Garda GAA is a

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 ...

club based in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, founded in 1922. They are the GAA representative team of the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...

. Garda have won the

Dublin Senior Football Championship The Dublin Senior Football Championship (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the '' Go-Ahead'' Dublin Senior Football Championship) is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition between the top Dublin GAA clubs. The winners of the ...

on six occasions in 1927, 1929, 1933, 1934, 1935 and 1948. Garda won the

Dublin Intermediate Football Championship ''See also Dublin Senior Football Championship'' The Dublin Intermediate Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition organised by Dublin GAA between second-tier Gaelic football clubs in County Dublin, Ireland. Q ...

on one occasion in 1986, bringing them back to senior status. Garda have also had success as a hurling side, having also won the

Dublin Senior Hurling Championship The Dublin Senior Hurling Championship ( ga, Craobh Sinsear Iomána Átha Cliath) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association ( GAA) since 1887 for the top hurling clubs in County Dubl ...

on six occasions in 1931, 1929, 1928, 1927, 1926 and 1925. Westmanstown Gaels is the juvenile division of the club and was set up in 2005.

History

The Garda GAA was founded in 1922 shortly after the Civic Guard, later renamed the Garda Síochána, was established to replace the

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...

, with responsibility for policing the newly established

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

. The first

Garda Commissioner The Garda Commissioner ( ga, Coimisinéir an Gharda Síochána) – officially known as the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána – is the head of the Garda Síochána, the national police force of the Republic of Ireland. The Garda Commissione ...

Eoin O'Duffy Eoin O'Duffy (born Owen Duffy; 28 January 1890 – 30 November 1944) was an Irish military commander, police commissioner and politician. O'Duffy was the leader of the Monaghan Brigade of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and a prominent figure in ...

, supported the creation of the club as a way to engage with the community, aiding community policing. There were originally doubts as to whether officers of the Gardaí could join the

, due to

Rule 21 Rule 21 of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) was a rule in force from 1897 to 2001 which banned members of the British security forces from membership of the GAA and thus from playing Gaelic games. The affected organisations included the Bri ...

banning Crown servants or British security services joining, however the GAA interpreted it to allow members of the Garda Síochána and

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The Ar ...

to join. O'Duffy also encouraged promising young Gaelic games players to join the police side in Dublin so they were eligible to play for

Dublin GAA The Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Luthchleas Gael Coiste Contae Átha Cliath) or Dublin GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in the Dublin Regi ...

in county matches. When Dublin won the 1927 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final at

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

against

Cork GAA The Cork County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Luthchleas Gael Coiste Contae Chorcaí) or Cork GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Cork and the C ...

, they had fourteen Garda members on their team, a record for the number of county players from the same club. Membership was originally only open to serving members of the Garda but this restriction was later removed. Since 2002, Garda GAA have played an annual match against the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ') is the police, police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabu ...

's PSNI GAA following the abolition of Rule 21. They play for the McCarthy cup named after Thomas St George McCarthy, a Royal Irish Constabulary policeman who helped to found the GAA. In 2005, they united with Westmanstown Gaels youth team to provide youth Gaelic games at Garda for the first time.

References

External links

Garda GAAWestmanstown Gaels GAA
{{Garda Síochána Gaelic games clubs in Dublin (city) Gaelic football clubs in Dublin (city) Hurling clubs in Dublin (city) Gaelic Athletic Association clubs established in 1922 Garda Síochána 1922 establishments in Ireland Police sports clubs