Inter county

Inter county, or inter-county,[1] is Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) terminology which refers to competitions or matches between GAA counties (which are somewhat different from legal counties). The term can also be used to describe the players on the teams.[1]

The first inter county competitions the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship took place in 1887.[2] Inter county teams select the best players from the clubs within the county, a practice which began in 1892.[3] Before 1892 the winner of each counties club championship would represent the county in the All-Ireland championships.

The inter county season begins in January with each province's warm up competition and ends in September after the All Ireland final. The GAA's inter county competitions are the organisation's most attended competitions and are Ireland's most attended sporting events, while the All Ireland finals are the most watched.[4] and the All-Ireland Football Final is the most watched event in Ireland's sporting calendar.[5]

Usually each of the 32 GAA counties in Ireland participates in the inter county leagues and in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship; Kilkenny does not compete in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, and Cavan GAA does not currently compete in the National Hurling League although a non-county team, Fingal, does. London also competes in the Men's Hurling and Gaelic football championships and leagues, winning the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship once in 1901, [6] Warwickshire compete in the Men's hurling championship only, while New York City compete in the Men's football championships; in the past they also competed in the Hurling championship.

In Great Britain, the British provincial council organise inter county competitions for the 7 counties under its control.[7] The British provincial council is the only area outside Ireland to organise regular inter county matches.

Changing clubs between counties is known as an inter county transfer and is regulated by the Provincial council if the clubs are in the same province, or by the central council of the GAA when the transferring between clubs in different provinces. A special transfer is available for students going on a J-1 visa, which allows a temporary transfer to Canada, New York or North America.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 "Muldoon announces inter-county retirement". Retrieved 2012-04-06.
  2. ↑ "1887 All-Ireland Championship". Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  3. ↑ "Talk later". Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  4. ↑ "The Social Significance of Sport" (PDF). The Economic and Social Research Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-28. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
  5. ↑ http://www.finfacts.com/irelandbusinessnews/publish/article_10004396.shtml
  6. ↑ "Roll of honour". Archived from the original on 2008-07-19.
  7. ↑ "Prov Fixtures / Results". Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  8. ↑ "GAA forms". Retrieved 2010-01-08.
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