Mungret/St. Paul's GAA Club

Mungret was one of the first clubs formed in the Limerick County after the establishment of the G.A.A. and it was somewhat unique in that there were then, as there is today, two clubs in the same parish - namely Mungret and Crecora.

The club was very much to the fore in the early days of the G.A.A. but like many other clubs of the time the "Parnell split" took its toll on club membership with the result that the club disbanded.

The Mungret club was reformed in 1895. The club entered the 20th Century in great style winning the Ferrybridge Tournament. This was played in 1901 and is said to be the first trophy ever won by a Mungret team. In the final they beat Shamrocks by 2-11 to 0-2.

Like all clubs Mungret met lean times in their formative years. However Mungret G.A.A. club soldiered on and some years later the old spirit was rekindled with the club being re-formed again in 1929.

The Limerick Leader organised a school competition. The then Principal Mr.P.J .Larkin saw the benefit of this competition and entered a team. This was instrumental in sparking a G .A.A. revival in the parish. A Junior competition was organised and Mungret reached the final only to be beaten by Claughaun.

The clubs youth policy began to reap its rewards and Mungret school won the Leader Cup in 1930 and 1935. In between these victories tragedy struck with the death of the local teacher PJ .Larkin who had been instrumental in the clubs revival.

The first county championship was won in 1935 when the club won the Minor Championship. The club won the Junior Hurling title for the first time in 1937 and its first City title in 1945. The success story continued into the early fifties with the winning of the City Junior Hurling titles in 1951 and 1952.

In the early 1960's Mungret and Crecora joined forces and achieved some success particularly in the City Junior Hurling championship though failing in the County sections. In 1968 Mungret and Crecora went their separate ways and it was ironic that Mungret annexed the County Junior Title on their own in 1969. The 70's proved successful with the winning of the Intermediate and Minor Hurling titles in 1975.

On being reformed back in the late 20's the club flourished in the early years helped by its strong links with the local school. The club in the first few decades was mainly known for its achievements in hurling and enjoyed many successes at Juvenile, Minor and Junior level. Whilst Senior Hurling County success has so far eluded the club Mungret did contest two County semi-finals in the eighties. The most recent successes for the senior club were in 1993 when the club won the Premier Minor Hurling and the County U21 hurling titles and in 2006 when the city and county junior titles were taken.

Many players from the club have worn the Green Jersey of Limerick with distinction, with Liam O’Donoghue, Connie Keating, Mick Barron, Brian Tobin, Brian Begley and Dave Bulfin featuring at senior hurling level with Brian Begley and Darren Horan playing for the senior footballers.

On the football side the club went from Junior to Senior status in seven years winning the county junior title in 1990 after narrowly losing the final in the previous year and winning the intermediate crown in 1997 thus gaining the club Senior Football status for the first time ever. The County Senior league title was won in 1999 along with four city senior football titles in the decade from 1998 onwards.