Mayo GAA, the beginnings...
While the national GAA organisation was founded in 1884 and ad hoc local teams had long played versions of what became codified as Gaelic football, Mayo did not have a county GAA committee until 1888. P.G. Smyth, editor of the Western People, was selected as the county delegate to attend the National Gaelic Convention in Thurles on January 4th of that year. He was elected by Ballina Commercials to represent Mayo, they being the only affiliated club in the county.
The convention encouraged non-affiliated counties to organise official committees in order to develop Gaelic Games within the national organisation. On 26 March 1888, the first county convention was held in the Moy Hotel, Ballina (as most affiliated clubs were local to the town) with the following committee elected: president, P.G. Smyth, treasurer, J. Staunton (Swinford), secretary, R.J. O’Reilly (Ballina), other members: Dr G.E. Nally (Balla), P.W. Durkan (Killala), Patrick Mulhern (Connaught Telegraph, Castlebar), P.J. Glavey (Kilkelly), Rev M. Smyth (Kilcommon-Erris and a brother of P.G. Smyth), William Costello (Crossmolina), Peter J. Durkan (Ardnaree) and John Quigley (Backs — now known as Knockmore).
The first club fixtures were scheduled for Sunday, 22 April 1888, as follows:
- (at Ballina)
Ballina Commercials v Crossmolina Home Rulers
Ballina James Stephens v Backs Kickhams - (at Balla)
Castlebar John Mitchells v Kilkelly Davitts
Balla Granuailes v Ballyglass William O’Briens - (at Killala)
Moygownagh E D Grays v Killala Meaghers - (at Swinford)
Swinford Sextons v Ballaghaderreen Faugh a Ballaghs - (at Inver, Erris)
Kilcommon Dillons v Kilmore-Erris O’Connells
Unfortunately we do not know the results! By the following year, the following clubs were officially established in the county: Ballina, Castlebar, Westport, Ballyhaunis, Ballaghaderreen, Claremorris, Charlestown, Ballyglass, Balla, Kilkelly, Kilcommon (Erris), Kilmore (Erris), Moygownagh, Kiltimagh, Lacken, Foxford, Newport, Killala, Kilfian, Crossmolina, Bonniconlon, Ardagh, Ballycastle, Attymass, Ballycroy, Meelick, Kilmovee, Ballysokeery, Backs (Knockmore) and Ballinrobe.
While the subsequent years would see clubs and the county organisation wane and wax in the county, the seeds had been planted and Mayo GAA clubs would grow to become vital intrinsic elements in the lives and character of our Mayo people.
For more of our history, visit our Beo Mayo – Mayo GAA’s living history archive!
HOW WE ARE DOING IT
Beo Mayo was only possible through the support of the Mayo GAA County Board who garnered the support behind the project over 2019-2021, to launch it officially in the latter year. Through an exciting partnership with Mayo North-East and the Michael Davitt Museum, our team digitised over 18,000 images relating to GAA activities within the county of Mayo. Notwithstanding the difficulties of operating within the restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic, our volunteers, students and Tus / RSS participants used the latest technology to convert GAA year-books, match day programmes, minutes of meetings, photographs, VHS videos of matches and related items into digital scans. These were assembled into various online collections now available on our Beo Mayo website, built by the excellent and hardworking Darkblue design in Ballina. A special thanks also to Michael Cummins and Keith Deasy at MacHale Park HQ for their work on the project during the Covid-19 restrictions and to St Cormac’s Heritage Society for their advice and assistance to the project.
HOW WE GOT HERE
The Beo Mayo – Living History Project is based on an idea of Mayo History Officer, Dr Liam Alex Heffron. Working with former Mayo GAA Chairperson, Liam Moffatt and Mayo GAA Cultural Committee led by Gráinne Kelly-Freyne, they created the framework proposal to develop an online repository for heritage records of Mayo GAA. The clubs affiliated to the county board approved the setting up of the Beo Mayo project in 2021 to thus digitally preserve their local GAA heritage. Phase I involved the digitisation and cataloging of the large collection of GAA records held at the Davitt Museum and MacHale Park HQ with other records kindly donated by GAA supporters and clubs. The aim of this phase is to provide the proof of concept, towards the full development of the archive and linking in with the work being done on the ground by clubs, members and local historians, with supporters of Mayo GAA from within county and all over the world.
Our first phase of the Beo Mayo digital archive features a sampling of GAA match programmes, local news reports, videos of club matches and minutes of meetings of both Club and County boards as a few examples of the records we have already digitised. We are seeking older and unique records for phase II, so if you have an item of Mayo GAA historical interest please get in touch!
The Michael Davitt Museum is delighted to partner with Beo Mhaigh Eo on this important online living history archive
Curator of the Michael Davitt Museum, Yvonne Corcoran-Loftus, and Justin Sammon, C.E.O. Mayo North East, played an instrumental role in seeing the actual work of digitisation carried out, beginning in 2021. Their staff have worked diligently to organise and digitise GAA related documentation at the museum site. According to Yvonne:
The experience has been exceptionally important and meaningful in light of Davitt’s role in the GAA’s formative years. His name lives on through the many clubs who have adopted his name as their own. No organisation conveys a sense of place quite like the GAA and apart from its sporting significance, the digitised data will also contribute greatly to our understanding of the social and political history of the era. The online availability of the data will ensure widespread public access in order to explore such issues and for many the data will simply be a source of enjoyment.
The hard work of digitisation was carried out by CE participants, volunteers and students at the Michael Davitt museum under the diligent guidance of the Project Manager, Therese Hosey-Hughes and with the generous liaison of museum historian and researcher, John Reid. Mayo GAA is very thankful for all their superb efforts.
Gráinne Kelly-Frayne is Mayo GAA Cultural Officer and heads up the Cultural Committee which is responsible for the promotion of Irish Language, Scór and other cultural activities within the county. The committee also oversees the Beo Mayo project with the aim to retrieve the invaluable local history of the association often hidden away in attics, shelves or filing cabinets. At the project inception the committee members included; Chairperson: Grainne Kelly-Frayne; East Mayo: Aingeal Uí Maicin, Kiltimagh; North Mayo: James Gibbons, Lahardane (Secretary), Liam Alex Heffron, Moygownagh (History Officer); South Mayo: Jackie Duggan, Claremorris, John Muldoon, Shrule; West Mayo: Ann Forry, Achill, Mary Fergus, Louisburgh (Scór Treas), Michael Lang, Tuar Mhic Eadaigh (Irish Officer)
Email: irishculturalofficer.mayo@gaa.ie
Dr Liam Alex Heffron of the University of Galway, is an award-winning historian, writer and actor. He has published on the Irish Revolution in North Mayo and the role of the GAA within the struggle for Irish Independence. He is both an officer and player with his club, Moygownagh and as History Officer he has led the Beo Mayo project since its foundation in 2021.
Email: history@mayogaa.com