Tyrone vs. Kerry at the All-Ireland Football Final in 2005 |
|
| Highest governing body | Gaelic Athletic Association |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Caid Football Gaelic Gah |
| First played | 1802 |
| Registered players | 1887 |
| Clubs | 2,500 + |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | Contact |
| Team members | 33 per team (15 at a time) |
| Mixed gender | Single |
| Categorization | Outdoor |
| Equipment | Football |
Gaelic football (Irish: Peil, Peil Ghaelach, or Caid), commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah"[1][2][3] is a form of football played mainly in Ireland. It is, together with hurling, one of the two most popular spectator sports in the Republic of Ireland.[4]
Gaelic football is played by teams of 15 on a rectangular grass pitch with H-shaped goals at each end. The primary object is to score by kicking or striking the ball with the hand and getting it through the goals. The team with the highest score at the end of the match wins. Players advance the ball up the field with a combination of carrying, soloing (dropping and then toe-kicking the ball upward into the hands), kicking, and hand-passing to their team-mates.
Statistics show the game drawing significantly more spectators than any other sport in the Republic of Ireland recently; 2005 ESRI figures indicate that it draws 34% of total attendances at sports events in Ireland, with the closest rival, hurling drawing 23%.[5]
Football is one of four Gaelic games run by the Gaelic Athletic Association, the largest sporting organisation in Ireland with more than 800,000 members.[5] It has strict rules on player amateurism and the pinnacle of the sport is the inter-county All-Ireland Football Final. The game is believed to have descended from ancient Irish football known as caid which dates back to medieval times, although the modern rules were not set down until 1886.
Gaelic football is also played in countries outside Ireland,[6] often although not solely played by members of the Irish diaspora. It is increasing in popularity internationally.[6] Teams from both London and New York compete in the annual All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the highest level of the game.
International rules football, a hybrid of Gaelic football and Australian rules football, facilitates matches between Gaelic footballers and Australian-rules footballers. International rules is most prominently used for international representative matches between Ireland and Australia.
Contents |
A Gaelic pitch is similar in some respects to a rugby pitch but larger. The grass pitch is rectangular, stretching 130–145 meters long and 80–90 meters wide. There are H-shaped goalposts at each end, formed by two posts, which are usually 7 m high, set 6.5 m apart, and connected 2.5 m above the ground by a crossbar. A net extending in back of the goal is attached to the crossbar and lower goal posts. The same pitch is used for hurling; the GAA, which organizes both sports, decided this to facilitate dual usage. Lines are marked at distances of 13 m, 20m and 45 m from each end-line. Shorter pitches and smaller goals are used by youth teams.[7]
The majority of adult football and all minor and under-21 matches last for 60 minutes, divided into two halves of 30 minutes, with the exception of senior inter-county games which last for 70 minutes (two halves of 35 minutes). Draws are decided by replays or by playing 20 minutes of extra time (two halves of 10 minutes). The under-12s have a half of 20 minutes or 25 minutes in some cases. Half-time lasts for about 15 minutes.
Teams consist of fifteen players[8] (a goalkeeper, two corner backs, a full back, two wing backs,a centre back, two mid fielders, two wing forwards, a centre forward, two corner forwards and a full forward) plus up to fifteen substitutes, of which five may be used. Each player is numbered 1–15, starting with the goalkeeper, who must wear a jersey colour different from that of his or her teammates.
The game is played with a round leather football made of 18 stitched leather panels, similar in appearance to a traditional volleyball, with a circumference of 69–74 cm (27–29 in), weighing between 370–425 g (13–15.0 oz) when dry. It may be kicked or hand passed. A hand pass is not a punch but rather a strike of the ball with the side of the closed fist, using the knuckle of the thumb.
The following are considered technical fouls ("fouling the ball"):
If the ball goes over the crossbar, a point is scored and a white flag is raised by an umpire. A Point can be scored by either kicking the ball over the crossbar, or by fisting it over in which case the hand must be closed whilst striking the ball. If the ball goes below the crossbar, a goal, worth three points, is scored, and a green flag is raised by an umpire. A goal can only be scored by kicking the ball into the net, you cannot fist pass the ball into the net. However, a player can strike the ball into the net with a closed fist if the ball was played to him by another player or came in contact with the post/crossbar/ground prior to connection. The goal is guarded by a goalkeeper. Scores are recorded in the format Goal Total-Point Total. To determine the score-line goals must be converted to points and added to the other points. For example, in a match with a final score of Team A 0-21 Team B 4-8, Team A is the winner with 21 points, as Team B scored only 20 points (4 times 3, plus 8).
The level of tackling allowed is more robust than in association football, but less than rugby.
Shoulder to shoulder contact and slapping the ball out of an opponent's hand are permitted, but the following are all fouls:
A football match is overseen by eight officials:
The referee is responsible for starting and stopping play, recording the score, awarding frees and booking and sending off players.
Linesmen are responsible for indicating the direction of line balls to the referee.
The fourth official is responsible for overseeing substitutions, and also indicating the amount of stoppage time (signaled to him by the referee) and the players substituted using an electronic board.
The umpires are responsible for judging the scoring. They indicate to the referee whether a shot was: wide (spread both arms), a 45 m kick (raise one arm), a point (wave white flag), square ball (cross arms) or a goal (wave green flag). A disallowed score is indicated by crossing the green and white flags.
Contrary to popular belief within the association, all officials are not obliged to indicate "any misdemeanours" to the referee, but are in fact only permitted to inform the referee of violent conduct they have witnessed which has occurred without the referee's knowledge. A linesman/umpire is not permitted to inform the referee of technical fouls such as a "double bounce" or an illegal pick up of the ball. Such decisions can only be made at the discretion of the referee.
Gaelic football was first codified in 1887, although it has links to older varieties of football played in Ireland and known collectively as caid. Consequently, the name caid is used by some people to refer to present day Gaelic football.
The first record of any form of football being played in Ireland comes from 1308, when John McCrocan, a spectator at a football game at Newcastle, County Dublin was charged with accidentally stabbing a player named William Bernard.[10]
The Statute of Galway of 1527 allowed the playing of "foot balle" and archery but banned "'hokie' — the hurling of a little ball with sticks or staves" as well as other sports.
By the 17th century, the situation had changed considerably. The games had grown in popularity and were widely played. This was due to the patronage of the gentry. Now instead of opposing the games it was the gentry and the ruling class who were serving as patrons of the games. Games were organised between landlords with each team comprising 20 or more tenants. Wagers were commonplace with purses of up to 100 guineas (Prior, 1997).
The earliest record of a recognized precursor to the modern game date from a match in County Meath in 1670, in which catching and kicking the ball was permitted.[11]
However even "foot-ball" was banned by the severe Sunday Observance Act of 1695, which imposed a fine of one shilling (a substantial amount at the time) for those caught playing sports. It proved difficult, if not impossible, for the authorities to enforce the Act and the earliest recorded inter-county match in Ireland was one between Louth and Meath, at Slane, in 1712.
A six-a-side version was played in Dublin in the early 18th century, and 100 years later there were accounts of games played between County sides (Prior, 1997).
By the early 19th century, various football games, referred to collectively as caid, were popular in Kerry, especially the Dingle Peninsula. Father W. Ferris described two forms of caid: the "field game" in which the object was to put the ball through arch-like goals, formed from the boughs of two trees, and; the epic "cross-country game" which lasted the whole of a Sunday (after mass) and was won by taking the ball across a parish boundary. "Wrestling", "holding" opposing players, and carrying the ball were all allowed.
During the 1860s and 1870s, Rugby football started to become popular in Ireland. Trinity College, Dublin was an early stronghold of Rugby, and the rules of the (English) Football Association were codified in 1863 and distributed widely. By this time, according to Gaelic football historian Jack Mahon, even in the Irish countryside, caid had begun to give way to a "rough-and-tumble game" which even allowed tripping. Association football started to take hold, especially in Ulster, in the 1880s.
Limerick was the stronghold of the native game around this time, and the Commercials Club, founded by employees of Cannock’s Drappery Store, was one of the first to impose a set of rules which was adapted by other clubs in the city. Of all the Irish pastimes the GAA set out to preserve and promote, it is fair to say that Gaelic football was in the worst shape at the time of the association’s foundation (GAA Museum, 2001).[11]
Irish forms of football were not formally arranged into an organised playing code by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) until 1887. The GAA sought to promote traditional Irish sports, such as hurling and to reject "foreign" (particularly English) imports. The first Gaelic football rules, showing the influence of hurling and a desire to differentiate from association football — for example in their lack of an offside rule — were drawn up by Maurice Davin and published in the United Ireland magazine on February 7, 1887. The rules of the aforementioned Commercials Club became the basis for these official (Gaelic Football) rules who, unsurprisingly, won the inaugural All-Ireland Senior Football Final (representing County Limerick)[12]
On Bloody Sunday in 1920, during the Anglo-Irish War, a football match at Croke Park was attacked by British forces. 14 people were killed and 65 were injured. Among the dead was Tipperary footballer Michael Hogan, for whom the Hogan Stand at Croke Park (completed in 1924) was named.
Ladies' Gaelic football has become increasingly popular with women since the 1970s.
The relationship between Gaelic football and Australian rules football and the question of whether they have shared origins is a matter of historical controversy. Games are held between an Irish representative team and an Australian team, under compromise rules known as International rules football.
The current President of the GAA is Christy Cooney of Youghal, County Cork.[13]
The Team of the Century was nominated in 1984 by Sunday Independent readers and selected by a panel of experts including journalists and former players [14]. It was chosen as part of the Gaelic Athletic Association's centenary year celebrations. The goal was to single out the best ever 15 players who had played the game in their respective positions. Naturally many of the selections were hotly debated by fans around the country.
| Goalkeeper | |||
| Dan O'Keeffe (Kerry) |
|||
| Right Corner Back | Full Back | Left Corner Back | |
| Enda Colleran (Galway) |
Paddy O'Brien (Meath) |
Seán Flanagan (Mayo) |
|
| Right Half Back | Centre Back | Left Half Back | |
| Sean Murphy (Kerry) |
J. J. O'Reilly (Cavan) |
Stephen White (Louth) |
|
| Midfield | |||
| Mick O'Connell (Kerry) |
Jack O'Shea (Kerry) |
||
| Right Half Forward | Centre Forward | Left Half Forward | |
| Seán O'Neill (Down) |
Sean Purcell (Galway) |
Pat Spillane (Kerry) |
|
| Right Corner Forward | Full Forward | Left Corner Forward | |
| Mikey Sheehy (Kerry) |
Tommy Langan (Mayo) |
Kevin Heffernan (Dublin) |
The Team of the Millennium was a team chosen in 1999 by a panel of GAA past presidents and journalists. The goal was to single out the best ever 15 players who had played the game in their respective positions, since the foundation of the GAA in 1884 up to the Millennium year, 2000. Naturally many of the selections were hotly debated by fans around the country.
| Goalkeeper | |||
| Dan O'Keeffe (Kerry) |
|||
| Right Corner Back | Full Back | Left Corner Back | |
| Enda Colleran (Galway) |
Joe Keohane (Kerry) |
Seán Flanagan (Mayo) |
|
| Right Half Back | Centre Back | Left Half Back | |
| Sean Murphy (Kerry) |
J. J. O'Reilly (Cavan) |
Martin O'Connell (Meath) |
|
| Midfield | |||
| Mick O'Connell (Kerry) |
Tommy Murphy (Laois) |
||
| Right Half Forward | Centre Forward | Left Half Forward | |
| Seán O'Neill (Down) |
Sean Purcell (Galway) |
Pat Spillane (Kerry) |
|
| Right Corner Forward | Full Forward | Left Corner Forward | |
| Mikey Sheehy (Kerry) |
Tommy Langan (Mayo) |
Kevin Heffernan (Dublin) |
All Gaelic sports are amateur; easing the strictness with which this is interpreted is advocated by the Gaelic Players Association. The basic unit of each game is organised at the club level, which is usually arranged on a parish basis, with various local clubs playing to win the County Championship at various levels:
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Senior | the better adult clubs |
| Intermediate | clubs between Senior and Junior levels |
| Junior | weaker adult clubs, from small communities |
| Under-21 | under 21 |
| Minor | under 18 |
| Under-age | all ages from under-17 down to under-6 |
On a national level, the GAA county is organised on the old Irish county system,[15] producing 34 teams representing the original 32 counties that cover the island of Ireland, plus teams representing the Irish diaspora in London and New York. There are also clubs in other parts of the USA, Britain, Asia, Australasia, continental Europe and Canada.
Though Ireland was partitioned between two states in 1920, Gaelic sports (like most cultural organisations and all religions) continue to be organized on an All-Ireland basis.
A team of 15 players plus substitutes is formed from the best players playing at club level.
Nearly all counties play against each other in a knock-out tournament known as the All Ireland Championship.
These modified knock-out games are organised on the four Irish provinces of Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht.
In the past, the best team from each would play one of the others, at a stage known as the All-Ireland semi-finals, with the winning team from each game playing each other in the All-Ireland Final.
A recent re-organisation now provides a 'back door' method of qualifying, with knocked out teams getting another chance to win back into the competition. This means that one team may defeat another team in an early stage of the championship, yet be defeated and knocked out of the tournament by the same team at a later stage.
County teams also compete in the National Football League, held every spring. The League is not as prestigious as the All-Ireland, but in recent years attendances have grown and interest, from the public and from players, has grown. This is due in part to the organisation of the league into the above format, the provision of the Division 2 final stages and the relatively new change of starting the league in February rather than November. Live matches are shown on the Irish-language TV station TG4 and also Setanta Ireland, with highlights shown on RTÉ2.
The final game of the inter-county series is the All-Ireland Final which takes place on the third Sunday of September at Croke Park.
Over the four Sundays of September, All-Ireland Finals in men's football, women's football, hurling and camogie take place in Croke Park, the national stadium of the GAA, with the men's decider regularly attracting crowds of over 80,000. Guests who attend include the President of Ireland, the Taoiseach and leading dignitaries.
Two levels of the game are played at each All-Ireland, the Senior team and the Minor team (consisting of younger players, under the age of 18, who have played their own Minor All-Ireland competition).
The winning senior county football team receives the Sam Maguire cup. The most successful county in the history of football is Kerry, with 36 All-Ireland wins, followed by Dublin, with 23 wins.
|
|
|||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||