The history of the Gaelic Athletic Association is much shorter than the history of
Gaelic games themselves.
Hurling and
caid were recorded in early Irish history and they pre-date
recorded history
Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world his ...
. The
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include t ...
itself was founded in 1884.
Foundation and early history
The man credited with much of the original impetus for founding the GAA was a
Clare man named
Michael Cusack. Born in 1847, Cusack pursued a career as a teacher at
Blackrock College
Blackrock College ( ga, Coláiste na Carraige Duibhe) is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school for boys aged 13–18, in Williamstown, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded by French missionary Jules Leman in 186 ...
, in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
. In 1877, set up his own cramming school, the Civil Service Academy, to prepare students for examinations into the British Civil Service. "Cusack's Academy," as it was known, and its pupils, did extremely well, resulting in soaring attendance. Pupils at the Academy were encouraged to get involved in all forms of physical exercise. Cusack was troubled by falling standards in specifically Irish games.
To remedy this situation, to re-establish the
ancient Tailteann Games as an athletics competition with a distinctive Irish flavour, and to re-establish hurling as the national pastime, Cusack met with several other enthusiasts on Saturday, 1 November 1884, in
Hayes' Hotel
Hayes' Hotel is a hotel in Liberty Square, Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland. In 1884 the Gaelic Athletic Association was founded in the billiards room of the hotel.
History
The hotel traded under the name 'The Star and Garter' in the 18th cen ...
,
Thurles
Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles. The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Arc ...
,
County Tipperary
County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after t ...
.
The seven founder members were Cusack,
Maurice Davin
Maurice Davin (29 June 1842 – 27 January 1927) was an Irish farmer who became co-founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association. He was also the first President of the GAA and the only man ever to serve two terms as president.
Sports
Davin was b ...
(who presided),
John Wyse Power
John Wyse Power (1859-1926), was a County Waterford born, journalist, newspaper editor and Irish nationalist. He was founding member of the Gaelic Athletic Association, and served as secretary of the GAA (1884-1887). He was involved in setting up ...
, John McKay,
J. K. Bracken, Joseph O'Ryan and
Thomas St. George McCarthy (a District Inspector of 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 ...
based at nearby
Templemore
Templemore () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty. It is part of the parish of Templemore, Clonmore and Killea in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly.
The 2011 Cens ...
). 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 six were from Thurles except Foley, who like Davin was from
Carrick-on-Suir
Carrick-on-Suir () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It lies on both banks of the River Suir. The part on the north bank of the Suir lies in the civil parish of "Carrick", in the historical barony of Iffa and Offa East. The part on the s ...
.
The foundation day was chosen for its
mythological significance: according to legend,
Samhain
Samhain ( , , , ; gv, Sauin ) is a Gaelic festival on 1 NovemberÓ hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 402. Quote: "The basic Irish division of the year ...
(1 November) was the day when the
Fianna
''Fianna'' ( , ; singular ''Fian''; gd, Fèinne ) were small warrior-hunter bands in Gaelic Ireland during the Iron Age and early Middle Ages. A ''fian'' was made up of freeborn young males, often aristocrats, "who had left fosterage but had ...
's power died. Cusack meant this choice of day to symbolise the rebirth of the Irish heroes, and the Gaelic Athletic Association for the Cultivation and Preservation of National Pastimes was established, its name subsequently shortened to Gaelic Athletic Association.
Within a few weeks of the organisation's foundation,
Thomas Croke
Thomas William Croke D.D. (28 May 1824 – 22 July 1902) was the second Catholic Bishop of Auckland, New Zealand (1870–74) and later Archbishop of Cashel and Emly in Ireland. He was important in the Irish nationalist movement especially as a C ...
, the
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
Archbishop of Cashel
The Archbishop of Cashel ( ga, Ard-Easpag Chaiseal Mumhan) was an archiepiscopal title which took its name after the town of Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. Following the Reformation, there had been parallel apostolic successions to the titl ...
, gave it his approval and became its first patron. Its other patrons included both
Michael Davitt
Michael Davitt (25 March 184630 May 1906) was an Irish republican activist for a variety of causes, especially Home Rule and land reform. Following an eviction when he was four years old, Davitt's family migrated to England. He began his caree ...
and
Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1875 to 1891, also acting as Leader of the Home Rule League from 1880 to 1882 and then Leader of the ...
. Cusack was a difficult man to get along with, but in the first few months of the organisation he proved to be an excellent organiser. He did not, however continue to run the association for long after its foundation. Within eighteen months he was obliged to resign as a result of his failure to submit accounts for auditing. Croke introduced a new rule which forbade members of the GAA from playing "foreign and fantastic games" such as tennis,
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
,
polo, and
croquet
Croquet ( or ; french: croquet) is a sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops (often called "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court.
Its international governing body is the W ...
.
Over the next few years the GAA evolved even more. In 1886, county committees were established. These became the units of representation for the new All-Ireland championship. Later, new rules for
Gaelic football and
hurling were drawn up by the Association and were published in the United Irishman newspaper. The year 1887 saw the first All-Ireland Championships being held in both codes of sport. 13
GAA counties of the 32
counties of Ireland entered, although only five competed in hurling and eight in football.
Twentieth century history
Up to the twentieth century most of the members were farm labourers, small farmers, barmen or shop assistants . But from 1900 onwards a new type of person – those who were now being influenced by the
Gaelic League
(; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...
(1893) — joined the movement. They tended to be clerks, school teachers or civil servants. In 1922 it passed over the job of promoting athletics to the National Athletic and Cycling Association
Timeline of the GAA
* 1884: The Gaelic Athletic Association was founded on 1 November (''
Samhain
Samhain ( , , , ; gv, Sauin ) is a Gaelic festival on 1 NovemberÓ hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 402. Quote: "The basic Irish division of the year ...
'': according to legend the day the
Fianna
''Fianna'' ( , ; singular ''Fian''; gd, Fèinne ) were small warrior-hunter bands in Gaelic Ireland during the Iron Age and early Middle Ages. A ''fian'' was made up of freeborn young males, often aristocrats, "who had left fosterage but had ...
fell from power) at
Hayes' Hotel
Hayes' Hotel is a hotel in Liberty Square, Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland. In 1884 the Gaelic Athletic Association was founded in the billiards room of the hotel.
History
The hotel traded under the name 'The Star and Garter' in the 18th cen ...
in
Thurles
Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles. The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Arc ...
,
County Tipperary
County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after t ...
.
* 1886:
Wexford County Board became the first GAA county organisation in the country.
* 1887:
Tipperary
Tipperary is the name of:
Places
*County Tipperary, a county in Ireland
**North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh
**South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel
*Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...
and
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
won the first All-Ireland Hurling and Football Finals respectively.
* 1892: The rules of hurling and football were altered: Goals were made equal to five points and teams were reduced from 21 to 17-a-side. Inter-county teams were introduced to the All-Ireland championships. Congress granted permission for the winning club to use players from other clubs in the county, thus the inter-county teams come into being.
* 1896: The value of a goal was further reduced from five points to three points.
* 1900: The provincial councils of
Munster,
Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...
,
Connacht
Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Del ...
and
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
were sanctioned.
* 1904: First official
camogie matches.
* 1912: The Junior Championships were introduced at All-Ireland level.
* 1913: The
Jones's Road Ground, Dublin, was purchased by the GAA and renamed Croke Memorial Park.
* 1920:
Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday may refer to:
Historical events Canada
* Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
* Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence aga ...
: Twelve spectators and a player,
Michael Hogan, were killed in
Croke Park in a raid by
Auxiliary Forces
The General Inspectorate of Auxiliary Forces ( ar, القوات المساعدة, alquwaat almusa'ida; ber, ⵉⴷⵡⴰⵙⴻⵏ ⵉⵎⴰⵡⵡⴰⵙⴻⵏ, idwasen imawwasen; french: Forces Auxiliaires) is a security institution in Morocco, ...
during the
Irish War of Independence.
* 1923:
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...
's hurlers won Connacht's first All-Ireland.
* 1924: The first revived
Tailteann Games were opened in Croke Park.
* 1925: The declaration rule now meant that players could play for their county of birth, rather than their county of residence. Galway won Connacht's first All-Ireland Football title after a series of objections.
* 1926: The first radio broadcast of a GAA match took place when Galway play
Kilkenny.
* 1927: The
Railway Cup competitions were introduced.
* 1928:
Kildare
Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...
are the first county to win the
Sam Maguire Cup
The Sam Maguire Cup ( ga, Chorn Sam Mhic Uidhir), often referred to as Sam or The Sam , is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the main competiti ...
.
* 1931: The name ''Cumann Lúthchleas Gael'' was adopted.
* 1933:
Cavan's footballers won Ulster's first All-Ireland.
* 1932: The first All-Ireland Camogie Championship took place.
* 1935: The GAA entered its second half-century. A crowd of 50,000 attended the All-Ireland Finals.
* 1938:
Micheál Ó Hehir commentated on his first GAA match.
* 1939: The
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
versus Kilkenny hurling match was remembered as the "thunder & lightning final" as the climax was played in a storm. On the same day the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
began.
* 1940: The penalty kick and penalty puck were introduced.
* 1947: The
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final between Cavan and
Kerry
Kerry or Kerri may refer to:
* Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Kerry, Queensland, Australia
* County Kerry, Ireland
** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...
was played in the
Polo Grounds, New York. Cavan emerge victorious.
* 1954: A hurling record 84,856 attended Croke Park when Cork played Wexford in the
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final.
* 1959: The 75th anniversary of the GAA was commemorated with the opening of the first cantilevered New Hogan Stand at
Croke Park.
* 1961: A record 90,556 attended the
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final contested by Down and
Offaly
County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in h ...
at Croke Park.
* 1961: The first
Poc Fada
The All-Ireland Poc Fada Hurling & Camogie Championships is an annual tournament testing the skills of Ireland's best hurlers and camogie players. ''Poc Fada'' is Irish for "long puck". The championships are sponsored by Martin Donnelly (who has ...
tournament was held.
* 1962: The first GAA match was broadcast live on Telefís Éireann (now
RTÉ).
* 1967: The first
international rules football
International rules football ( ga, Peil na rialacha idirnáisiunta; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed ...
game was played against a side of Australian origin.
* 1971: The first All-Ireland Club Championships were played.
Roscrea
Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland, which in 2016 had a population of 5,446. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Saint Crónán of Roscrea, parts of which rem ...
won the
senior hurling competition and
East Kerry won the
senior football competition.
* 1974: The
Ladies' Gaelic Football Association
The Ladies' Gaelic Football Association ( ga, Cumann Peil Gael na mBan) is the main governing body for ladies' Gaelic football. It organises competitions such as the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship and the Ladies' National Foot ...
was founded in Thurles.
* 1976:
Páirc Uí Chaoimh was opened in
Cork City
Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city's ...
. It was the first purpose-built GAA stadium.
* 1984: The Gaelic Athletic Association's centenary year. The
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final between Cork and Offaly was played in
Semple Stadium, Thurles.
* 1993: A grand plan to completely re-construct Croke Park was launched.
* 1996: The new Cusack Stand was opened.
* 1997: The "back door" system was introduced into the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. The
first All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final between two sides from the same province took place between
Clare and Tipperary, both of Munster.
* 1998: Offaly became the first side to win the
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship by springing through the "back door".
* 1999: The
Gaelic Players Association was founded.
* 2001:
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 ...
barring members of the British Army or the
RUC from playing GAA was deleted.
* 2001: The "back door" system was introduced into the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. Galway became the first football side to win the
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...
by springing through the "back door".
* 2002: The redeveloped Cusack, Canal End and Hogan Stands were officially opened.
* 2003: The
first All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final between two sides from the same province took place between
Tyrone and
Armagh, both of Ulster.
* 2004: The first
Tommy Murphy Cup
The Tommy Murphy Cup was a Gaelic football competition, featuring senior county teams eliminated from the early stages of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and also Kilkenny when not fielding a team in the main All-Ireland. The seri ...
was played.
* 2005: The first
Christy Ring Cup and
Nicky Rackard Cup
The Nicky Rackard Cup (; often referred to as the Rackard Cup) is the fourth tier of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Each year, the champion team in the Nicky Rackard Cup is promoted to the Christy Ring Cup, and the lowest finishing ...
were held.
* 2005: The re-development of Hill 16 was completed and is functional for the All-Ireland Senior Championship Finals.
* 2005: The GAA relaxed
Rule 42
Rule 42 (now Rule 5.1 and Rule 44 in the 2008 guide) is a rule of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) which in practice prohibits the playing of non- Gaelic games in GAA stadiums. The rule is often mistakenly believed to prohibit '' foreign sp ...
, which gave temporary permission for soccer and rugby internationals to be played at Croke Park from 2007 while
Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...
, the home of both sports, was being rebuilt.
* 2007: The first game to be played in Croke Park under lights. The largest league attendance ever of 81,678 was also recorded –
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
are beaten 0–10 to 0–11 by Tyrone.
* 2009: The
125th anniversary of the GAA was commemorated with a floodlit
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
opening match between Dublin and Tyrone.
* 2013:
Hawk-Eye was introduced for Championship matches at Croke Park. It was first used to confirm that
Offaly
County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in h ...
substitute
Peter Cunningham's attempted point had gone wide 10 minutes into the second half of a game against
Kildare
Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...
.
* 2013: The first Friday night game in the history of the Championship occurred – a first round qualifier between
Carlow and
Laois
County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medi ...
.
References
{{National Hurling Leagues
History of the Gaelic Athletic Association,
1884 establishments in Ireland
History of Gaelic games
History of organisations based in Ireland, Gaelic Athletic Association
Social history of Ireland