Carlow County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is responsible for Gaelic Games involving the 28 clubs in County Carlow. It is also responsible for the Carlow inter-county teams. The Board has its headquarters at Netwatch Cullen Park in Carlow town.
The GAA was founded at a meeting in Hayes Commercial Hotel in Thurles Co Tipperary on November 1st 1884. Four years later the first meeting of the association was held in Carlow town. However the GAA was active in the county at least two years prior to that first meeting. The Association has continued to thrive to the present day.
The Carlow Senior Football team were Leinster Champions in 1944. Several other teams have had success at various other levels, including the County Vocational Schools team which was won the All-Ireland Championship in 1973. More recently Carlow’s St Mary’s CBS were winners of the 2015 All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Senior B Football Championship.
When the GAA met in Carlow for the first time nine clubs from the county were represented: Aghade, Ballon, Borris, Carlow, Clonegal, Clonmore, Hacketstown, Rathvilly and Ticknock.
The first meeting of Gaelic Athletic Association in Carlow was held in the CYMS (Catholic Young Men’s Society) Hall in the year 1888 On This Day.
Netwatch Cullen Park, Carlow GAA
Photo by jmac1963 