[citation needed] The club was formally affiliated to the association, when at the third meeting of the fledgling organisation, held in Thurles on 17 January 1885.

The club had some success in the early years and in 1890 brought the first senior football All Ireland title to Cork under the captaincy of Jim Power.

[citation needed] By winning the title in 1983, the club were rewarded with the captaincy of the Cork team for 1984, the centenary year of the GAA.

In 2013, Midleton won their first Cork Senior title in 22 years after a 2–15 to 2–13 win against Sarsfields, with Conor Lehane scoring 2-10 of his club's total.

[1][2] This was followed by a number of years of increasing success at underage level, including a minor championship in 2018 and a Feile title in U15 hurling in 2021.