prior to the foundation of the club sportsmen of the area played with south liberties gaa or other city clubs such as the commercials, young irelanders or claughaun gaa. the club was originally set up in 1962 both to provide a gaa club for past pupils of sexton street cbs hence the name 'old christians' and also to promote hurling and football on the southside of the city in an area where rugby and in particular soccer would have had the upper hand. even though they won the 1962 limerick senior football championship in their first year with victory over claughaun, their main concern was hurling in those early years and their under-14 team won the all-ireland féile na ngael title in 1972 beating nenagh éire óg gaa, the club's greatest ever hurling achievement. they continued to hurl at a senior level up to the mid 1970s when the club went into decline, as not as many hurlers were coming out of sexton street cbs to play with 'christians'. old christians went on to win both minor county championships in hurling and football in 1966.