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Never in its history had Ireland touched a lower depth of misery than during the middle of the nineteenth century. The great famine of 1847-48 was a national disaster and had broken the spirit of the people. The emigrant ship was taking the cream of the nation's manhood into exile while those who remained were engaged in a life or death struggle for their land and homesteads. Michael Cusack sought a way of restoring the courage, heart, self-reliance and love of country to the young people of Ireland. They had inherited a finer tradition in native pastimes than any other people and could look back with pride to the golden age and the Tailteann Games on the plains of Meath.

Hurling was by far the oldest and most superb field game known and was the glory of ancient warriors and the theme of medieval poets. The English invader had by Municipal Decrees and Penal Laws tried to crush the game but failed.

As early as 1367 the statutes of Kilkenny ordained "that the commons of the said land of Ireland shall be used not henceforth for games which men call hurling with great clubs and a ball upon the ground." In the year 1527 the Galway Urban Council ordered that the people "at no time use the land for the hurling of the little ball with hockey sticks or staves." But the people continued to play the game and in 1694 an act passed by the Williamite Parliament of Ireland imposed a fine on any person found playing the game on the Lord's Day.

By the middle of the eighteenth century, inter-county or inter-provincial games were often played with many of the Irish gentry taking part in the contests, which were played for money. A game involving Galway played near Banagher in September 1773 appears to have carried the biggest side bet recorded. "This day the grand hurling match between the counties of Galway and Tipperary for 1,000 guineas was finally decided in favour of the latter. There never perhaps was so great a company seen in the kingdom and at the lowest computation there could not be less than 10,000 persons present." Curiously enough the same two counties would meet in the first All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final in 1887.

The game of football was not as popular in rural districts as hurling and one of the earliest references to the game was in 1731 when a Mr. Wesley of Dangan "gave an entertainment to the tenants. There was played a great match of football between married men and bachelors." Another unique game witnessed in Dublin in 1740 was a match played on the river Liffey that was frozen with six inches of ice.

The early games usually consisted of kicking the ball beyond a certain point by every means possible without rules of any sort.

Like hurling, handball was part of the programme of the Tailteann Games. At that time the game was played by tossing the ball from one person to another, but evolved as a game played against a wall. Alleys consisting of one or three walls were usually found attached to wayside inns with four wall alleys built on private property.

Michael Cusack, a Clare born schoolteacher, was a man of vision who with Patrick William Nally of Balla, Co. Mayo organised National Athletic meetings in 1880-81 and contemplated forming a National Games Movement. But Nally was arrested for his I.R.B. and Fenian activities and sent to Mountjoy Jail, where he remained until his death ten years later. The Mayoman is remembered by the dedication of the Corner Stand in Croke Park to his memory.

In 1883 Cusack founded the Dublin Metropolitan Hurling Club and on Easter Monday the following year they travelled to Ballinasloe to play Killimor, but due to different rules, the game ended in chaos. The need for a National Body to control the native games and pastimes became even more evident to the Clareman. Writing in the "United Ireland" in October 1884 he called on the people "to take the management of athletics into their own hands and promote every form of athletics which is peculiarly Irish and remove with one sweep everything foreign and iniquitous in the present system." At that time Athletics in Ireland were controlled by an English Association, an anti-national and snobbish clique that practically excluded most of the population from competitions that existed. Cusack's call got widespread support and resulted in the meeting at Hayes Hotel, Thurles on the 1st November 1884, where the Gaelic Athletic Association was formed.

During 1885 G.A.A. clubs, or as they were known then branches, were established all over the country. Athenry was no exception and was among the first to affiliate to the new association.

The Club elected Patrick C. Kelly of Cross Street as Captain and his election immediately caused divisions within the Parish. The National League was opposed to Kelly and had refused him admission to the League. They claimed he had "taken land from which a tenant had been evicted." and they started a hurling club of their own in opposition the one headed by Kelly.

Three thousand people gathered in Athenry on the 29th May to hear John Redmond address a meeting of the National League. He was welcomed onto the platform by Rev. Fr. Edmond Thomas P.P., President of the local Branch and the meeting ended with a procession of League Hurlers wearing green and white caps and carrying hurleys.

Patrick C. Kelly never intended that his club should be the cause of disunity within the Parish and hoped that it would help the League in its aims and objectives. An attempt was made by the Hurling Club for unity when a meeting of the League was asked if the "Hurlers" could join the League. The Rev Chairman told the young man who asked the question that as far as the National League were concerned no such organisation existed and anyone wishing to join the League should do so in the normal way. The Athenry Branch were refusing to acknowledge the existence of the Hurling Club and the Association to which it was affiliated because of Kelly, and belief that the G.A.A. was a rival organization.

Despite all the opposition the Hurling Club continued to prosper and during the year won all their games except one. That was against Craughwell on 29th August and played in Athenry. After two hours play the game was abandoned with the scores level. Craughwell later claimed that they had won the game, but, according to the Athenry men, the issue had still to be decided.