Captain Thomas P. Lyons (retired) was over four decades the pulse of Breaffy G.A.A. Club. He has devoted his life to serving the community and in particular the Gaelic Athletic Association. He became involved with the Association in the early 1950's and was instrumental in acquiring the present grounds from the Land Commission. He led the Club through the following four decades and served over thirty years on the West Mayo Board, and as chairman for fourteen years. He was a member of the Connaught Council from 1969 to 1984, the Central Activities Committee from 1973 to 1976 and the Central Communications Committee from 1980 to 1983. During all this time he remained Chairman of his beloved Breaffy Club.
Josia Browne, a Catholic landowner from Sussex, England, settled in The Neale in 1860 on land purchased from the McMylers. The Breaffy connection is with his son, John, who was granted 200 acres of land there during the period of land confiscation's of the Cromwellian Settlements at the end of the 17th century. The land was in the townlands of Breaffy, Ballyheane and Barney, and confiscated from Myles, Ulick and William Bourke. The Breaffy GAA Club acquired the playing field from the Irish Land Commission in 1973 at a cost of £336. The sheds cost £85 at public Auction.