[1] The first Gaelic Athletic Association club in Downpatrick was founded in 1896, Clan Na Gael, mostly a hurling team.

The games were outlawed during the Irish War of Independence (1918–22), but teams were refounded in 1924 and the St Patrick club affiliated in 1926.

[3] Players were harassed by policemen of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, who uprooted their goalposts and sent officers to their games to intimidate them.

Downpatrick won three county titles in four years, and reached the final of the 1993 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship, losing to Errigal Ciarán.

[8] RGU Downpatrick attracted some minor controversial press comment in 2018 when a brawl broke out at a league match against Ballyholland Harps.