It was in 1971 that a group of parents, concerned at the lack of playing facilities in the fast growing southern suburb of Belfast, came together to form a schoolboys Gaelic Football team.

In the autumn of 1972, Barney Clarke, Joe and Tony Swail, formed the first senior team in the club and asked Chairman Harry McEvoy to enter the team in the East Down Junior Football League. Managed by Colm Glavin, the team won all their 24 league games and so secured the club’s first major trophy. They also reached the final of the Down Junior Championship, where they lost to Newry Shamrocks ll.