the north-west of the village. Adare railway station, opened on 12 July 1856 by the Limerick & Foynes Railway company, was closed to passengers on 4 February 1963 and to freight on 2 December 1974. The line to Foynes continued to carry freight traffic until it was mothballed in 2001 and has seen no trains since 7 May 2002 when the annual Irish Rail weed spray train visited the line. The line, designated an engineers siding, is still officially open for traffic. Sports Adare GAA club was founded in 1929. The senior hurling team has won the county championship in 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008 and 2009. In football, the Club won the County Intermediate Football Title in 2016 and gained promotion back to The Limerick Senior Football Championship. In 2017, Adare won the County Senior Title for the first time, beating Newcastle West in the Final. In 2018, the club went on to retain the title, becoming the first team in Limerick GAA history to win 2 senior titles immediately following success at intermediate level. The local soccer team is Adare United AFC. The club play at Deer Park Field, situated just off the Blackabbey Road in the village. Founded in 1937, Adare has one of the oldest soccer clubs outside Limerick city. Adare United participate in the Limerick Desmond Schoolboys/Girls League at Under 8, U10, U12, U14 and U16 age groups and in the Limerick Desmond League at Junior (adult) and Youth level. The 2006/07 Season saw the club form its first ladies team, who compete in the Limerick Desmond Ladies League. In the 2009/10 Season, the ladies were runners up in the League Cup, losing on penalties to Glin Rovers FC. The team were also cup finalists the following year, this time in the Desmond Cup but were beaten by Murroe FC. The Under 10 team were Division 3 Champions in the 2008/09 season and Division 4 winners in 2010/11. The Under 8 team completed a league and cup double in 2010/11. The Junior team won promotion from Division Two in the 2008/2009 season and immediately gained promotion to the premier league the following year. Adare Ladies won the Desmond Cup in the 2011/2012 season and were runners-up in League Division 1. The Irish Open golf championship was staged there in 2007 and 2008. There are two 18-hole golf courses in the village: The Adare Golf Club which