 On the night of 17 April 1920 which was the night before the Abbeyfeale game, members of the Ballysteen ‘D’ Company of the 4th Battalion, West Limerick Brigade IRA carried out a raid for arms in the townland of Castletown.One of Ballysteens star players, Lieutenant Dan Neville was shot dead during this raid.To avoid drawing attention to the death of a member of the team, killed in covert paramilitary action, the rest of the team decided to go ahead with the match the following day.