Maurice Davin (29 June 1842 – 27 January 1927) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

who became co-founder 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 ...

. He was also the first President of the GAA and the only man ever to serve two terms as president.

Sports

Davin was born in Carrick-on-Suir, the son of John Davin and Bridget Davin and the eldest of 4 athlete brothers He became an extremely talented athlete and achieved international fame in the 1870s when he held numerous world records for

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

hurdling Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

jumping Jumping or leaping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jumping can be distinguished from running, galloping and o ...

and weight-throwing. In fact at a time he was regarded as the best athlete in the world.

GAA founding

From 1887 Davin actively campaigned for a body to control Irish athletics. Athletics in Ireland at the time was controlled directly by an English association which excluded the masses from most competitions. Davin wrote "the laws under which athletic sports are held in Ireland were designed mainly for the guidance of Englishmen, and they do not deal at all with the characteristic sports and pastimes of the Irish race. Irish football is a great game" he wrote, "but there are no rules for either hurling or football and they are often dangerous." Together with Michael Cusack, of Carron on the eastern fringe of

The Burren The Burren (; ) is a karst/glaciokarst landscape centred in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland.
Burren ...

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

he called a meeting in Hayes's Commercial Hotel,

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 (Roman Catholic parish), Thurles. The cathedral ch ...

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 th ...

, on 1 November 1884, and founded the

(GAA). In that meeting they established "a Gaelic athletic association for the preservation and cultivation of national pastimes". As far as we know, only six others attended the historic meeting. Davin was elected president and Cusack became its first secretary.

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 ...

and John McKay were also elected secretaries. Later,

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 ...

, Archbishop of Cashel and Emly,

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 ...

became patrons. The following year standardised rules were set for hurling, football, weight throwing, jumping, running, walking and cycling. Séamus Ó Riain described Davin as "the rock on which the Association survived turbulent waves".

Legacy

Many top games including the 1904 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final between

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

and

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 ...

were played on Davin's farm. The Davin Stand in

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 ...

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 ...

is named in his honour, as are some GAA clubs throughout the country, including

Carrick Davins Carrick is an Anglicised version of ''creag/carraig'', Gaelic for "rock", and may refer to: People *Carrick (surname) * Donnchadh, Earl of Carrick (died 1250), Scottish Mormaer and first Earl of Carrick * Marjorie of Carrick (1256–1292), moth ...

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davin, Maurice 1842 births 1927 deaths Founders of Gaelic games institutions Presidents of the Gaelic Athletic Association