In the period immediately after World War II a parish priest named Father Horgan rallied the people of Bantry to help themselves
and they set about building the Bantry Boys Club which would cover almost 4,000 sq. ft. (a good size for the era).
Built completely with local voluntary labour (and with the aid of dozens of fund raising events),
 the club opened its doors on August 6th, 1950 with a crowd of over 1,100 dancers (dancing from 10pm until 4 am).
From the moment it opened the Boys Club was an instant success. Like all halls built prior to the 1950's it was used
for everything from dances to meetings, fundraisers, and as a snooker hall. During the early 1960's it hosted small
dances featuring local bands and many Ceili dances, often changing its adverts from English to Irish depending on the night's
entertainment (see below). By the mid to late 1960's they were running all the showbands and this would continue for the next
20 years, right through the early 1980's. In the mid-1980's the building was practically doubled in size with the aid of
State funding and a couple of years later, they applied for a license to sell alcohol on the premises (as had been granted to many Rugby
and GAA clubs at the time) but were refused. Although the days or regular dances had come to an end, the club continued to grow
and develop and today is going strong (see bottom of page)