O'Tooles GAC was formed in 1901 at 100 Seville Place in the north inner city of Dublin from the Gaelic League branch. The Gaelic League branch held their inaugural meeting in February 1901. Francis Cahill was one of the founding members of the club and Brother J.A. O’Mahoney, who was superior of O'Connell School was elected as the first president.
On Thursday 8 October 1901, after Irish classes the clubs first hurling team was formed. The captain of the team was Edward Keegan with Thomas Keegan elected as secretary and John Taylor as treasurer. In 1905 the club won their first competition, captained by Tim O'Neill, they won the Saturday Junior Hurling League.
August 1902 brought about the formation of the football team, with the clubs first major success arriving in 1910 in the form of the minor league.
On the morning of Monday 24 April 1916, around 1,200 members of the Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army arrived at a number of locations in Dublin. Among them were over 70 members of the O'Tooles club including two executed leaders, Tom Clarke (3 May) and Seán Mac Diarmada (12 May). Others involved included Liam Ó Briain, future TD and a professor of languages. Frank Robbins, future President of the Dublin Council of Trade Unions and Tom Ennis who was later a Free State Army General.
On 21 November 1920, Dublin and Tipperary played a football challenge match in Croke Park. As a result of a mass shooting by the British Forces 14 innocent people including one player (Michael Hogan from Tipperary), died. It is estimated that around 60 – 100 people were also injured. O'Tooles have a deep connection with the events of this day as they contributed 12 players to the Dublin team with 9 players starting.[citation needed]
Substitutes: Tom Carey, Joe Norris & Tom Fitzgerald
Football
An amalgamation of O'Tooles and another local club Emeralds brought the golden age of football to the Seville Place club.[tone] The 1916 Dublin Intermediate Football Championship which was played in 1917 due to the number of players interned after the 1916 Rising heralded the beginning of the club's most successful football teams.[citation needed]
As of 2023, they currently compete in the Division 2 league and the Senior 3 championship in hurling.
In football they are in the Division 3 league and the Dublin Intermediate Football Championship.