Gaelic Athletic Association

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"GAA" redirects here. For other uses, see GAA (disambiguation).

A stylised Celtic cross serves as the traditional logo of the GAA.

The Gaelic Athletic Association (The GAA) (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael) is an organisation which is mostly focussed on promoting Gaelic games - traditional Irish sports, such as hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball, and rounders. The organisation also promotes Irish music and dance, and the Irish language as an integral part of its objectives.

At local and regional level the GAA is organised by county and provincial boards. County boards report to provincial boards. There are 32 county boards within Ireland and many more overseas. Each county and province runs their own competitions and organises clubs within their area .

Most parishes have a GAA club. The organisation is based, both functionally and in terms of competition, on the traditional parishes and counties of Ireland. It is the largest and most popular organisation in Ireland with some 800,000 members out of the island's 5 million people.^[1]

[edit] Foundation of the GAA

The corporate logo of the GAA, is used on branding and merchandise.

Further information: History of the Gaelic Athletic Association

The man directly involved in the founding of the GAA was a Clare man, Michael Cusack. Pupils at the Academy he founded were encouraged to get involved in all forms of physical exercise and, as a language enthusiast, Cusack was troubled by falling standards in specifically Irish games.

To remedy this situation and to re-establish hurling as the national pastime, Cusack met with several other enthuasiasts, most notably, Maurice Davin and the Gaelic Athletic Association was established on Saturday, November 1, 1884 in Hayes' Hotel, Thurles, County Tipperary. The initial plan was to resurrect the ancient Tailteann Games and establish an independent Irish organisation for promoting athletics, but hurling and gaelic football eventually predominated. Thomas Croke, Archbishop of Cashel, and Michael Davitt were two of the organisation's patrons.

[edit] Aims of the GAA

When the GAA was founded, it set out the following goals:

1. To foster and promote the native Irish pastimes.
2. To open athletics to all social classes.
3. To aid in the establishment of hurling and football clubs which would organise matches between counties.

These aims have been replaced with the modern day aim to be "A National organisation which has as its basic aim the strenghting of the National Identity of a 32 County Ireland through the preservation and promotion of Gaelic Games and pastimes."^[2]

[edit] The GAA in the twentieth century

Up to the twentieth century most of the members were farm labourers, small farmers, barmen or shop assistants. But from 1900 onwards a new type of individual — those who were now being influenced by the Celtic Revival (started in 1893) — joined the movement. They tended to be middle-class Roman Catholic clerks, school teachers and civil servants. ^{[citation needed]}

In 1918 the GAA was banned by the British government, but the games were still played in defiance.^[3] In 1922 it passed over the job of promoting athletics to the National Athletic and Cycling Association.

In 1984 the GAA celebrated its 100 year in existence. This achivement was mark by the GAA by with numerous events throughout the country and the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship final was moved to Semple Stadium in Thurles to honour the town in which the GAA was founded.

[edit] The achievements of the GAA

1. The ancient game of hurling was saved from extinction. Both it and Gaelic football were standardised, albeit that both standardised games bore little resemblance to the original sports such as caid.
2. It provided an all-Ireland structure in which people could participate, both on a sporting and on an organisational level.

[edit] Accusations of sectarianism

[edit] Accusation of exclusivity

The perception of the GAA in unionist circles in Northern Ireland made its members and clubhouses targets for loyalist terrorists during the Troubles. A number of GAA supporters were killed and clubhouses damaged.^[4][5]

This is because the association is sometimes portrayed as a sectarian organisation by those who contend that its establishment was based on political nationalism/republicanism and structures of the Roman Catholic Church. This accusation comes from the GAA's use of the Catholic parish as a means of dividing the country up into administrative units. However, the association also uses the original British county system to demarcate the next level up in the hierarchy, and the ancient provinces as the next level above that. The original intention was to have a wide distribution of clubs across the country, and ensuring that there was at least one club in every parish was the best way to achieve this.

The GAA would argue that it has always promoted Irish rather than Catholic identity, and has had members of minority religions playing an active role from its inception up to the present day. The GAA Official Guide forbids sectarianism^[6], and Charles Stuart Parnell was one of its early patrons.

[edit] Bans on other sports & Rule 42

Initially, members were prohibited from playing "foreign" sports, and up until recently, such sports were officially barred from using GAA grounds. In practice, however, the ban was applied only to soccer and rugby union.^{[citation needed]} Since the 1960s, the GAA has allowed its flagship stadium, Croke Park, to be used for International rules football — a compromise between Gaelic football and Australian rules football — in matches between Ireland and Australia. In the 1980s, Croke Park was the venue for an American football game between Notre Dame and the Navy.

On 16 April 2005 the GAA's congress voted to suspend its Rule 42 ban on "foreign games" to enable the Football Association of Ireland and the Irish Rugby Football Union to play their international fixtures at Croke Park while the Lansdowne Road stadium is being rebuilt.^{[citation needed]} It has now been agreed by the GAA's governing Central Council that the first soccer and rugby union games in Croke Park can take place in early 2007. The first such fixture will be Ireland's home match of the Six Nations Rugby Union Championship against France.

[edit] Bans on security force members - Rule 21

A ban (Rule 21)^[7] on members of the British army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary from playing Gaelic games was lifted on 17 November 2001^[8] after the creation of the new Police Service of Northern Ireland. The PSNI now field a GAA team ^[9]

[edit] 2006 Hunger Strike commemoration controversy

In 2006, controversy arose over the use of Casement Park GAA stadium in County Antrim for a republican rally commemorating the 1981 Irish hunger strike, which was addressed by Gerry Adams and other prominent Sinn Féin speakers. The GAA Central Council in Dublin said that the rally was a breach of the organization's rules forbidding political events; however the Antrim county board ignored this ruling and the rally went ahead.

Democratic Unionist Party MP Gregory Campbell accused the GAA of attempting to politicize sport. The organizers of the rally denied this, saying that the rally was not organized by any political party. ^{[10] [11]}

[edit] The GAA today

The GAA is the largest amateur sports association in Ireland. The GAA has more than 2,500 member clubs and runs about 500 grounds throughout Ireland. ^[12] The Gaelic Games of hurling and football are also the most popular spectator sports in Ireland ,1,962,769 people attended GAA games in 2003 ^[13]

[edit] GAA internationals

The GAA doesn't hold internationals played using the pure laws of either Gaelic football or Hurling , however compromise rules have been reached.

Hurlers play an annual fixture against a national Shinty team from Scotland.

International Rules matches between Ireland international rules football team, drawn from the ranks of Gaelic footballers, against the Australian team, which is drawn from the Australian Football League . The venue alternates between Ireland and Australia. As of December 09, 2006 the International Games between Australia and Ireland have been called off due to excesive violence in past matches.

The counties of Ireland, coloured by which gaelic game is popular. Yellow indicates a football county, blue a hurling county and green a "dual county", where both sports have considerable support.

[edit] GAA grounds

Main article: Gaelic Sport Grounds

The GAA has many high quality stadia in Ireland and beyond, Every county and nearly all clubs have a GAA ground to play their home games, with varying capacities and utilities.

There is a hierarchical structure used in the playing of matches at grounds. For example, county championship finals (contested by clubs) are usually held at the ground that said county plays its matches (for example, the Tyrone Senior Club Football Championship final is played at Healy Park, Omagh, where Tyrone play their home games.)

The provincial championship finals are usually played at the same venue every year, however, this trend has been called into question somewhat in Ulster, when in 2004 and 2005, the Ulster Football Finals were played in Croke Park, due to the fact that the anticipated attendance was likely to far exceed the capacity of St. Tiernach's Park, Clones.

Croke Park is the GAA's flagship venue, known colloquially as 'headquarters' owing to the fact that the venue doubles as the GAA's base. With a capacity of 82,000, it ranks among the top stadiums in Europe, having undergone extensive renovations for most of the nineties, and early 21st century. Every September, Croke Park hosts the All-Ireland Hurling and Football Finals, as the conclusion to the summer championship.

Other notable grounds include Pearse Stadium in Galway, which recently hosted the first test of the International rules football series. Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork is where the Munster Finals are held. Páirc Uí Rinn a former League of Ireland soccer ground

[edit] See also

• Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh
• GAA All Stars Awards
• Micheál Ó Hehir
• The Sunday Game
• Up for the Match
• Top 20 GAA Moments
• Sport in Ireland

[edit] Bibliography

• The GAA: A History by Marcus de Burca, Gill & MacMillan, 1984 & 2000, ISBN 0-7171-3109-2
• Illustrated History of the GAA, by Eoghan Corry, Gill & MacMillan, 2005, ISBN 0-7171-3951-4
• The GAA Book of Lists, by Eoghan Corry, Hodder Headline, 2005, ISBN 0-340-89695-7
• The Gaelic Athletic Association And Irish Nationalist Politics 1884-1924 by W F Mandle (Gill & MacMillan and Christopher Helm 1987). 240pp ISBN 0-7470-2200-3
• Michael Cusack and The GAA by Marcus De Burca, Anvil, 1989, 192pp, ISBN 0-947962-49-2
• Micheal Ciosog by Liam P O Cathnia, Clochomhar Tta, 1982.
• Croke Of Cashel by Mark Tierney, Gill And MacMillan, 1976.
• Maurice Davin (1842-1927) First President Of The GAA by Seamus O'Riain, Geography Publications, 1994, ISBN 0-906602-25-4
• Croke Park by Tim Carey, Collins Press, 2004, ISBN 1-903464-54-4
• God and the Referee: Unforgettable GAA Quotations, by Eoghan Corry, Hodder Headline, 2005, ISBN 0-340-83976-7
• History of Hurling, by Seamus King, Gill & MacMillan, 2005, ISBN 0-7171-3938-7
• Sceal Na hIomana by Liam P O Cathnia, Clochomhar Tta, 1980.
• Caman, 2000 Years Of Irish Hurling by Art O Maolfabhail, 1973.
• Gaelic Football, by Jack Mahon, Gill & MacMillan, 2002 & 2006, ISBN 0-7171-4038-5
• Bairi Cos In Eirinn by Liam P O Cathnia, Clochomhar Tta, 1984.

[edit] References

1. ^ Go Ireland
2. ^ "Aims of the association." — GAA Rules and Constitution
3. ^ Gaelic Football, Hurling are Irish Passions. Retrieved on 2006-11-27.
4. ^ CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1991 — Arson attack and statement by the Ulster Freedom Fighters loyalist paramilitary group, 8 February 1991, from the CAIN project at the University of Ulster
5. ^ CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1997 — murder of Sean Brown, official of Bellaghy GAC, by the Loyalist Volunteer Force, from the CAIN project at the University of Ulster
6. ^ "The Association shall be non-sectarian." — GAA Rules and Constitution
7. ^ The GAA and Rule 21. Retrieved on 2006-11-27.
8. ^ Gaelic sport ends forces ban. Retrieved on 2006=11-27.
9. ^ A symbolic encounter. Retrieved on 2006-11-27.
10. ^ GAA accused over rally at ground — BBC News article, 1 August 2006
11. ^ Stadium rally 'politicised sport' — BBC News article, 14 August 2006
12. ^ Organisation of the GAA (english). Retrieved on 2006-11-25.
13. ^ GAA attendance figures. Retrieved on 2006-11-27.

[edit] External links

• GAA official website
• Rules and Regulations
• Hogan Stand
• National GAA Results and Fixtures on Aertel
• Local GAA Results and Fixtures on Aertel
• GAA World by The Irish News
• Index of GAA club sites
• GAA News Results and Fixtures from Sports.ie
• An Fear Rua: The GAA Unplugged! - analysis, discussion forums, satire and humour on GAA topics.
• GAA Results