The GAA was always a very popular pastime in Blackwater but it wasn't until 1938 that the club was formed. Emigration was at a low ebb prior to World War II and had practically stagnated during the war years which created a rapid growth in the young male population. Football became one of the main pastimes and the first playing field acquired was known as " The Spur", next to O'Neill's shop. A nearby field belonging to Phil Coffey was also used for a time.
Due to increased demand, and an ever-growing number of players, a larger field was required. In 1940 they rented the present field from Con McCarthy at a fee of ten pounds per annum. The McCarthy farm was later divided by the Land Commission and the club successfully applied to the latter for continued use of the field at a fee of two pounds per annum. The field was later vested in the GAA and the trustees were Denis & Michael O'Neill Raycoslough, John Morley, Commnakilla, Joe Murphy & Teddy Clifford Henry Street Kenmare.
The field became the main focal point for all outdoor activities in the area. The most notable event was the Annual Sports Day, held every third Sunday in June. This was an event of no small magnitude. At one such meeting a crowd of 1,500 fee paying adults attended at one shilling per head. Every December a Greyhound Derby was held to raise funds for the club. Evidence of the large population of young men in the area is mirrored in the running of an Inter-Blackwater League comprising of teams from Dromlusk, Loughbrin, Raycoslough and Blackwater-Dromore-Tahilla.
By the early 50s Blackwater suffered the same fate as did most rural areas in Ireland at that time, the scourge of emigration. Large numbers of young men went to the U.S. and England thus draining the club of its young manhood. The inevitable result was the termination of the club around 1958, and from here on the Blackwater area became incorporated into the Templenoe GAA club which at the time was also suffering a decline in numbers.
A representative of the Land Commission paid Denis O'Neill a visit in December 1959 in response to a letter requesting that the Blackwater Sportsfield be divided amongst the local farmers since the club no longer existed. Denis O'Neill persuaded him to leave the field to the local youngsters. He agreed on condition that he pay a sum of money to the Land Commission to enable it to cut it's ties with the field. He did so out of his own resources thus making the field the permanent property of the local GAA.
Templenoe followed in the footsteps of Blackwater and when Pollard's farm was divided by the Land Commission in the early 50s they successfully applied for a playing field. Today the GAA in Templenoe/Blackwater are the envy of most clubs throughout the country with two modern playing fields and associated facilities.
