The GAA has a long and proud history in Roscommon Town. The first club, Roscommon St. Coman’s was founded in December 1889. In 1891 the club changed its name to L.P. Hayden’s and in 1897 the club adopted the name of The Roscommon Football Club.
The late Michael Cassidy, in his book Roscommon Town G.A.A., writes “The 30th November, 1901, was an historic day in the annals of Roscommon town G.A.A. On that eventful night a meeting to inaugurate both a hurling and football club took place in Mr. George Geraghty’s house in Castle Street. The chair was taken by Mr. Patrick O’ Rourke, Ballybohan and the meeting decided to call the club, Roscommon Gaels Hurling, Football and Literary Club.”
Fast forward to 1938 and the club became known as St. Coman’s, after previously bearing the name ‘The Blues’ in 1912, the year the club brought the first senior title to the town. On April 3rd, 1954 a new club, Eoghan Ruadhs was formed in the town. It was the first time in over forty years that Roscommon town could boast of two clubs.
There were two clubs in the town until April, 1959. On April 23rd in that year a joint meeting of the two clubs took place in the Royal Hotel and it was agreed to amalgamate the clubs under the name ‘Roscommon Gaels’. The meeting was chaired by Gerry Dolan and it was decided to call a general meeting on May 1st for the purpose of forming a new club. And so, Roscommon Gaels as we know it today was born.


First Title
The new Gaels got off to a flying start when their juvenile footballers brought the new club their first ever title when defeating Castlerea by 4-5 to 2-4 at Ballinaheglish. See attached photo. The boys who played on that history making team were: Danny Gahan (St. Ciaran’s Park), Liam Hourican (Crubyhill), Michael Hanlon (St. Ciaran’s Park), Denis Harlow (Kilteevan), Tom Callery (Stonepark), Anthony Brophy (capt, Castle Street), Eugene McNamara (The Walk), Michael Costello (Lanesboro Street), Michael Burke (Stonepark), Gerry Flanagan (Ballybride), Tommy Joe Carr (Lisnamult), Tommy Dolan (Kilteevan), Eamon Lalor (Ballybride), Ollie Finn (Abbey Street) and Gerry Keane (Newtown).
Two Christian Brothers well known to past pupils of the school, Brothers Clarke and O’Dwyer were involved with both the juvenile football and hurling teams. Br. Clarke won a Co. Junior hurling medal with the Gaels in 1959 and a Connacht Junior Hurling medal with Roscommon in 1964.
Both Anthony Brophy and Gerry Flanagan represented Roscommon football teams at Minor, Under-21 and Junior levels. Anthony Brophy won a Connacht Junior medal in 1964. Gerry Flanagan represented Roscommon county hurling teams in all grades and in the process is the holder of 2 All-Ireland Junior and numerous Connacht hurling medals. He also holds 13 Roscommon County Championship medals in hurling and football, nine of them at senior level. The Ballybride man has the distinction of winning county championship medals in four different counties, Roscommon, Dublin, Kildare and Meath, in four different decades.
Liam Hourican, R.I.P. was RTE Northern Correspondent during the height of the troubles. Eugene McNamara went on to become one of Ireland’s best known greyhound trainers, winning many national titles on the track. Ollie Finn is son of Jim Finn, the much loved driver of the Roscommon C.B.S. bus which brought students daily to school from such places as Athleague, Creggs, Oran and Fuerty during the 1950’s.
The juvenile double was completed later in 1959 when the Under-16 team cycled to Scardan to defeat Tremane by 5-6 to 2-1. The boys who brought the first hurling title to the club were: Michael Burke, Frank Fullard, Eugene McNamara, Michael Costello, Eamon Lalor, Gerry Flanagan, Dinny Mannion, George Kennedy (capt), Tommy Joe Carr, Seamus Costello, Maurice Mugan, Liam Flanagan, Larry Keogh, Paddy Mannion and Jim Mugan.
Liam Flanagan, Gerry’s older brother, went ion to win a county junior hurling medal when the 1959 final was played in April 1960. The junior team thus became the only team in the town’s G.A.A. history to win the junior hurling title.