The roots of Gaelic games in the Dromahair area stretch back to the very birth of the GAA in Leitrim.
Leitrim’s first GAA club was founded on 6 January 1886 in Dromahair, originally known as the Dromahaire Athletic Club, later renamed Dromahaire Joe Biggars.
This made Dromahair one of the earliest organised GAA centres in Connacht at a time when only a few clubs existed in the province.
In the same year (1886), two additional local clubs—Killenummery and Killargue/Creevelea—were formed, creating a long‑established GAA tradition in the region now served by St. Patrick’s Dromahair.
While Gaelic games had been present for decades, the current club structure—St. Patrick’s Dromahair—was formally established in 1955.
It unified the three historical local clubs: Killenummery, Killargue, and Creevelea.
The club adopted red and white as its colours. There was some initial success for the club winning the North Leitrim Junior and Minor titles in 1956.
In the 60s the club had some success at juvenile level, particularly in 66/67, and this was thanks mainly to the tireless work of Josie Torsney who also worked with our young people on the cultural side with Scor and the club was also very prominent on this scene winning many titles during this period and beyond.
The senior team’s first major adult trophy came in 1976, when they won the Leitrim Junior Championship—a key moment in establishing the club’s modern competitive profile. This was a very successful year for the club as we also added the U12 County Championship.
Junior and U12 Titles in 1976
However, like many clubs emigration hit the club hard in the following years with many players moving on. In the 80s the juvenile side of the club was re-organised with the addition of more coaches and regular training bringing U12 and U14 Rural Championship titles in the middle of the decade. It wasn't until 1998 that the fruits of this labour paid off with the Junior Championship returning to Dromahair after victory over Eslin in the final.
In 2001 the Junior Championship was won again and the club would build on this competing well in the Intermediate Championship and earning promotion to the Senior League in 2009. This was also the year that saw the club take part in the RTE television show Celebrity Bainisteoir under Leitrim comedian Katherine Lynch. In an enjoyable campaign we defeated Dublin club Cuala and Rockwell Rovers from Tipperary before being pipped at the final hurdle by Glasdrumman from Co Down in a memorable final in Parnell Park. The sense of community generated at this time will live long in the memory.
Celebrity Bainisteoir Final Parnell Park 2009
In 2014, the club made history by winning the Leitrim Intermediate Football Championship for the first time, defeating Sean O’Heslins. This win finally elevated the club to senior championship level. In 2021 the club again won the Intermediate Championship defeating Ballinaglera in difficult conditions. After competing in the Senior Championship for the following years unfortunately we were relegated back to Intermediate in 2024 after a play off. With an influx of younger players we were able to again reach the Intermediate Final in 2025 but the greater experience of Allen Gaels saw us fall to defeat.
Captain Michael Clancy raises the Frank Reynolds Memorial Cup after victory in the 2021 Intermediate Championship
In recent years St Patrick's Dromahair have enjoyed quite a bit of success at juvenile level including U17 Division 2, U18 Division 1 and U20 Championship titles in 2024/25. Hopefully we can translate this success to senior level in the coming years.
