Ladies' Gaelic Football Association
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The Ladies Gaelic Football Association (Irish: Cumann Peil Gael na mBan) is the organisation which promotes and regulates ladies' Gaelic football in Ireland.
The association has also selected the Ireland women's international rules football team, which will play the Australia women's international rules football team in international rules football for the first time in 2006.
[edit] History
Many dates are suggested for the foundation of the Association. It is understood that a parish league was in operation in Corr an Chláir as far back as 1926.[1] It is accepted officially, however, that the Association was founded in Hayes' Hotel, Thurles, County Tipperary on 18 July 1974, almost 90 years since the Gaelic Athletic Association was founded in the same hotel. The first Championship Trophy (the Brendan Martin Cup was contested in Autumn of the year 1974. Eight counties - Roscommon, Laois, Offaly, Galway, Kerry, Cork, Waterford and Tipperary - participated in the inaugural set of games, and Tipperary won the championship.
Gradually, the number of competing counties increased. In 1982 the Association received recognition for the first time as a body independent of the GAA. At the beginning of the 1990s, counties which were not already registered joined the organisation and games are currently played in all counties in Ireland. Ladies' Gaelic football is now also played in the United Kingdom, Mainland Europe, the United States, Australia and Asia [2], mostly among members of the Irish diaspora.
[edit] Structure
The Association has a similar structure to the GAA in that there are Clubs, County Boards, Provincial Councils and a Central Council. The organisation has an annual convention where representatives from all clubs, counties and provinces come together for a weekend. Representatives of clubs in other countries are also in attendance. It is at this convention that the Association's officials are elected every year and where the president is elected every three years. The current president is Geraldine Giles.
