Police Service of Northern Ireland GAA, also known as PSNI GAA, is a Gaelic Games club based in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The club was set up in 2002 for members of the

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

, with the intent to allow serving police officers to play Gaelic games following the abolition of

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 ...

, which had prohibited them from doing so. They are based at Newforge Lane in Belfast alongside other teams affiliated with the RUC Athletic Association. They are affiliated with Antrim GAA and play in their Inter-Firms League. On 18 October 2019 they capped off their most successful year with a win of the Tom langan trophy for the first time in their history.

History

Prior to 2001, 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 ...

had rule 21 in its statutes, stating that members of the British security services or police forces were not permitted to be members of the GAA. This precluded police officers from the Royal Ulster Constabulary from being able to play Gaelic games. In 2001, the ban was lifted, despite five of the county boards of the six counties of Northern Ireland voting against lifting it;

Down GAA The Down County Board ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae An Dún) or Down GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Down ...

voted in favour. The Royal Ulster Constabulary reconstituted itself as the PSNI and in 2002, set up its own GAA team which they were able to do following the abolition of rule 21. On 30 October 2002, PSNI played their first Gaelic football match against

Garda GAA Garda GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, founded in 1922. They are the GAA representative team of the Garda Síochána. Garda have won the Dublin Senior Football Championship on six occasions in 1927, ...

in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The match was played in secret with the players' names not being revealed despite the Chief Constable of Northern Ireland attending. This would become a regular fixture with the two police forces playing for the McCarthy Cup, named after Thomas St George McCarthy who was a

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 ...

policeman and founder of the GAA. In 2006, PSNI GAA set up a hurling team. In 2007, the PSNI joined the Antrim Inter-Firms League despite warnings that PSNI players at other clubs wanted to remain discreet about their careers after playing for PSNI in challenge games. For security purposes, PSNI players' names are not disclosed when they play. In 2011, the PSNI played Garda at the headquarters of the GAA, Croke Park. PSNI have also played in the Police Gaelic Football Tournament against teams from the New York Police Department and the Metropolitan Police.

References

{{Antrim GAA clubs Gaelic games clubs in County Antrim Gaelic games in Northern Ireland Police Service of Northern Ireland Police sports clubs