St. Colum’s Hurling and Football Club was formed towards the end of 1970. One of the main founders was Rev. Fr. John McCarthy, who had been appointed curate of the Kealkill and Coomhola parish twelve months earlier. There had always been a strong Gaelic games tradition in the area, but players had got involved in football with our neighbouring clubs: Bantry Blues, Ballingeary, and Doheny’s. The foundation of the new club meant that they could play for their own area for the first time. 
The first AGM was held in Coomhola school on December 8, 1970, and, by 1971, teams were being fielded in all age groups from under age to junior in football and hurling.
Successes
Over the years, the club has had a lot of success, winning several competitions in both codes. In hurling, our West Cork Junior B Championship victories in 1982, 1994 and 2003 stand out, and the team of 2003 went on to win the county that year by beating Lisgoold in the final.
Other victories were the Centenary Cup in 1984, the Millennium Cup in 2001, and the Minor A Hurling Championship in 1980,
In football, highlights included a Junior B West Cork victory in 1985, and back-to-back victories in 1996 and 1997. St. Colum’s went on to win the county final in 1997. Since then the footballers have been playing in grade A, and appeared in the 2001 final in which they were defeated by Ilen Rovers, and the 2006 final when Tadgh McCarthaig GAA club won the day.