Gaelic Athletic Association

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

The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael /kumˠən̪ˠ l̪ˠʊ.xlʲasˠ ɡeːl̪ˠ/) is an Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation mainly focused on promoting Gaelic games: the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, Gaelic handball and rounders. The GAA also promotes Irish music and dance, and the Irish language. It is the largest organisation in Ireland with some 800,000 members out of the island's population of six million.^[1]

Gaelic football and hurling are the most popular activities promoted by the organisation, and the most popular sports in the country.^[2] The women's version of these games, ladies' Gaelic football and camogie, are organised by the independent but closely-linked Ladies' Gaelic Football Association and the Camogie Association of Ireland respectively.

[edit] History

[edit] Foundation and aims

The corporate logo of the GAA, is used on branding and merchandise. The colours of the logo change to reflect each county's colours

Further information: History of the Gaelic Athletic Association

The GAA had its genesis from Michael Cusack of County Clare. At the Civil Service Academy in Dublin he established one of the first hurling clubs. ^[3] Cusack, a native Irish speaker,^[4] was troubled by declining participation in traditional Irish sport.^[5]

To remedy this situation and to re-establish hurling as the national pastime, Cusack met with several other enthusiasts with similar concerns, most notably Maurice Davin.^[6] They established the Gaelic Athletic Association on Saturday, November 1, 1884 in Hayes' Hotel, Thurles, County Tipperary. The seven founder members were Michael Cusack, Maurice Davin (who presided) John Wyse Power, John McKay, J. K. Bracken, Joseph O'Ryan and Thomas St. George McCarthy. Frank Moloney of Nenagh was also later admitted to have been present by Cusack, while the following six names were published as having attended in press reports: William Foley, a Mr. Dwyer, a Mr. Culhane, William Delehunty, John Butler and William Cantwell. All these six were from Thurles except Foley, who was from Carrick-on-Suir, like Davin. Given later controversies about playing 'foreign games' and the banning of members of the British armed forces and police from joining, it is notable that Thomas St. George McCarthy (a native of Bansha, County Tipperary) was a capped rugby international player (having played for Ireland against Wales in 1883) and was also a District Inspector of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). J.K. Bracken was the father of Brendan Bracken, who was later a member of the UK cabinet during World War II.

[edit] Aims

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. The following goals were set out:

1. To foster and promote 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

The association's aim today is to be

A National organisation which has as its basic aim the strengthening of the National Identity of a 32 County Ireland through the preservation and promotion of Gaelic games and pastimes.^[7]

[edit] The Gaelic Athletic Association in the twentieth century

In 1918 the GAA was banned by the British government, but Gaelic games were still played in defiance of the ban.^[8] In 1922 it gave up the task of promoting athletics to the National Athletic and Cycling Association.^[9]

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

[edit] Modern challenges

Ireland has changed rapidly since the mid 1990s. EU enlargement, combined with the Celtic Tiger economy, has led to a large influx of foreign nationals from the EU's new member states in Eastern Europe.^[10] This means that a large proportion of the country's population is now outside the traditional native-born family structure through which the GAA tradition was passed from generation to generation. This presents a challenge to an organisation that was previously not geared towards marketing itself to people who have not heard of it or its games, and instead relied on people who had been reared watching and playing Gaelic games. The GAA has launched a number of projects to attract non-traditional members such as consulting with the Australian Football League^[11] and running leagues aimed at non nationals ^[12][13] Changing demographics in Ireland, with more people living in cities, present challenges to the GAA^[14][15][16]

Also, maintaining the GAA's activities in the overseas units presents a challenge with the number of Irish people emigrating overseas in decline ^[17] Despite the large Irish diaspora, Gaelic games remain fairly low-profile outside of the Irish expatriate community. Initiatives such as full-time development officers and high-profile competitions such as the Continental Youth Championship are helping to bring the games to non-Irish people everywhere, while the British GAA is promoting Gaelic games to youth in the UK.^[18]

[edit] Structure

Further information: Structure of the GAA

The GAA is a democratic association consisting of various boards, councils, and committees organised in a structured hierarchy, with world headquarters at Croke Park. All of the association's activities are governed by the Official Guide. Each County Board may have its own by-laws, none of which may conflict with the Official Guide. Each Divisional Board may have its own regulations, none of which may duplicate or contradict the Official Guide or county by-laws.

• Annual Congress
• President
• Central Council
• Provincial councils
• County Board
  • Divisional Board (in larger counties)
  • Sport specific board (in some counties)
• Club Committee

All of these bodies are elected on a democratic basis and the members are volunteers. There is a small paid staff.

[edit] Cultural activities

Through a division of the association known as Scór (Irish for "score") the GAA promotes Irish cultural activities, running competitions in music, singing, dancing and storytelling.

Rule 4 of the association states:

The Association shall actively support the Irish language, traditional Irish dancing, music, song, and other aspects of Irish culture. It shall foster an awareness and love of the national ideals in the people of Ireland, and assist in promoting a community spirit through its clubs.|^[19]

The group was formally founded in 1969, and is promoted through various GAA clubs throughout Ireland (as well as some clubs outside of Ireland).

[edit] Achievements

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. This section has been tagged since April 2008.

The GAA has grown to become the largest and most popular organisation in Ireland with some 800,000 members out of the island's 6 million people.^[20]

It saved the ancient game of hurling from extinction^{[citation needed]} and both hurling and Gaelic football were standardised. This standardisation helped to spur the growth of the modern games since they were now being organised on a structured basis. On the other hand, both handball and rounders have faded over time.

The GAA is the largest amateur sports association in Ireland, with more than 2,500 member clubs and runs about 500 grounds throughout the country.^[21] The Gaelic games of hurling and football are also the most popular spectator sports in Ireland;^{[citation needed]} 1,962,769 attendances were recorded at senior inter-county hurling and football championship games in 2003.^[22] . 60% of all attendances are to GAA games, 34% of the total to football and 23% to hurling,Soccer is the closest rival with 16% ^[23]

Thanks to the success of a policy of having at least one club in every parish, clubs are fairly evenly distributed throughout the country in both urban and rural areas^{[citation needed]} (though south Dublin had few clubs for many years), and the organisation's reach is therefore considerable. This huge presence means that the GAA has become a major player in the sporting and cultural life of Ireland. The association is recognised as a major generator of social capital thanks to its promotion of healthy pastimes, volunteering, and community involvement.^[24]

The GAA also provided an all-Ireland structure in which people could participate, both on a sporting and on an organisational level. This has helped to entrench a sense of local identity.^{[citation needed]} For example, the county identities that have been fostered by over a century of local rivalries in the provincial championships are so prominent in society that many people feel emotionally attached to their county.^{[citation needed]} Indeed, the GAA still adheres to the original county system, that no longer fully coincides with that used by local government,^{[dubious – discuss]} and yet it is the traditional / GAA county boundaries that people most identify with.^{[25][dubious – discuss]}

[edit] Criticisms and questions

[edit] Accusation of exclusivity

The perception of the GAA in unionist circles in Northern Ireland made its members and clubhouses targets for loyalist paramilitaries during the Troubles. A number of GAA supporters were killed and clubhouses damaged.^[26][27]

The GAA would argue that it has always promoted Irish rather than Catholic identity, although its administrative units are based on Roman Catholic parishes, and has had members of minority religions playing an active role from its inception up to the present day which included Jack Boothman who was president of the organisation in the 1990's. In Northern Ireland, however, Gaelic sports are virtually exclusively played by Roman Catholics. The GAA Official Guide forbids sectarianism.^[28]

In 2007 Fermanagh player Darren Graham, who represented the county at both Gaelic football and hurling, temporarily left the sport. Graham had received sectarian abuse from some fans, due to being a Protestant. However he received support from both his Lisnaskea team mates and the GAA board, who stated "Abuse of any players, officials or referees is not acceptable and all official reports of it will be dealt with seriously."^[29]

[edit] Bans on other sports and Rule 42

Until 1971 members were prohibited by Rule 42 (Rule 44 in the 2007 rulebook) from playing non-GAA sports or even attending those sports events as spectators, and up until recently, such sports were officially barred from using GAA grounds. In particular, sports with a British origin, except for golf, were commonly referred to formerly as garrison games.^[30][31] On 16 April 2005 the GAA's congress voted to temporarily relax its Rule 42 requirement that GAA-owned premesis are used by the GAA only, in respect of Croke Park, to enable the Football Association of Ireland and the Irish Rugby Football Union to play their international fixtures in Ireland while the Lansdowne Road stadium is being rebuilt.^[32] The GAA's governing Central Council agreed that the first soccer and rugby union games in Croke Park could take place in early 2007. The first such fixture was Ireland's home match of the Six Nations Rugby Union Championship against France which was won by France 20-17.

[edit] Naming of competitions, grounds and clubs after nationalists

There are some GAA competitions, grounds and clubs named after Irish national heroes. For example Casement Park in Belfast is named after Sir Roger Casement, a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. The trophy for the main all-Ireland Gaelic football competition is the Sam Maguire Cup, named for Sam Maguire, who, although a member of the Church of Ireland^[33][34] was an officer in the Irish Republican Army. Other clubs are named after James Sarsfield, James Stephens, Patrick Pearse and Theobald Wolfe Tone. Another example is Kevin Lynch's Hurling Club which is affiliated with the Derry County Board and is named in honour of Kevin Lynch, a member of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) , who died on hunger strike in 1981. The GAA prohibits clubs being named after people who are still alive.

[edit] Competitions

Further information: GAA Competitions

[edit] Domestic

The GAA organises competitive games in both codes and at all levels from youth all the way up to adult senior.

The highest level of competitions in the GAA are the inter-county All-Ireland Championships where the 32 counties of Ireland Compete to win the Provincial championships, All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Before 1892, the winning club in each county championship contested the All-Ireland championship representing their county. In 1892, Congress granted permission for the winning club in each county championship to use players from other clubs in the county. The Inter County scene of today was thus created.

[edit] Internationals

While some units of the GAA outside Ireland participate in Irish competitions, the GAA does not hold internationals played according to the rules of either Gaelic football or hurling, however compromise rules have been reached with two "related sports."

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

International Rules Football matches have taken place between an Irish national team drawn from the ranks of Gaelic footballers, against an Australian national team drawn from the Australian Football League. The venue alternates between Ireland and Australia. As of December 9, 2006 the International series between Australia and Ireland has been called off due to excessive 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] Grounds

Main article: List of GAA Stadiums by Capacity

The GAA has many stadiums in Ireland and beyond such as Gaelic Park used by New York GAA. Every county, and nearly all clubs, have a GAA ground on which to play their home games, with varying capacities and utilities.

The hierarchical structure of the GAA is applied to the used of grounds. Clubs with play at their own ground for the early rounds of the club championship while the latter rounds from quarter-finals to finals are usually held at the county ground.This is the ground where the Inter county games take place or the County Board are based. In practice a team like Gweedore GAA will play most of its games at Páirc Mhic Eiteagáin if they reach the final of the club championship, the game will be played in MacCumhail Park.

The Gweedore GAA clubhouse in Gweedore, Co. Donegal.

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 Croker or Headquarters, owing to the fact that the venue doubles as the GAA's base. With a capacity of 82,500, it ranks among the top 5 stadiums in Europe by capacity, having undergone extensive renovations for most of the 1990s and early 21st century. Every September, Croke Park hosts the All-Ireland Hurling and Football Finals, as the conclusion to the summer championship.

The next three biggest grounds are all in Munster - Semple Stadium in Thurles, Co. Tipperary with a capacity of 53,000, the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick which holds 50,000 and FitzGerald Stadium in Killarney, Co. Kerry which can accommodate 43,000.

Other notable grounds include:

• Pearse Stadium in Galway, which has hosted International rules football series games;
• Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork is where some Munster Finals are also held;
• Páirc Uí Rinn, also in Cork, a former League of Ireland soccer ground.
• St. Jarlath's Park, (known as Tuam Stadium) in Galway host to the most Connacht Finals.

[edit] See also

• List of GAA Stadiums by Capacity
• Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh
• GAA All Stars Awards
• Micheál Ó Hehir
• Michael Cusack
• The Sunday Game
• Up for the Match
• Top 20 GAA Moments
• Sport in Ireland
• Féile na nGael

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• GAA official website
• An Fear Rua: The GAA Unplugged! - analysis, discussion forums, satire and humour on GAA topics.
• Hogan Stand
• Radio Beo - Live commentary from club games, on the Internet.

[edit] Other Links

• National GAA Results and Fixtures on Aertel
• GAA World by The Irish News
• Index of GAA club sites
• Squareball - The First GAA Fashion Brand
• GAA Results
• Hurling Blog - News, analysis, stats and opinion on hurling
• Michael Cusack Visitor Centre