# Ger Houlahan > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ger_Houlahan > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ger_Houlahan.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ger_Houlahan > Source revision: 1353359054 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Armagh Gaelic footballer Ger Houlahan Personal information Native name Gearóid Ó hUallacháin (Irish) Nickname Houlie[2] Born Armagh, Northern Ireland Occupation Sports Massage Therapist Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) Sport Sport Gaelic football Position Full Forward Club Years Club 198?-200? Pearse Óg Club titles Armagh titles 3 Inter-county* Years County Apps (scores) 1984-2000 Armagh ? (13-43)[1] Inter-county titles Ulster titles 2 All Stars 1 *Inter County team apps and scores correct as of 17:54, 7 April 2009 (UTC) Championship games only.. **Gerard Houlahan** is an [Irish](/source/Irish_people) former [Gaelic footballer](/source/Gaelic_football) who played at senior level for the [Armagh county team](/source/Armagh_county_football_team) from 1984 to 2000. He won two [Ulster Senior Football Championship](/source/Ulster_Senior_Football_Championship) medals and an [All Star award](/source/GAA_All_Stars_Awards). Houlahan played club football for [Pearse Óg](/source/Pearse_%C3%93g) and won the [Armagh Senior Football Championship](/source/Armagh_Senior_Football_Championship) on three occasions. He was a prolific forward, particularly renowned for his left-foot.[3] Houlahan was also a crowd favourite with the Armagh fans.[3] In 2009 to mark the 125th anniversary of the [Gaelic Athletic Association](/source/Gaelic_Athletic_Association) he was named by [The Irish News](/source/The_Irish_News) as one of the all-time best 125 footballers from Ulster.[1] Houlihan played soccer for [Sligo Rovers](/source/Sligo_Rovers).[4] ## Playing career ### Inter-county Houlahan made his Championship debut for Armagh in 1984.[5] That year he helped Armagh reach the [Ulster Senior Football Championship](/source/Ulster_Senior_Football_Championship) final, but they were beaten[1] by [Tyrone](/source/Tyrone_GAA). He also suffered Ulster final defeats with the county in 1987 and 1990.[1] Houlahan was awarded an [All Star](/source/GAA_All_Stars_Awards) for his performances in the [1993 Championship](/source/All-Ireland_Senior_Football_Championship_1993)[1] and was also named best player of that year's Ulster Championship.[6] Houlahan finally won an Ulster Championship medal in 1999 - making a substitute appearance in the decider against [Down](/source/Down_county_football_team).[1] He won a second Ulster title the following year.[7] The subsequent [All-Ireland](/source/All-Ireland_Senior_Football_Championship) semi-final defeat to [Kerry](/source/Kerry_county_football_team) proved to be Houlahan's last appearance in an Armagh jersey.[5] He announced his retirement in January 2001, aged 34.[5] Houlahan has since settled down with his wife, Deirdre and his three children, Caleigh (the oldest), Odhran and the Kyran. ### Club Houlahan had a successful underage career with Pearse Óg.[2] In 1985 he helped the club win their first-ever [Armagh Senior Football Championship](/source/Armagh_Senior_Football_Championship), beating local rivals [Armagh Harps](/source/Armagh_Harps_GFC) in the final.[2] He won further Armagh Championships with the club in 1988 and 1992. He also reached the 1988 [Ulster Club Championship](/source/Ulster_Senior_Club_Football_Championship) final with the club, where they were defeated by Burren.[1] ### Province Houlahan won two [Railway Cup](/source/Railway_Cup) medals with [Ulster](/source/Ulster_GAA).[1] ### School / college Houlahan, playing centre half forward, helped University of Ulster Jordanstown (UUJ) win the 1986 [Sigerson Cup](/source/Sigerson_Cup)[1] and was named Player of the Tournament.[6] ### Soccer Houlihan played one season for [Sligo Rovers](/source/Sligo_Rovers) in the [League of Ireland](/source/League_of_Ireland).[4] ## Post-playing career In late 2001 Houlahan was called in to help the [Ulster](/source/Ulster_Rugby) [rugby](/source/Rugby_union) team with their handling skills.[8] He had also previously helped Ulster fly-half [David Humphreys](/source/David_Humphreys_(rugby_union)) with his kicking.[8] Houlahan managed Loughmacrory GFC for one season.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] He was appointed Armagh minor manager in late 2002 alongside James Byrne and Alan O'Neill.[7] Houlihan worked on [UTV](/source/Ulster_Television)'s Gaelic football coverage in the mid-1990s. ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ulster_125_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ulster_125_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-ulster_125_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-ulster_125_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-ulster_125_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-ulster_125_1-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-ulster_125_1-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-ulster_125_1-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-ulster_125_1-8) ["Ulster's 125 - The province's 125 best footballers since 1884"](http://www.irishnews.com/125/125flip.html). *[The Irish News](/source/The_Irish_News)*. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2009. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-pearse_og_site_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-pearse_og_site_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-pearse_og_site_2-2) ["Club history"](http://www.pearseoggfc.com/index.php?page=Club_History). *Pearse Óg website*. Retrieved 7 April 2009. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ul_125_-_armagh_shortlist_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ul_125_-_armagh_shortlist_3-1) ["Ulster's 125 - Armagh shortlist"](https://irishnews125.blogspot.com/2009/02/125-armagh-player-list.html). *[The Irish News](/source/The_Irish_News)*. 10 February 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2009. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-bbc_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-bbc_4-1) ['The GAA Social: Ger Houlahan. All-star, TV pundit, Armagh captain, life is for laughing (43:00)'](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0l36tct). BBC Sport, 8 April 2025. Retrieved 11 April 2025 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-retire_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-retire_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-retire_5-2) ["Houlahan announces retirement"](https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/northern_ireland/1136789.stm). *BBC Sport Online*. 25 January 2001. Retrieved 7 April 2009. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-uuj_gaa_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-uuj_gaa_6-1) ["Brief history - Hall of fame"](http://uujgaelic.servasport.com/html/club/history.jsp?c=1752). *UUJ GAA website*. Retrieved 7 April 2009. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-armagh_minors_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-armagh_minors_7-1) Heaney, Paddy (21 December 2002). ["Houlahan takes reins of Orchard minors"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160303212847/http://www.irishnews.com/searchlog.asp?reason=denied_empty&script_name=%2Fpageacc.asp&path_info=%2Fpageacc.asp&tser1=ser&par=ben&sid=423054). *[The Irish News](/source/The_Irish_News)*. Archived from [the original](http://www.irishnews.com/searchlog.asp?reason=denied_empty&script_name=/pageacc.asp&path_info=/pageacc.asp&tser1=ser&par=ben&sid=423054) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2009. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-rugby_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-rugby_8-1) ["Houlahan handles Ulster's worries"](https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/northern_ireland/1577298.stm). *BBC Sport Online*. 3 October 2001. Retrieved 7 April 2009. v t e 1993 All Star Gaelic Football Team 1 J. O'Leary 2 J. J. Doherty 3 D. Deasy 4 T. Scullion 5 J. McGurk 6 H. DowneyFOTY 7 G. Coleman 8 A. Tohill 9 B. McGilligan 10 K. O'Neill 11 J. Kavanagh 12 C. Redmond 13 C. Corkery 14 G. Houlahan 15 E. Gormley --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ger Houlahan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ger_Houlahan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ger_Houlahan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.