placenamesKilmaine
Cill Mheáin
The local football club’s own history records its beginnings and the later community effort to establish sports grounds.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Cill Mheáin · Irish · main form · non-validated name
- Kilmaine · English · main form
Place & story
A meeting in a carthouse
Kilmaine GAA dates its foundation to 9 March 1937, when neighbours met by candlelight in Durcan’s carthouse. Its account names Padraic Hyland as chairman, Christy Durcan as secretary and Mick Kelly as treasurer. A raffle raised the registration money, and Paddy Curran and Charlie Cunnane cycled to Claremorris to register the club with the South Mayo Board. The first competitive match, against Castlegar, was played in Curran’s field; Kilmaine lost by one point. [2]
A community builds a ground
The community council formed in May 1982 to develop local facilities. Its sports-ground fundraising included a “Mayor of Kilmaine” contest, won by Helen Macken. Land and access were purchased from the Land Commission, while voluntary work and an ANCO scheme helped develop the site. Macken formally opened the grounds on 31 May 1987, with a Mayo–Meath friendly as the main match. This later project followed the club’s foundation by fifty years. [2]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Kilmaine. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Kilmaine GAA, Club History · Kilmaine GAA
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.