The hurling clubs of east Galway
Loughrea's club is as old as the GAA itself, founded in 1884, and was beaten to its first county final in 1909 when the title went to Craughwell; the first championship came in 1941 against the Army, and the latest in 2024. Around it lie the clubs that carried Galway hurling in the 1990s: Sarsfields, the first to win two All-Irelands in a row, and Athenry with three in five years.
Checked against the source on 2026-09-19.
Anthony2285, public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Loughrea GAA Club, Lough Rea on the 3D model; tap a pin for its page and directions.
Sarsfields and Athenry
Before 1966 the parish had two clubs, St Killian's of New Inn and Bullaun; the parish rule that year allowed only one, so they merged as Sarsfields, a name folk memory links to Patrick Sarsfield's Jacobite army passing through. The club won county titles in 1980, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997 and 2015, Connacht six times, beat Kilmallock for the All-Ireland in 1993 and Toomevara to retain it in 1994, the first club ever to do so, and its camogie team won four All-Ireland club titles between 2019 and 2024. St Mary's Athenry, founded in 1885, lost its first county final to Kiltormer in 1977, beat Castlegar 1-12 to 2-6 for the 1987 title and lost that year's All-Ireland final to Midleton, then won three All-Irelands in 1997, 2000 and 2001; its camogie club, founded in 1973, was All-Ireland champion in 1977 and 2025, and Athenry De Wetts won county football titles in 1903, 1904 and 1906.
Meelick-Eyrecourt and Ballinasloe
Meelick-Eyrecourt, founded in the 1880s, represented Galway in the first All-Ireland final of 1887 and draws its players from Clonfert, Meelick and Eyrecourt. Ballinasloe GAA was formed on 1 December 2005 by merging St Grellan's football club and Ballinasloe Hurling Club; the town's first hurling match, Killimor against Eyrecourt, was played on the Fair Green on Easter Monday 1884, and its first football game on 31 March 1893. The model on this page pins Loughrea's lake and cathedral.
Questions people ask
Which Galway club first retained the All-Ireland club hurling title?
When did Loughrea first win the county championship?
How many All-Irelands has Athenry won?
Written from Wikipedia, "Sarsfields GAA (Galway)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), read on 2026-09-19, and from the OpenStreetMap places on the model. Nothing has been added from memory; follow the source for its footnotes.