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.

[3] Rathvilly won its first Carlow Junior Football Championship in 1916.

[5][6] The club crest displays the motto bene cultō nīl ōrnātiu[s].

This is Latin for "well cultivated, not ornate," and is derived from Cicero'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").

[9][10] This Leinster GAA club related article is a stub.