1884-1950
On 15th December 1884 Clara Hurling Club became the first club outside Dublin to affiliate to the recently founded Gaelic Athletic Association. From the beginning it was a well organised and well administered club under the stewardship of its chairman P.J White and in 1886, two years after affiliation, it represented King’s County and Leinster at a hurling tournament at Athlone ,where they played Athenry, the Galway and Connaught representatives. In 1893 when Offaly Gaels decided to form a County Board, Clara was the venue chosen for this historic event, and the club was once more honoured in 1896 when the first ever hurling and football Offaly county finals took place in Clara.
From the time of its affiliation in 1884, Clara was primarily a hurling club but in 1900 it embraced football also and in 1911 won the Junior football championship, its first ever title. By the 1920’s Clara’s progress was such that it had teams participating in almost all grades of hurling and football, and this decade also saw them contest both the senior hurling and senior football county finals. Success and consolidation continued into the thirties and then in the Spring of 1941 the formation of Bord na Scol was to have a very significant impact on the GAA in Clara and indeed, in Offaly. The Bord na Scol competitions now gave a focus to the great work that was being done by the Franciscan Brothers in the National school and the result of this commitment was soon to be seen when Clara won the Offaly Bord na Scol championship in 1941, 1946, 1947 and were beaten by one point in the 1948 final.

The 1950s
This wonderful achievement at school level soon began to show its effect at club level also and in this decade Clara contested a total of 29 finals, of which 13 brought success. The most encouraging aspect of this success was, that of the 29 final appearances, 20 of these were at juvenile or minor grade. This was further testament to the excellent work being done, not only by the club but also by the Franciscan Brothers
Another very significant aspect of this success of the 1950s was, that all of the adult wins were in football. Since its foundation in 1884 Clara had been primarily a hurling club, but now, football was very much in the ascendant and the fact that the football successes were at Junior and Intermediate level, caused some players to transfer their first allegiance from hurling to football. Football’s status in the club was further enhanced when the Senior team qualified for the county final in consecutive years, 1957 and 1958. Disappointingly they were defeated in both finals but by now it was becoming clear that the Holy Grail of the Dowling cup was tantalisingly close for this Clara team. By the end of the decade Clara was perceived to be predominantly a football club, although one that was still very engaged with hurling. Success for the hurlers continued however, at Juvenile level throughout the decade, but the failure to make any real impact at adult level, was a significant factor in the game’s relegation into second place within the club.
While the club flourished on the playing fields throughout these years ,the dark cloud of emigration which hung over every parish in Ireland, cast its shadow over Clara also, and took a heavy toll on the club. Some of its most promising players were forced to emigrate in search of a better life. There was by now, however, such a depth of talent at the club, that in spite of this great loss, its long held ambition to win a senior county championship was not far off.

The 1960s
Indeed the first year of the new decade, 1960, saw the cherished dreams of all Clara people fulfilled, when the Dowling cup was brought to the town for the first time. Seventy six years after its foundation, the dedication and perseverance of a committed and resolute group of Clara Gaels, some of whom were now long dead, had borne fruit and the ultimate honour had at last been realised. Clara were senior football county champions-and Clara rejoiced. It was felt that this team could go on to achieve many more successes but its next county final appearance was not until 1965 when it defeated Rhode in the delayed 1964 final. Clara were champions for the second time in their history but little was it realised then, that it would be another twenty seven years before such success would be theirs once more.

The 1970s
The seventies proved to be a relatively barren period on the playing fields for the adult teams. Once more it fell to our underage teams to take the honours, when 12 underage titles were won, 8 of these in hurling. This outstanding achievement at underage level, disappointingly, did not translate into success for the Senior teams. This decade however saw one of the Club’s long held aspirations come to fruition at last. Since its formation in 1884, successive committees had as a priority, the acquisition of a playing field that Clara GAA Club could call its own. Throughout the intervening ninety two years the Club had to rely on the goodwill and benevolence of local landowners for the provision of playing fields - Fox’s field and Fleming’s field just two among many. In 1976 a local and long established company in the town, Goodbody’s Ltd., offered the committee the option to purchase, for £5,000, a field known locally as the Sports field. The decision of the committee to purchase was a unanimous one and at last the Club had a permanent home. Another milestone in the history of Clara GAA Club had been reached. The pitch was named in honour of St Brigid, the ruins of whose historic Abbey are to be found in Kilbride in Clara. The official opening of Páirc Bríd was performed by President of the GAA, Mr. Pádraig
Mc Floinn in 1980.

The 1980s
The 1980s saw the pattern of underage success on the playing fields continue, with eleven titles being won. Unfortunately these achievements were not matched by the adult teams and in spite of some good performances they found success to be very elusive. The Club was now celebrating its centenary and had recently fulfilled its long cherished ambition to own its own playing pitch. There was however a nagging feeling of disappointment, that in this 100 years of their existence, they had won only two Senior County titles in football and a sense of underachievement could not be denied. Sometimes the line between victory and defeat is a very fine one and while the Senior football team contested two County Finals in this decade, the gods did not smile on them, and both Finals were lost. In fact it would be the early years of the next decade before the Dowling Cup would be brought to Clara again. In the meantime the Under-21 footballers created their own place in the Club’s history when they won the County title in 1980 for the first time and repeated this win in 1983. Not to be outdone the Minor footballers were creating a record of their own by contesting six consecutive Minor County Finals in 1978-1983, winning in 1978 and 1983 and unfortunately losing in the other years. They were successful once more in 1988.The Junior A and Junior C hurlers proved victorious in 1984 and 1983 respectively. The Junior A win meant that Clara was back playing Intermediate hurling for the first time since the early forties. So as the eighties drew to a close, judged by the yardstick of winning the Dowling Cup there was some cause for concern within the Club, but all other criteria indicated a vibrant, progressive Club, competing at almost all levels of hurling and football, consistently successful at underage level, and with a vision of what the future should be for the GAA in Clara.