The Irish Amateur Athletic Association or IAAA was a governing body for athletic sports in Ireland between 1885 and 1923.
The IAAA was formed as the Irish offshoot of the English
Amateur Athletic Association
The Amateur Athletic Association of England or AAA (pronounced 'three As') is the oldest national governing body for athletics in the world, having been established on 24 April 1880. Historically it effectively oversaw athletics throughout Britai ...
in 1885. This was partially in reaction to the formation of the more nationalist
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) in 1884. The Cross County Association of Ireland (CCAI) was established in 1886 and later became a subsidiary of the IAAA.
In 1923 the
National Athletic and Cycling Association
The National Athletic and Cycling Association (NACA or N.A. and C.A.), from 1990 the National Athletic and Cycling Association of Ireland (NACAI or NACA(I)) was a federation of sports clubs in the island of Ireland practising athletics or bicycl ...
(NACA) was established merging the IAAA, the CCAI, and the Athletics Council of the GAA, with the GAA thenceforth concentrating on
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 ...
.
Athletics in Ireland
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