St James GAA – History

St James’ G.A.A. Club was founded on 22 March 1994 to cater for football in the surrounding areas of Mervue, Ballybane and Renmore. It was formed by the amalgamation of two clubs, Mervue and Renmore. The reason for the merger was because both clubs were struggling to field teams. Given the proud history of both clubs, their committee members were determined to build a strong force of players that would be capable of competing at the highest level in County Galway. Initially the new club was named Mervue/Renmore. The toss of a coin decided which name would come first. In 1998 the Mervue/Renmore club was renamed St. James’ Gaelic Football Club at the AGM that year. The new club colours were Green and White. The colours were chosen from their original clubs; Renmore wore a maroon and white kit, while Mervue wore red and green. Later the club decided to move away from the white and green strip and thus a new club colour strip was implemented. This resulted in the green and maroon strip and over time they became known as the ‘The Jimmies’. Initially, they only fielded adult teams in Intermediate and Junior B grades however, in line with the intended phased basis towards total integration, Minor grade was completed in 2002.

St. James’ completed the phased implementation in 2007 when all Juvenile grades were merged. This provided an ideal platform for the growth and development of Gaelic football in the east-side of the city, with facilities at two sites (Mervue and Renmore) and an experienced bank of on-site Coaches and Managers. Over the years Galway city expanded extensively and sprawling new estates began to emerge. This resulted in the St. James’ catchment area growing and a strengthening of the club. The catchment areas include Renmore, Mervue, Ballybane, Castle Park, Wellpark, Good Shepherd Parish; Doughiska, Castlegar; Roscam, Rosshill and Ballybrit. The club has gone from strength to strength and this is clear from the many successes it has achieved. The St. James Football Club was awarded the adult ‘Club of the Year in 2010’ in recognition of its outstanding achievements. In 2016, the Juvenile section received ‘Club of the Year’ from the Galway County Board.

It is worth noting that the St. James’ GAA brand is now well rooted and it has been one of the most successful club amalgamations in recent years. The name chosen for the club was no accident as it was adopted from a very important site in the Mervue area. This is the Church of Saint James which dates from medieval times and an ancient cemetery is also associated with the site. There is a hugely interesting history to the church and indeed the cemetery, were many significant and important people were buried. While many of the graves have been identified, there are many more that remain unidentified. It was the burial place for families in the area including Mervue and Renmore. The club have included an image of the site on the club crest.

Adult Mens Roll of Honour

1999: St. James’ Junior A League Winners.

2002: St. James’ Junior A West Board and County Championship Champions.

2005: St. James’ U-17 A City League Winners.

2006: St. James’ Intermediate Championship Finalists Runners up.

2006: St. James’ Minor A West Board and County Championship Winners.

2007: St. James’ Minor A West Board and County Championship Winners.

2008: St. James’ U-21 A West Board Championship Winners and County Finalists Runners up.

2009: St. James’ Minor A West Board and County Championship Winners.

2009: St. James’ Junior B West Board and County Championship Winners.

2009: St. James’ Intermediate County Finalists Runners up.

2010: St. James’ Minor A West Board Championship winners and County Finalists Runners up.

2010: St. James’ Intermediate County Champions.

2010: St. James’ Intermediate Connacht Champions.

2010: St. James’ Intermediate All-Ireland Finalists Runners up.

2010: St. James’ Intermediate Division 3 League Finalists Runners up.

2011: St. James’ Junior C West Board Championship Winners, League Champions and County Championship Finalists Runners up.

2012: St. James’ Junior B West Board League Winners.

2012: St. James’ U-21 A West Board and County Championship Champions.

2012: St. James’ Minor B West Board Championship winners and County Finalists Runners up.

2012: St. James’ Senior Division 2 league Winners.

2012: St. James’ Junior C West Board League Winners.

2014: St. James’ Junior A West Board Championship Finalists Runners up.

2014: St. James’ Minor B West Board League Winners.

2015: St. James’ Senior Division 1 Finalists Runners up.

2016: St. James’ Junior A West Board Championship Finalists Runners up.

2017: St. James’ Junior A Division 5 North Board League Winners

2017: St. James’ Junior A West Board & County Championship Winners

2017: St. James’ Division 1 League Finalists Runners up

2017: St. James’ Senior John Dunne Cup Winners

2018: St. James’ Minor B West Board Championship Winners & County Finalists

2020 St. James’ Minor B West Board & County Championship Winners

Adult Ladies Roll of Honour

St. James’ Junior D County Championship Finalists Runners up 2012

St. James’ Junior C County Finalists 2013

St. James’ Junior C League Winners 2014

St. James’ Junior C County Championship Winners 2014

St. James’ Junior B League Winners 2015

St James’ Junior B County Championship Winners 2015

St. James’ County League Division 3 Winners 2016

St. James Junior A County Championship Winners 2016

St. James’ Junior A Championship Finalists Runners up 2016

St. James’ County League Division 2 Shield Finalists Runners up 2017

St. James’ Intermediate B County Championship Finalists Runners up 2017

St. James’ Intermediate League Shield Finalists Runners up 2019

Juvenile Boys Roll of Honour

St. James’ U12 County ‘B’ League Winners 2007

St. James’ U12 City ‘B’ League Winners 2007

St. James’ U14 Feile B finalists Runners up 2007

St. James’ U16 A League Shield Finalists Runners up 2008

St. James’ U12 County ‘B’ League Winners 2009

St. James’ U14 Feile B Finalists & County B League Runners up 2010

U14 Feile A Finalists Runners up 2011

St. James’ U12 City League B Winners 2011

St. James’ U12 County B Championship Winners 2011

St. James’ U16 Division 1A League Winners 2012

St. James’ U13 Division 2 League Finalists runners up 2012

St. James’ U15 B City League Winners 2013

St. James’ U14 County B Shield League Winners 2014

U12 City A League Winners 2014

St. James’ U14 County B League Shield Winners 2015

St. James’ County B League Shield Winners 2015

St. James’ Feile A Winners 2016

St. James’ U12 City A League Finalists Runners up 2016

St. James’ U12 North Board A League Finalists Runners up 2016

St. James’ U14 A Championship Shield Winners 2016

St James’ U16 County B League Shield Winners 2016

St. James’ U13 A League Shield Winners 2017

St. James’ U15 County A Shield Final 2017

St. James’ U12 City & West League Winners 2017

St. James’ U13 County B League Winners 2018

St. James’ U-15 A Championship Shield Finalists Runners up 2018

St. James’ U-14 A Championship Winners 2018

St. James’ U15 A West Board League Winners 2019.

St. James’ U13 County ‘B’ League Winners 2019

St. James’ U14 County ‘B’ Championship Finalists Runners up 2019

St. James’ U14 West Board Championship Winners 2020

St. James’ U12 West Board ‘B’ League Winners 2020

Juvenile Girls Roll of Honour

St. James’ U14 County E Championship Shield Winners 2017

St. James’ U-12 County League Division 3 League Winners 2017

St. James’ U12 County C Championship Winners 2017

St. James’ U12 County A League Winners 2018