The Australasia County Board of the
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...
(GAA), or Australasian GAA, or Gaelic Football & Hurling Association of Australasia is one of the
county board
A county board is a common form of county legislature, particular of counties in the United States.
Related forms of county government include:
* Board of Supervisors — a form of county legislature in some U.S. states
* County commission, ...
s of the GAA outside Ireland, and is responsible for
Gaelic games
Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the ...
all across
Australasia
Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...
. It is also responsible for Australasian inter-state matches, primarily conducted in an annual weeklong tournament. The association is made up of the Australian state associations of
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
,
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
and
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, and the New Zealand associations of
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
and
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
.
History
Gaelic football in Australia
In 1840 in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
's
Hyde Park
Hyde Park may refer to:
Places
England
* Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London
* Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds
* Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield
* Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Austra ...
games of Hurling and Football were played by Irishmen.
In 1843 during Adelaide St Patrick's Day celebrations were held "in genuine Irish style" involving families native to Ireland playing a football game. The game started at 2pm and was played in honour of Saint Patrick.
In 1846 there was controversy when an Irish gathering organised to "play an old Irish game" in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
's
Hyde Park
Hyde Park may refer to:
Places
England
* Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London
* Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds
* Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield
* Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Austra ...
.
In 1859 there were mentions of arrangements to celebrate "Gaelic games" in Geelong.
In 1864 an article in the
Freeman's Journal
The ''Freeman's Journal'', which was published continuously in Dublin from 1763 to 1924, was in the nineteenth century Ireland's leading nationalist newspaper.
Patriot journal
It was founded in 1763 by Charles Lucas and was identified with radi ...
of Sydney wrote about celebrating a holiday by renewing "some of our old national customs, our old manly games and exercises, hurling, football..."
In 1878 the
Kerang Times and Swan Hill Gazette
Kerang is a rural town on the Loddon River in northern Victoria in Australia. It is the commercial centre to an irrigation district based on livestock, horticulture, lucerne and grain. It is located north-west of Melbourne on the Murray Val ...
noted that "in the South of Ireland, where football is the exhilarating pastime fostered, usually on Sunday afternoon, when a good grass field or paddock is selected".
In 1887 the
Freeman's Journal
The ''Freeman's Journal'', which was published continuously in Dublin from 1763 to 1924, was in the nineteenth century Ireland's leading nationalist newspaper.
Patriot journal
It was founded in 1763 by Charles Lucas and was identified with radi ...
in Sydney, a catholic publication, printed the GAA's revised rules for Irish football.
Hurling in Australia
In 1860, a hurling match was played in Victoria which attracted a large attendance of Irishmen.
Early governing bodies
The first Australian GAA was formed in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1953.
Victoria's GAA was formed in 1956, followed by New South Wales. This was followed in 1963 by the formation of a South Australian association and associations in Western Australia and Queensland soon after.
The first interstate championships in both codes were played between NSW, Victoria and South Australia in 1971.
In Sydney in 1974 representatives of state associations met and agreed to form the Gaelic Athletic Association of Australia to administer and promote
Gaelic football
Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
and
hurling
Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...
on a national level. Subsequently, the Gaelic Athletic Association of Australia joined with the New Zealand associations of Auckland and Wellington to form the Gaelic Athletic Association of Australasia.
The last few years have been a time of expansion in the Association. New initiatives and developments, combined with GAA funding, have seen the number of teams competing in Gaelic football more than double.. The current Australasian secretary is Gerard Roe.
Australasian championships
The Australasian Championships, commonly referred to as the Australasian Games, are a week-long tournament staged annually in September/October each year and hosted by one of the member state associations. Tournaments now feature all codes, with hurling played for the first time as part of a championships held in New Zealand in Wellington in 2015, and camogie added full-time in 2012. In most circumstances there is only one side per state per code, but when numbers are low in a code (typically hurling) or in the number of states entered (usually when the tournament is in Western Australia or New Zealand) exceptions to this are made.
The tournament format in each code varies year-to-year depending on the number of entries, but generally involves either a round-robin or pool play format with either two semi-finals or one semi-final with the top qualifier progressing directly to the final. A final is played in each code to determine the champion for the year.
Each association is permitted to name a panel of 22 players in each code for the championships, with unlimited interchange rather than the more traditional substitution rule used for each match. In recent years a 'Visa' rule has been introduced to encourage states to develop their own players. This rule limits the number of players any state may select in any code who are not either Australians or New Zealanders, or have obtained residency in either country.
Hurling
The current Australasian champions are Victoria, who defeated Queensland by 2-11 to 0-12 in Brisbane after losing each of the three previous finals.
Previous years winners included:
*2015 NSW def Victoria
*2014 Western Australia def Victoria
*2013 Western Australia def Victoria
Men's Gaelic football
The current Australasian champions are New South Wales, who defended the title they regained in Wellington in 2015 by defeating Victoria 1-07 to 1-05 in Brisbane.
Previous years winners included:
*2015 NSW def Queensland
*2014 Victoria def Western Australia
*2013 NSW def Wellington
Minor Gaelic football
Victoria, long the dominant force of minor Gaelic Football in Australia, regained the title in 2016 when their Blue side defeated their White team 4-09 to 3-10. South Australia had won the title in 2015, when the minor championships were played in Adelaide rather than in Wellington. 2018 was Victoria White first win in the minor Gaelic football in Australia history defeated Victoria Blue by one point.
Previous years winners include:
*2018 Victoria White def Victoria Blue
*2015 South Australia Red def Victoria Blue
*2014 Victoria def South Australia
*2013 Victoria def Western
Ladies' Gaelic football
In
Ladies' Gaelic football
Ladies' Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach na mBan) is a women's team sport. It is the women's equivalent of Gaelic football. Ladies' football is organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. Two teams of 15 players kick or hand-pass a ...
, New South Wales won the 2016 title defeating Queensland 1-12 to 3-05 in the final, running their winning streak to four successive titles.
Previous years winners included:
*2015 NSW def Western Australia
*2014 NSW def Queensland
*2013 NSW def Queensland
Camogie
Camogie was added to the Championships full-time in 2013 after being played as an exhibition for several years prior. New South Wales are the current champions, beating Victoria by 0-13 to 1-08.
Previous years winners include:
*2015 NSW def Queensland
*2014 Queensland def NSW
*2013 NSW def Queensland
International honours
The Australasia Ladies' football team have won three Women's World Cup competitions (the tournament does not include Irish sides) in 2000, 2002 and 2005.
See also
*
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...
*
Organisation of sport in Australia
The organisation of sport in Australia has been largely determined by its Federal system of government – Australian Government and six states and two territories governments and local governments. All three levels play an important role in ter ...
*
Sport in New Zealand
Sport in New Zealand largely reflects the nation's colonial heritage, with some of the most popular sports being rugby union, rugby league, cricket, association football, basketball, horse racing and netball, which are primarily played in Commo ...
References
External links
*
{{Sports governing bodies in New Zealand
1974 establishments in Australia
Irish-Australian culture
Irish-New Zealand culture
Sports organizations established in 1974