History of Gaelic Games and the GAA... Origins The origins of Gaelic games predate recorded history. Bardic sources provide an insight into the character of the pre-GAA games. Hurling predominates, but there are also references to football. Fragments of the ancient Brehon Laws show that hurling was regulated from at least the eighth century. After the Norman invasion of the 12th century, hurling was proscribed by the English Crown. Foreign visitors to Ireland in the 17th and 18th centuries noted that hurling and football occupied an important place in the social life of the community. In August 1884 Micheal Cusack met a group of nationalists in Loughrea, County Galway, and outlined his plans to establish a national organisation for Irish athletes and to revive hurling. GAA The Gaelic Athletic Association is more than a sporting organisation. Although it is dedicated to promoting the games of hurling, football, handball, rounders, and camogie, the Association also supports activities which enrich the culture of the nation and further Gaelic ideals, including the Irish language and Irish music and dance. The GAA endeavours to strengthen pride in the communities it serves. The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is an amateur sporting organisation founded by Michael Cusack and Maurice Davin to preserve and cultivate the national games. When it was founded in 1884, it had Davin as it's first president. Dr. T. W. Croke, (Archbishop of Cashel) became the first patron of the Association, and Croke Park in Dublin (the Association Headquarters) is named in his honour.
The Association was nationalist in outlook and members were banned from playing non-Gaelic games. The Association also banned members of British Crown Forces from membership, and this is a source of great controversy in modern-day Ireland. Foreign games are also banned from GAA stadiums. The GAA is the largest sporting organisation in Ireland, boasting 2,800 clubs comprising of 182,000 footballers and 97,000 hurlers. Membership of the GAA exceeds 800,000 at home and abroad ensuring its role as a powerful national movement with an important social and cultural influence in Irish life.
Gaelic Football Gaelic football is played by approximately 250,000 men and women, making it the most popular sport in Ireland. The first record of Gaelic football is in the Statutes of Galway (1527) which allowed the playing of football but banned hurling. The earliest reported match took place at Slane, Co. Meath in 1712 when Meath played their neighbours, Louth.
Capacity crowds attend the All-Ireland Football Final at Croke Park every September (the third Sunday of September). The winners of the Senior Final receive the Sam Maguire Cup. Since the first All-Ireland Senior football final in 1887, Kerry have been the most successful team, winning 30 times. Only Kerry (twice) and Wexford have won in four successive years. In the past four years, an Ulster team (Down, Donegal, Derry, Down) has won the Sam Maguire Cup, the first time a province has retained the championship for more than two consecutive years. Gaelic Football Historical Facts - The highest attendance ever recorded at an All-Ireland Senior Football Final was 90,556 at the 1961 Down vs Offaly final. Following the introduction of seating to the Cusack stand in 1966, the largest crowd recorded since has been reduced to 73,588. When the current development to Croke Park is finished the capacity will be 79,500.
- The highest number of appearances in the All-Ireland Senior Football final is 10. This has been achieved by Paudie O'Shea, Pat Spillane and Denis 'Ogie' Moran. They were winners on no less than eight occasions.
- The highest individual score in the modern 70-minute game was recorded by Jimmy Keaveney (Dublin) in the 1977 Final against Armagh where he scored two goals and six points (12 points), and by Mike Sheehy (Kerry) in the 1979 Final against Dublin where he also recorded 2-6.
Hurling Hurling is the oldest of Irish sports and dates from pre-Christian times. No standardised rules existed until the GAA was formed in 1884. It is the third most popular sport in Ireland (soccer is 2nd) and is played by approximately 100,000 Irish people. The women's equivalent of hurling is called camogie and is played according to the same basic rules, but with a smaller pitch and smaller sticks. There are 50,000 camogie players in Ireland.
Hurling is one of the fastest field games in the world, and is played with an ash stick between 30 and 37 inches in length, with a broad end. The stick is used to hit and carry the sliotar which is a small ball weighing about 4oz.
Since the first Senior Hurling Final in 1887, Cork have won the most times with 29 victories. The provinces of Leinster and Munster dominate the modern game - out of all of Connaught and Ulster, only Galway have managed to win the Hurling championship.
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