Rathvilly Gaelic Athletic Association is a

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

and ladies' Gaelic football club based in

Rathvilly Rathvilly () is a village in County Carlow, Ireland. The village is located on the River Slaney near the border with County Wicklow, 11 km from Tullow and 8 km from Baltinglass. It is also on the N81 national secondary route. Rathvill ...

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a county located in the South-East Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow Cou ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

History

The club was founded in 1888. The teacher Edward O'Toole was the first captain of the club; he was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and an early influence on Kevin Barry. Rathvilly won its first Carlow Junior Football Championship in 1916. In 1979 Rathvilly were promoted to the

Carlow Senior Football Championship The Carlow Senior Football Championship (currently also known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Michael Lyng Motors Carlow SFC''), is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by top-tier Carlow GAA clubs. The Carlow County Board of the ...

In 1983 they founded their juvenile section and won their first county championship; since then, they have won eight more. Rathvilly play at Fr. Ryan Park; in 2019, they received a €14,455 grant for floodlights. The club crest displays the

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

''bene cultō nīl ōrnātiu'' This is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "well cultivated, not ornate," and is derived from

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

's '' Cato Maior de Senectute'': ''agro bene culto nihil potest esse nec usu uberius nec specie ornatius'' ("nothing can be more bountiful for use, or more ornate to the eye, than a well-cultivated farm"). It also displays images of

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

Rathvilly Moat Rathvilly Moat is a motte and National Monument located in County Carlow, Ireland. Location Rathvilly Moat is located in the townland of Knockroe about 1 km east of Rathvilly village, east of the River Slaney. History and archaeology Th ...

, St. Patrick's Church and Rathvilly Bridge over the River Slaney.

Honours

Gaelic football

(9): 1983, 1985, 1990, 1991, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2021 * Carlow Intermediate Football Championship (2): 1973, 1978 * Carlow Under-21 Football Championship (7): 1981, 1982, 1990, 1992, 1993, 2005, 2007 * Carlow Minor Football Championship (5): 1982, 1988, 1990, 1993, 2004 * Carlow Junior "A" Football Championship (7): 1916, 1967, 1984, 1989, 2004, 2009, 2013 * Carlow Junior "B" Football Championship (1) *Carlow Junior Ladies Football Championship (1): 2015

Notable players

* Brendan Murphy * J. J. Smith

References

External links

Facebook page
Gaelic games clubs in County Carlow Gaelic football clubs in County Carlow {{Leinster-GAA-club-stub