth Club for the development of all of our players under the age of 18 years.

Two years later, with the lure of a shorter commute to training and a vibrant social scene more Durham residents joined the team. Julie Hughes (Dublin), Elaine Mealiffe, June McAlarey and Majella McConville (Tyrone) left their current Toronto club The Irish Canadian to join Durham GFC. Shortly after that, the Scarborough contingent of the Irish Canadians also joined the Durham ranks. Ciara McNaughton and Denise Breau brought along friends Audrey Egan and Patricia Clarke and helped create a solid foundation for the ladies team.

The team now had an established core of athletic, competitive and enthusiastic players eager to keep improving. Their continuous recruitment paid huge dividends in 1996, when Erinn Lynch, Sarah Gowdy, Perry Quinton, Sarah Oliver, Deanna Adams, Sam Williams and Kristine LaMonday joined the team.

This massive injection of youth, along with the experienced existing players, saw 1996 become the most successful season to date for the ladies’ team, including the first championship victory in Durham’s short history. That year the Durham Ladies had a clean sweep of all competitions, taking the league, championship and 7’s titles. This was major turning point in Durham and Toronto Ladies’ Football with the new kids on the block putting their mark on the Toronto Ladies league.

For the next 10 years the Durham ladies continued to enjoy tremendous success. From 1996 to 2004 the ladies team won 19 different titles, including two more championships in 1998 and 2000. During this era outstanding players such as Kristen Lynch, Ally Fox, Ashley and Abbie Visser, Judith McGarrigle, Trish Shaw, Shannon Savage, Julie Mroczkowski and Heather Woodard entered the fold. While immigration was still low Stef Fitzpartick (Dublin) and Sandra Ramsbottom (Laois) joined the club for an extended summer holiday helping the team to victory.

As the late 2000s arrived, the original core of the team started to age, players got married, started families and surrendered to injuries. These were the leanest years in our story, and a similar story that was being played out in the whole Toronto Ladies League. However, the core group of Elaine Mealiffe, Sarah Gowdy, Heather Woodard, Erinn Lynch, Ally Fox, Ashley Visser, along with the newest/only Irish addition Lorraine White (Louth), were always willing to go the extra mile to ensure the team survived, with Elaine sliding seamlessly into the role of manager. Thanks also to some good work by the club in youth development, the ladies’ team had a few players promoted from the minor program while an immigration wave saw a return of Irish girls coming over for the summers again. This recruitment approach is what sustained us until 2011, at which point we began another chapter.

Starting in 2011, immigration from Ireland was the highest it had been since the 1980s. The increase in immigration, along with the ever-growing rise in popularity of women’s football in Ireland, led to a boon of new Irish players for the club. Enter Tracey Lyng (Cavan), Maria Flanagan (Offaly), Deirdre Murphy (Cork) and Caroline Murphy (Wexford). In the 2011 season, the team was a fantastic combination of veterans, youth, Canadians and Irish.

Compared to the previous teams, where much of the momentum was gained from playing together for so long, the team of 2011 showcased what the combination of experience, determination, athleticism and positive team play can achieve. 2011 saw the return of silverware for the girls as they won their fourth championship title. Just like the team of 1996, underdogs against the reigning champions, they grinded out a one point victory over St. Mikes.

2012 saw another injection of fresh new enthusiastic players. For the first time since the inception of the seven sanction rule, the ladies team filled all seven spots. The arrival of Julie Kelly (Wexford), Marie McDonald (Wexford), Susan Lynch (Cavan), Dearbhla Mackin (Louth), Laura Bowens (Meath), Laura Dunne (Kildare) and Sinead McHugh (Kildare) helped the ladies continue their winning ways in 2012 as they captured the League Cup.

2013 was the 25th anniversary of the Ladies League in Toronto, and it marked a return for the Durham ladies to the previous heights they had reached. The team had great stability, as most players returned, but also added Grainne Sheelan (Louth) in the back, Michelle Flynn (Kerry) in the mids, and filled two sanctions spots with Ashling O’Donnell (Waterford) and Diane O’Brien (Dublin) to bolster the forward lines. That year also marked the first of many recurring appearances for a Canadian, Karen Backus, who made several starring appearances in goals for Durham over the years. The ladies added another double to the trophy cabinet, winning both the League Cup and the Championship.

In 2014, the ladies continued their stellar showings, with a sufficient roster to enter a junior and senior team into competition. Louise Lynch (Cavan) joined the club that season, one of several players who would become longtime stalwarts for the team. The ladies showed their class all season long, winning both the Senior and Junior Championship finals on a historic day for Durham GFC.

Two more league titles followed in 2015 and 2016, with the addition of numerous players who came to be key parts of the Durham family. 2015 marked the next phase of the Louth invasion of Durham with Kate Cumiskey, Aine White and Carly McGrath all joining the club. The ladies also added Aishling O’Connor (Sligo), Ciara Lynch (Cork) and Mairead Finn (Waterford), to solidify a very imposing lineup.

In 2016, the Louth influence continued with Karen Duffy and Eimear White joining the team, along with Catriona Curran (Fermanagh). The ladies came up short in the championship finals in 2015 and 2016, but the core of the team was rebuilding again.

In 2017 and 2018, the club continued to renew itself, with the additions of Maeve Holland (Cork), Aoife McGovern (Cavan), Michelle King (Cavan), and Amo Troy (Dublin) and Daire Power (Dublin), who were among Durham’s first J1 visa players in quite some time. The combination of youth and experience led to another championship for the ladies in 2018, the seventh in the club’s illustrious history.

The 2019 season brought another influx of talent from Ireland coupled with existing veterans. Notable newcomers included Katie McManamon (Mayo), Niamh O’Gara (Dublin) and Kerry Corcoran (Kerry), who paved the way for the League Cup’s return back to the Durham GFC display case.

Over the years Durham have been very blessed to have attracted so many women who are fine players, but even better people, to the club. And so, we are stronger now than we were when we started. Amazing friendships and bonds have been created thanks to the connections made. Memories shared and parts we’ve all played in each other’s stories, both on and off the field, will be things that stay with us long after our playing days. The future looks bright for Durham!