Listen to clips of interviews, read quotes, and view images and documents collected as part of the GAA Oral History Project Archive.
View and listen to a selection of images, interviews and other material relating to a specific county.
A league playoff match between University of Ulster and Queen's University Belfast in 1988. ©Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael
Located in the north east corner of Ireland, Antrim is regarded as a stronghold of Ulster hurling. Gaelic games and, in particular, early forms of hurling were played in the county throughout the nineteenth century. The game, as designed by the GAA, eventually took hold in Antrim at the turn of the twentieth century following frequent visits by Michael Cusack to Belfast coupled with the establishment of the annual Feis na nGleann. A tradition in the game established, Antrim would develop into a powerhouse of Ulster hurling throughout the twentieth century. Football, by contrast, endured a more chequered experience. Despite a period of progress in the 1940s, the onset of the Troubles in the 1970s had a devastating effect on football in the county, precipitating its decline. Even so, Antrim teams have been recognised for their contribution to the game and the St John’s club of west Belfast was central to the establishment of the All-Ireland Club Championship. Their near neighbours, St. Gall’s, are the most recent Antrim team to win the All-Ireland Club Football Championship, doing so in 2010, while fellow Antrim club Loughgiel Shamrocks won their second All-Ireland Club hurling title in 2012.
An invitation by McQuillan G.A.C. to a victory celebration in 1953. The price of admission for ladies was cake. ©McQuillan G.A.C.
Gerry Barry, b. 1940
Gerry discusses the origins of Casement Park and the reasons for its construction.
Gilly McIlhatton, b. 1931
Gilly describes how all GAA clubs in Belfast are located on the Falls Road.
'Believe it or believe it not, I got a Protestant fellah out to play for Agohill. Me and him ran up the hill on the bikes from Agohill – I was born and reared in the village – football boots over the handlebars of the bike, the green and white jerseys stuck inside the coat. My mother kept the two jerseys. He couldn't take a green and white jersey down to the house; his father was an Orangeman. And he was a good player. I had an eye for a good footballer then, even at school. He was a great footballer. His father got to hear about it and stopped him playing and that fellah went on to be a Northern Ireland schoolboy international.'
- John McGuigan, b. 1941
© GAA Oral History Project
'The first time I ever played pulled a shirt on for Brackenstown was in Davitt Park and I played outside left; Leo Mallen played outside right. We didn't even have football boots. We were dressed out in the kit and football socks but we had nothing only whatever we wore in those days and it probably wasn't shoes, it was boots. I don't think I ever touched the ball that night but it was great to run out on Davitt Park, which was our Croke Park of the day.'
- Willie Grogan, b. 1939
© GAA Oral History Project
'I remember when I was 14 playing a hurling match on the Glen Road in west Belfast, it was 1976, the height of the Troubles. Frank Stagg had died on hunger strike in jail in England, there was serious trouble on the streets of nationalist parts of Belfast. A gun battle broke out nearby where we were playing and bullets were literally whizzing past our heads. Both teams had to hit the deck and crawl off commando style, using our hurls like rifles! We thought it was great craic, think the match was declared a draw! But for the GAA in west Belfast, many more young lads could have been drawn into the conflict. Challenging times indeed and a huge debt of gratitude is due to all who gave their time.'
- Paul Collins, b. 1962
© GAA Oral History Project
A high ball is contested in a minor match between Armagh and Cavan in 1951. ©Cardinal Ó Fiaich Memorial Library
For all its present profile as a football stronghold, success was late in coming to Armagh. Between 1903 and 1950 the county did not manage to win a single Provincial title, losing in twelve Ulster senior football finals. As in other counties north of the border, the outbreak of the Troubles had a direct effect on the playing of GAA games in the province. The occupation of Crossmaglen Rangers' grounds by the British Army in the 1970s served as a physical symbol of how the conflict in Northern Ireland affected the GAA. It was this very club, however, that led the reinvigoration of the game in Armagh. Crossmaglen Rangers’ dominance at both county and All-Ireland level in the late 1990s and through the early 2000s has earned it a reputation as one of the most pre-eminent Gaelic football clubs in the country. Crossmaglen’s success in turn aided the resurgence of the county team and in recent years Armagh football has enjoyed a great deal of success. The evidence for this is can be seen in Armagh’s remarkable run of success at the turn of the Millennium, winning seven Ulster championship titles between 1999 and 2008, and a long awaited All-Ireland title in 2002.
A membership card for Armagh Harps GFC from 1957. ©GAA Oral History Project
Marian McStay, b. 1940
Marian discusses the relationship between the GAA and the different religious communities in Armagh.
Joe Sherry, b. 1927
Joe recalls competing in sports days in his early years.
'The beauty to me of Gaelic football is that you go to watch Armagh playing in Croke Park and there's 82,000 people there and every one of the 82,000 people knows someone who's playing. They don't live that far from you. You'll know somebody who's playing on your team that you're there to support.'
- Mary Keegan, b. 1955
© GAA Oral History Project
My biggest day was not winning the All-Ireland. My biggest day was the year we won the first Ulster Championship because we had won nothing for about 15 years. We had won nothing since 1978 and that was really the thing to me that we're on the right track.'
- Peadar Murray, b. 1947
© GAA Oral History Project
'I would say to any family [to] put their youth into clubs; football clubs, hurling clubs, handball clubs, camogie clubs. You will never go far wrong with friendship, comradeship and being looked after and brought places you might never get to. For people who want to help their association and to help their locality. And that's the way I see it.'
- Jimmy Carlisle, b. 1931
© GAA Oral History Project
The six Morrissey brothers from Ballycrinnegan, St Mullins. Mick is the only native of Carlow to have won an All Ireland hurling medal, doing so with Wexford. ©GAA Oral History Project
The organisation of Gaelic games in Carlow was preceded by that of a number of other sports: the Carlow Cricket Club, the Carlow Rugby Club and the Carlow Polo Club were, for example, all born before the GAA in the county. The GAA in Carlow held its first county convention in October 1888 and its slow pace of development continued across the early decades of the twentieth century. The county’s problems mounted with the loss of their strongest club, Graiguecullen, who, after being absorbed into Carlow from Laois in 1904, returned to that neighbouring county after a row erupted in the mid-1920s. Despite this, remarkably, Carlow football went from strength to strength during the 1930s with the early 1940s constituting the county’s most successful era, when they contested three Leinster football finals in four years. After losing to Dublin in 1941 and 1942, the Barrowsiders overcame the same opposition to win their first, and so far only, Leinster title in 1944. Hurling developed at a slower rate than football in Carlow, being most popular in the south of the county, close to the hurling strongholds of Wexford and Kilkenny. That being said, the county’s senior hurling team have twice won the Christy Ring cup and its minors reached a provincial final in 2006.
A letter from the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Spellman, granting Kildavin GAA permission to call their new grounds after him. ©GAA Oral History Project
Brendan Hayden, b. 1936
Brendan talks about the different types of training he undertook for the county team and the facilities available.
Micheál Jones, 1920
Micheál recalls the formation of St Andrews GAA club in Bagenelstown and the rivalry that existed in the town before the club was formed.
'The 1944 Leinster Final when Carlow defeated Dublin in Athy, I travelled from the Curragh camp in Kildare to see it. They were my heroes. I was sent a photo of the team recently and re-lived their faces only to be told that they were all dead now, a reminder of our mortality.'
- Patrick Somers, b. 1923
© GAA Oral History Project
'We've Rathnure just up there and we have Kilkenny on the other side and that would've influenced the hurling. What amazes me – I'm a blow in obviously – what amazes me is that we in St. Mullins have held out players that are on the border; that are in the parish but would be living in Co. Wexford and we've held them.'
- Úna Murphy, b. 1956
© GAA Oral History Project
'The 'scallion-eaters' were Carlow…It was very fertile land – Carlow would be very famous for it and the vegetables and all that would be top quality. In '44 back again to Jimmy Travers, they went by donkey and car and they had scallions in the thing you put over the donkey's ears...They'd have scallions all around them, you know heading down the road. They drove the donkey to Croke Park, 52 miles. It could take them nearly a whole day.'
- Vinny Harvey, 1937
© GAA Oral History Project
Local club members working hard to level ditches for Cornafean's new grounds in 1961. ©George Cartwright
Cavan hold more Ulster senior football titles than any other county in the province. Following a brief decline at the end of the nineteenth century, the GAA in Cavan was revived at the beginning of the twentieth century and it was not long before the county became a powerhouse of Gaelic football, winning a plethora of Ulster titles between the 1920s and 1940s. This was the heyday of the sport in Cavan; All-Ireland successes were achieved in 1933, 1935, 1947, 1948 and again in 1952. The standout victory among all these was arguably that of 1947, when Cavan defeated Kerry in a final played in the New York Polo Grounds. The sporting fortunes of the county ebbed in the second half of the twentieth century with only a single Provincial title – in 1997 – being added after 1969. Nevertheless, the contribution of Cavan to the emergence and development of the GAA in Ulster is a singular one: it was here that the GAA first expanded into Ulster with the Ballyconnell Joe Biggars club – named after a Nationalist MP - being the first to affiliate to the Association in March 1886.
Training tips given by Cavan County Secretary Hugie Smith to players at a training session in 1952. ©GAA Oral History Project
Tony Connelly, b. 1941
Tony discusses the history of Ballyconnell First Ulsters and the controversy surrounding the club's claim of being the first GAA club in Ulster.
Cavan Gaels GAA
Members of Cavan Gaels GAA sing an old club song.
'Daddy only went to watch the boys play. For some reason or another he just didn't think girls should be playing sport. But in the end, as things went along, I ended up winning more than the boys and he started coming around to the idea, when he started seeing the trophy cabinet with more girls' trophies than boys' trophies he said there must be something in this ladies' sport. And it was only then that he started taking an interest.'
- Rosie O'Reilly, b. 1969
© GAA Oral History Project
'The G.A.A. has changed in many ways. It now has to compete with a huge number of other sports. Not only were we not allowed to play 'foreign games' we could not even watch them. Thankfully the 'ban' as it was called is gone and the games have to compete on their own merits.'
- Jim McDonnell, 1935
© GAA Oral History Project
'Most communities are completely run by football, it's what you do at the weekend, and if you go out, it's what you talk about, and it's great when it can bring people together in that kind of a way.'
- Mark Farrelly, b. 1990
© GAA Oral History Project
Ladies tog out for the Parteen Camogie team in the church grounds in Shannon c.1980s. ©Dόnal Ó Riain
Birthplace of the founder of the GAA, Michael Cusack, Clare was one of the early converts to Gaelic games. In determining how the games developed, however, geography has played a major role, with football predominating in the west of the county and the hurling in the east. As in many counties, participation in the GAA fell in the latter stages of the nineteenth century as a result of socio-economic hardship and political strife. Clare’s double All-Ireland senior and junior hurling championships in 1914 signalled a revitalisation of the GAA in the county and notwithstanding splits in the local organisation during the Civil War, a strong club and schools structure was developed in the decades following independence. Nonetheless, it was not until 1992 that Clare could celebrate a Munster football final triumph over Kerry. Success for the hurlers followed soon after when in 1995 they won the county’s first All-Ireland title since 1914, an achievement repeated in 1997.
An invite from Guinness to attend the All-Ireland Hurling Championship Quiz Final in Guinness Storehouse. ©John Maher
Jack Dunleavy, b. 1910
Jack recalls the local parish team known as the Shamrocks, who played on an old cricket pitch.
Mick Leahy, b. 1925
Mick describes how when he was younger hurls were hard to find so they used makeshift ones known as 'spocks'.
'It did not affect my family life much when I was single, however when I got married my wife had to endure many evenings on her own while matches and training were taking place. I travelled home early from a family holiday in Portugal to play in a county final for my club. My wife stayed in Portugal, to finish the holiday.'
- Gerard McNamara, b. 1952
©GAA Oral History Project
'Short of taking the hurley to bed with me it was virtually in my hand from the time I got up till I went to bed. I was so proud to be representing my family and relations, particularly my father R.I.P who devoted almost all his spare time to supporting the game. As it stands today I believe it to be more 'Big business' unfortunately which has somewhat taken away from the pride in the parish and team and team mates, and I don't see how that element of the organisation can be restored.'
- Seán McInerney, b. 1960
©GAA Oral History Project
'My father told me he made his own football boots as he was a shoemaker and they were the envy of all. He gave one boot to my uncle John Joe for one game and he wore the other, resource sharing in its earlier form.'
- Brian Galvin, 1960
©GAA Oral History Project
A match at Sam Maguire Park in Bantry in 1960. This was the last match that excursion trains ran to Bantry as the West Cork railway closed down in 1961. © GAA Oral History Project
One of the most successful dual counties in the country, Cork have built an enviable reputation in All-Ireland competitions in both codes and at all levels. The largest county in Ireland, the playing of hurling or football in the county was often geographically determined. Traditionally in Cork, an urban and rural divide has existed with urban clubs dominating the hurling scene while rural clubs historically fared better in football. This has changed over time, however, with Nemo Rangers from Douglas ending the dominance of rural teams on the local football scene and progressing to win the All-Ireland club football title on seven occasions between 1973 and 2003. The strength of the GAA in the Cork is reflected in the profile and status of many of its leading personalities, with Christy Ring from the Glen Rovers club, winner of eight All-Ireland hurling titles in the mid-twentieth century, the most exalted of the lot. Corkmen have also given their names to the most prized trophies in Gaelic games, the Sam Maguire cup being awarded to the All-Ireland football champions with the Liam McCarthy cup presented to the victorious All-Ireland winning hurling team.
An entry in Midleton GAA's minute book dated 19th October, 1902. At this meeting a decision was made to amalgamate two pre-existing clubs in to one. © GAA Oral History Project
Tom Daly, b. 1937
Tom describes how his father and uncle made hurls and talks about the different steps in the building process.
David O'Brien, b. 1923
David recalls how Jack Lynch gave his Glen Rovers team a pep talk at half time during a championship final in the 1960s.
'Money was very scarce when I was young so we had to save up to travel to matches. During the winter I snared rabbits, got up early to take rabbits out of snare and sold them in Midleton. Early summer, I thinned beet and late summer I picked 'wild' mushroom in the fields and bogs and sold them to passing motorists on the main road. Out of all of this I was able to travel to two games by train from Midleton Railway Station.'
- Ted Murphy, b. 1943
© GAA Oral History Project
'The field across the road from my home was known as 'the Hurling Field' and used daily from March to October for hurling practice and matches, fewer matches than nowdays, boys and men came to the 'Field' every evening to pick around a dream! They walked, ran, very few had bicycles, and always tried to get to the 'Hurling Field'. It was the main 'social meeting' place.'
- Eileen M. Carr, b. 1929
© GAA Oral History Project
'The GAA leads the way in terms of doing everything because when you go down to rural Ireland the one common thread is that every parish in Ireland has a GAA club. The ESB is the only other organisation...that goes into every parish in Ireland...it has so much in common with the GAA - they both are so rooted in the real Ireland.'
- Derry O'Donovan, b. 1945
© GAA Oral History Project
A high ball is contested during a match in Ballinascreen. ©GAA Oral History Project
The story of the GAA in Derry is twofold: the city and the county. The failure to establish itself with the same level of organisation as in other counties meant that the expansion of the GAA in Derry was slow with periods during the early twentieth century where the playing of both football and hurling was, at best, sporadic. The mid- twentieth century saw the expansion and development of the GAA in rural parts of Derry but it also bore witness to the near collapse of the Association in the city, where soccer provided stiff competition. Significant advances were made in the city following the opening of Celtic Park GAA grounds in 1943, but many of the new clubs that sprung up soon disappeared. It is only in recent times that the GAA has made progress in the city. As in many counties, the intertwining of the GAA and politics was clearly visible within the nationalist movement in from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to the more recent Troubles, which erupted in the 1970s. The ongoing strength of the GAA in rural areas was manifest in the All-Ireland club success of Lavey in 1991. And this club success soon translated onto the inter-county stage when in 1993, amid scenes of great jubilation, Derry won their first All-Ireland football title.
A membership card from Owen Roe GFC from c.1950s ©GAA Oral History Project
Foncey O'Kane, b. 1942
Foncey discusses the history of O'Brien's Foreglen GAA Club and how there is evidence of Gaelic games being played in the area before the formation of the GAA.
Maura McCloy, b. 1960
Maura from Ballinascreen recalls her earliest memories of the GAA and how people used to gather around the radio to listen to the All-Ireland.
'I used to travel across town to play hurling on a Saturday morning... I even remember the price of the bus; my father used to give me a pound on a Saturday morning, which was a fortune then, and 50p for the bus over and 50p for the bus back... In 1981 walking across Craigavon Bridge in Derry with a sportsbag and a hurl looked a bit strange. It was certainly a bit strange to the British Army checkpoint on the bridge at the time.'
- Paul Simpson, b. 1968
©GAA Oral History Project
'I left home at 5.30 on a Saturday evening on my bicycle and went to Magherfelt which is five miles away with my football boots tied on the bar… I took the bus to Derry and then transferred from the bus to a train to Letterkenny. I stayed the night in Letterkenny. I got a cup of tea after the match and raced to get the train… That was my experience of my first senior match.'
- Roddy Gribbin, b. 1924
©GAA Oral History Project
'We travelled by car to matches, one day 11 players travelled in the one car. The driver became distracted with the noise in the car and looked behind him and ended up in the ditch. Luckily no one was injured and we went on to win the match.'
- Frank Walls, b. 1960
©GAA Oral History Project
The view of Tawny Bay from the Kilcar GAA club pitch. ©Fred Reilly
Evidence exists that suggests an early form of hurling, known as camán, was played in Donegal from as early as the fifteenth century. With the establishment of the GAA in 1884, many counties discarded their local games in favour of those governed by GAA rules. In Donegal, however, camán continued to be played into the early twentieth century. The failure of the GAA to establish itself in its early years in Donegal was due to a number of factors outside of the association’s control. As was the case in most counties along the western seaboard, poverty and emigration were rife. These conditions, coupled with the popularity of soccer in the county, added to the slow development of the GAA in Donegal. The early twentieth century brought an improvement; the number of clubs grew and the county reached the All-Ireland football final in 1933, losing to Mayo. Although emigration returned in the 1950s, the 1960s saw a strengthening of football in Donegal and, in 1972, they celebrated their first Ulster senior football title. The county’s first All-Ireland title came in 1992. In 2011 and 2012, Donegal succeeded in winning back-to-back Ulster senior football titles. Four under-21 Shield titles since 1999 also underline the progress being made in hurling.
An extract from MacCumhaill Park's purchase fund in 1947. ©GAA Oral History Project
Noreen Doherty, b. 1957
Noreen discusses being the first female county secretary and the reaction at her first county board meeting.
Naul McCole, b. 1939
Naul describes the great rivalry between Dungloe and Gaoth Dohbair and recalls the famous 'four matches' between the clubs in the championship during the 1950s.
'Then it [emigration] happened again in the sixties. I know whenever I was playing in Birmingham, we had about two dozen fellas from Carn… all local lads and it was the same in every parish then, they were just going away.'
- Paddy McClure, b. 1942
©GAA Oral History Project
'We walked to local matches and paid a shilling for admission. The county matches were five shillings to attend and we would travel by car, as many people as could fit. We always wore our Sunday best going to matches.'
- Gerald Timoney, b. 1934
©GAA Oral History Project
'We travelled all over Ireland supporting Donegal and I especially remember the run up to the 1992 All-Ireland and the subsequent celebrations. I remember brining tea and sandwiches to matches and usually getting to eat on the way home… If any of our clubs or county won any major honours I remember doing a parade down the main street in Letterkenny in cars with the horns beeping.'
- Sally Anne Boyle, b. 1981
©GAA Oral History Project
Down clubs, Castlewellan and Longstone, in action in the Kilmacud Crokes All-Ireland Club Sevens in 2009. ©GAA Oral History Project
Down was the first county from Northern Ireland to win an All-Ireland football final. The victory over Kerry in 1960 marked the culmination of a project that began in the 1950s. Down retained the title in 1961 and claimed their third title in 1968. These All-Ireland victories were accompanied by twelve Ulster final appearances in a row between 1958 and 1969, with the Mournemen lifting the cup on seven occasions. Although the GAA in Down was not as deeply damaged by the Troubles as it was in other counties, tensions still existed. A fractious relationship between the security forces and many members of the GAA had a lasting effect. 1991 saw the return of the Sam Maguire to Down, a victory which was followed three years later with the defeat of Dublin in the 1994 All-Ireland final. Although Down has enjoyed modest success in hurling – it has four Ulster senior titles to its name – the county remains primarily identified with Gaelic football. Recent growth in the local club scene has seen success at Under-21 level in both hurling and football and this growth was rewarded with an All-Ireland senior football final appearance in 2010.
Front cover of the programme for a match between Down and Armagh, the first inter-county football to played under lights. ©GAA Oral History Project
Tom Cunningham, b. 1946
Tom from An Ríocht GAC discusses the rivalry that existed between Kikeel and Greencastle and how the latter stormed the stage after a local sevens' final.
Máirín McAleenan, b. 1971
Máirín from Liatroim Fotenoys GAC discusses the pride she felt receiving a jersey from Sheila McCartan and talks about her All-Star.
'I think the club means everything to, let's be honest about it, the Nationalist people. It was the thing that kept us together when times were difficult. I'd argue it also kept people sane because if you hadn't have had the club there, there's a chance that a lot more people would've gone down the armed struggle way.'
- PJ McGee, b. 1950
©GAA Oral History Project
'There would've been disputes about the club here... whenever you went away to a match, Ballycranna would sit there, Ballygalet would sit there and Portaferry would sit here. We didn't speak to one another. That was just the way it was.'
- William Coulter, b. 1946
©GAA Oral History Project
'The vision and commitment of our club committees; their enthusiasm, their commitment to their communities, the great energy they bring to a community, the enthusiasm, colour, noise, the whole life experience of the community. I think our clubs are magnificent in what they're doing in terms of their activities for young and old and in terms of their facilities. I'd be very proud of that.'
- Dan McCartan, b. 1946
©GAA Oral History Project
Dublin take on Tipperary in the All-Ireland Camogie final in Croke Park in 1965. ©Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael
Although not the birthplace of the GAA, Dublin was the county in which the organisation was conceived and it is where it began to develop into the Association we know it to be today. Prior to the formation of the GAA in Thurles in 1884, Michael Cusack established two hurling clubs in the capital, the Metropolitans Club and Cusack’s Academy. It is from the Metropolitans Club that the idea for the Association emerged and it would be in Dublin – at Croke Park on Jones’s Road – that the Association would later establish its headquarters. Croke Park came to figure in the Irish public consciousness as more than a mere sporting arena as, owing to the events of Bloody Sunday in 1920, it became bound up with the memory of the nationalist struggle for Irish independence. Croke Park would also, of course, become a place of pilgrimage for GAA supporters attending major games in the capital. Indeed, a key feature of the development of the GAA in Dublin has been the contribution of those people from the country who settled in the city. Migration from rural Ireland helped swell the population of Dublin and as the county expanded to accommodate this influx, so too did the GAA. In all, Dublin has lifted the All-Ireland in football on twenty three occasions, most recently in 2011. While football remains the most popular Gaelic code, a significant investment of money and effort in recent years has seen a marked improvement in the quality of hurling in the capital – an improvement that manifested itself in the recent successes of Dublin underage teams and the county’s triumph in the senior National Hurling League in 2011.
A programme for a sports day organised by Round Towers G.A.C. in Clondalkin in 1926. ©GAA Oral History Project
Anne Maire Smith, b. 1977
Anne Marie recalls her Cavan-born father's reaction to her decision to support Dublin and describes what the GAA means to her.
Andy Kettle, b. 1946
Andy talks about the regular family trips to Croke Park during the championship and getting to see all the great players firsthand.
'I remember looking forward to going to matches; I would be full of excitement when I was younger awaiting a game. I felt it was my role or duty if you will to show my support for my county. I was representing Dublin, all kitted out in blue. I remember my mother would pack sandwiches for the trip to the game when I was a young boy. My father would have me on his shoulders during the match cheering away waving whatever merchandise we had bought of sellers outside. It was always a big deal and a day out at the match. As i grew older I still loved the anticipation, the adrenaline rush of watching the game.'
- Thomas Doyle, b. 1951
©GAA Oral History Project
'I remember originally supporting Kerry (where my dad is from) but after attending a National League Final in the late 1980s when Dublin beat Kerry, I decided to ditch Kerry in favour of my home team Dublin. How wrong I was - years of heart break and anguish later!
- Marcus Ó Buachalla, b. 1981
©GAA Oral History Project
'The GAA makes me very proud to be Irish, it makes me feel that this country is unique in the world today because we have something special. It's the soul of the people... it's the very essence of the fibres that make us all Irish... it's in our genes, it's going back to Cúchulainn and the hurley stick, we're going back 2000 years... it's all there.'
- Padraig O'Toole, b. 1950
©GAA Oral History Project
Ulster Council representatives carry a Fermanagh banner during a GAA centenary parade in Enniskillen in August, 1984. ©Fermanagh Museum
Early forms of Gaelic games existed in Fermanagh before the GAA established itself in the county in 1887. Although ‘camán’, an early form of hurling, was played, it was football which took hold in Fermanagh; by 1888 there were fifteen active clubs around the county. A decline in participation in Gaelic games during the difficult 1912-1923 period was followed by an equally impressive growth during the mid-1920s. Emigration and economic hardship during the 1940s saw a collapse of the club structure in the county; by 1950 there were only four clubs in the senior football league. And yet the decade that followed saw a rebirth of the GAA in the county and in 1959 Fermanagh celebrated an All-Ireland junior football victory. Despite the onset of the Troubles in the 1970s, coupled with the continued problem of emigration, club football in Fermanagh remained relatively strong. Although a first Ulster title has so far proved elusive, Fermanagh’s most successful run in the All-Ireland senior football championship to date came in 2004 when (using the back-door system to their advantage) they overturned the might of Armagh in the quarter-final before losing narrowly to Mayo in a semi-final replay.
An article from the Fermanagh Herald in 1968 showcasing the county's top club footballers. ©James McCaffrey
Malachy Mahon, b. 1930
Malachy talks about the excitement and the prepartations that took place in advance of Irvinestown's appearance in the Fermanagh Junior Championship Final in 1940.
Rita Traynor, b. 1933
Rita recalls playing for the Fermanagh hurling team in a friendly county match because the team was short for numbers.
'My grandfather was a founder member and player with Roslea Shamrocks in 1888... Living on a farm was seven days a week, but Sunday afternoon was always reserved for football matches... As transport was in short supply we would be packed about ten in a car. A bus would usually be hired for finals. I usually cycled to Ulster finals in Clones.'
- Bernard McCaffrey, b. 1951
© GAA Oral History Project
'Clubs didn't have very much money, so buying a set of jerseys was a big expense... we changed to maroon because the simple reason being that there was four or five of the leading members of the club at the time were enamoured with the great Galway team that won the three in a row and Galway wore maroon. So it was decided that 'well if it's good enough for Galway it's good enough for Tempo'.'
- Damien Campbell, b. 1946
© GAA Oral History Project
'That's the way the GAA is: it steps from generation to generation, it keeps everybody happy, and everybody has a topic of conversation from one end of the week to the other. We read the local paper here to see what happens and we look forward to it... we look forward to the weekends of the GAA. That's what being a member of the GAA, and what the GAA is to me.'
- Pat Chapman, b. 1941
© GAA Oral History Project
The Dervan brothers from Tynagh who all played on the same team in the late 1960s. ©GAA Oral History Project
It was following the abandonment of a match between Michael Cusack’s Metropolitan hurling club and the hurlers of Killimor in Ballinasloe due to ‘rough play’ in 1884 that the need to regulate the game of hurling on a national basis became apparent. Indeed, it was in Galway, and not Tipperary, that Cusack initially planned to establish the GAA. The Association, and in particular hurling, thrived in the county from the offset. This is evident from the participation of fourteen clubs and ten thousand spectators in a tournament in Clarinbridge in 1887. The county’s first All-Ireland hurling title came in 1923 and despite further promise it was only in 1980 that the feat was replicated. Since then, Galway has added two more titles, bringing their total to four. Despite the absence of further All-Ireland honours in the intervening years, Galway club sides, most notably Portumna and Clarinbridge, have proved prolific in national competitions. Galway also has an impressive footballing record, achieving All-Ireland success on nine occasions, including a three-in-a-row in the 1960s. They remain among the country’s most active dual code counties.
A membership card for Dunmore McHales GAA Club, dated 1891. ©GAA Oral History Project
Michael McGowan, b. 1936
Michael recalls organising a 22 a-side school game in Lough Rea that was played on the frozen lake.
Arthur Ó Flaithearta, b. 1953
Pléann Arthur tréimhse rathúil a bhí ag Naomh Éinne, Inis Mór ag tús na n-ochtóidí.
'I was brought up in a GAA household. When I was about 18, for the first time in Galway, ladies football commenced with two clubs forming, one was Belclare and the other Caherlistrane. So myself and my two sisters started playing with Caherlistrane, because it was the nearer club to us. My earliest GAA memory was going to an uncle's house to watch Galway play in the All-Ireland Football Final of 1964. At that time few people had the luxury of a television set. We were lucky in that my uncle who lived down the road had one and I remember his house being full with all the neighbours in looking at the match.'
- Geraldine Kennedy, b. 1958
© GAA Oral History Project
'It was most exciting for me when I was younger, travelling to the big county games and to me, county players were all my heroes. Among the grounds which we visited frequently were Tuam Stadium, MacHale Park, Castlebar, Markiewicz Park, Sligo, Páirc MhicDhiarmada, Carrick-on-Shannon and St. Coman's Park, Roscommon. We were fanatical supporters who wore our county colours and who rejoiced in our victories and were shattered when defeated.
- Leo Finnegan, b. 1944
© GAA Oral History Project
'Back in the 1980s there were very few TVs on the island [Inisbofin], so we used to meet up in this particular house to watch the games, especially when Galway were playing. [We] used to have good craic with the old men who were also watching the game. In later years, [we] travelled to Connacht Finals and if we were lucky to All-Ireland finals.'
- Anne Walsh, b. 1959
© GAA Oral History Project
Patients of St Finan's Hospital who were involved in the construction of Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney during the 1930s. ©GAA Oral History Project
Kerry is the most successful county in the history of the Gaelic football, winning All-Ireland titles on 36 occasions. The prominence of football can be somewhat attributed to the local traditions of ‘Caid’, a form of folk football played in Kerry long before the establishment of the GAA. The faltering progress of the GAA in rural areas of Kerry in the late 1890s due to emigration was countered by the rejuvenation of the Association in towns such as Killarney and Tralee in the early twentieth century. Kerry’s first All-Ireland football title was won in 1903 and many more followed. The preeminent force in the game, Kerry twice won four All-Ireland titles in a row: from 1929 to 1932 and from 1978 to 1981. In Kerry, the football tradition has constantly been reinforced. Success has built upon success. As if to emphasise the point, the county appeared in nine of the first twelve All-Ireland finals played in the new Millennium.
A programme for the opening of Con Brosnan Park in Moyvane, Co. Kerry in June 1984. ©GAA Oral History Project
John Bambury, b. 1924
John recalls his first experience on the 'ghost train' from Killarney to Dublin in 1939.
Sean Kelly, b. 1952
Former GAA president Sean Kelly talks about the time his brother snuck out of the priests' college in Maynooth to come home to play a local final.
'Being a Kerryman, football is a second religion in the county so it was unavoidable to escape it. Watching Kerry teams training in Killarney, my home town, from the '50s onwards leaves a a lasting impression.'
- Aloysius 'Weeshie' Fogarty, b. 1941
© GAA Oral History Project
'Matches in Killarney were a nightmare with traffic. Today's tradition is to get there early settle in a pub near the ground and build up the atmosphere to a point where you talk your stomach into knots with nerves. Time to go then.'
- Peter O'Regan, b. 1980
© GAA Oral History Project
'But the fields were very poor like you know, there was no such thing as fields being lined, some places there was a rope across for a crossbar. Then you'd have umpires and when a score was coming towards the post, they'd pull it in or pull it out to make sure that it went wide or went over the bar.'
- Billy Doolin, b. 1945
© GAA Oral History Project
The 1928 Kildare football team who were winners of the inaugral Sam Maguire trophy. ©GAA Oral History Project
Kildare was central to the early popularisation of Gaelic football, with the three games the county played with Kerry to decide the 1903 All-Ireland final drawing huge crowds and generating widespread excitement. That 1903 final, played in 1905, came in the wake of the reorganisation of the GAA in Kildare in 1901 and followed a decade of decline in the 1890s. Although ultimately defeated in the 1903 final, a first All-Ireland title followed when Kildare defeated Kerry in the 1905 final – a game not played until 1907. A second All-Ireland title was claimed in 1919 and, following back-to-back titles in 1927 and 1928, Kildare became the first county to be awarded the new Sam Maguire trophy. This success, coupled with the influence of the Curragh military camp, saw the emergence of new teams in the county in both football and hurling. Between 1930 and the late 1990s, however, Kildare would win only four Leinster titles. Massive population growth since the 1970s, particularly in the towns and villages of the north of the county, presented the GAA with new challenges and opportunities. In towns such as Leixlip, clubs adapted to the new social realities, assisting – through the provision of key sporting and social outlets – in the forging of new, vibrant communities. For all that there has been extraordinary change, Kildare’s search for a first All-Ireland title since 1928 remains ongoing.
A colourful programme from a game in Newbridge between Johnstownbridge and Athy in 1987. ©GAA Oral History Project
Séamus Aldridge, b. 1935
Séamus talks about the impact of the Second World War on the GAA in Kildare and the contribution of the local army barracks to surrounding area.
Mary Weld, b. 1949
Mary discusses her various administrative roles in the GAA in Kildare and recalls her first experience at a county board meeting.
'We would drive on up in the bus, stop outside the picture house in the Curragh. One of the girls would go in and take out three of four girls out of the picture house and say "You're comin with us" and we'd go on to play the match. It was brown gym frocks, pink blouses, black tights – you’d always have a few spare ones in the van going…And then the girls would be getting on the field and they'd say "Hey Mag, what's my name today?"'
- Margaret Sexton, b. 1948
©GAA Oral History Project
'Football had a big influence on the jobs...If you were a footballer, you got into ESB. If you were a footballer, you'd get into Roadstone. If you were a footballer, the Irish Ropes here in Newbridge, but you could only play with Moorefield. There's two teams in Newsbridge: Sarsfields and Moorefield... The Ropes was Moorefield dominated. Lads from other clubs, if they wanted a job in the Irish Ropes, they had to transfer to Moorefield.'
- Tom Moore, b. 1949
©GAA Oral History Project
'One of my most treasured memories is my first game in Newbridge in the U-10 final in 1987. I was playing corner forward that day and we won. It meant the world to us to be playing in the county grounds and then to actually win was amazing. I can remember calling over to my granny's house after the match and also receiving our medals from Pat Dunney at a function in the clubhouse.'
- Enda Gorman, b. 1978
©GAA Oral History Project
Team captain Seamie Cleere is presented with the Liam McCarthy Cup by Eamon de Valera after the 1963 All-Ireland final. ©GAA Oral History Project
Kilkenny is the most successful county in the history of the All-Ireland hurling championship. Although it was football that initially thrived in the county – the first football game played under GAA rules took place in Callan in February 1885 – hurling later became the main Gaelic sport in the county following the securing of the county’s first hurling title in 1904. Over the following decades, hurling success and Kilkenny went hand in hand. For example, from 1931 to 1939 the county contested seven All-Ireland finals, winning four of them. Of great benefit to Kilkenny was the constant stream of players from the county’s schools and colleges, many of which enjoyed a thriving hurling culture. Pre-eminent among them was St Kieran’s, which served as a conveyor belt for some of the greatest hurlers in modern history, including Eddie Keher, DJ Carrey and Henry Shefflin. Brian Cody, another St Kieran’s graduate, has brought remarkable success to the county in recent times. In the opening decades of the twenty-first century, Kilkenny won seven All-Ireland titles and only Tipperary stopped Kilkenny from completing an unprecedented five-in-a-row in 2010. The following year saw Kilkenny regain the Liam McCarthy Cup from Tipperary, their 33rd All-Ireland title.
The match programme from the 1966 All-Ireland hurling final in which Cork beat Kilkenny 3-9 to 1-10. ©Donal Dalton
Nickey Brennan, b. 1953
Former GAA president Nickey Brennan discusses why he gave his support to the setting up of the GAA Oral History Project.
Seamus Reade, b. 1947
Seamus recalls how inexpensive it was to take up handball and how some games were made more interesting by betting.
'Rivalries are crucial in the GAA. My club have many rivalries with neighbouring clubs, such as Thomastown and Danesfort. Mostly Danesfort as we have lost many players to them due to the dreaded parish rule. It has not been kind to us.'
- Hugh O'Neill, b. 1933
©GAA Oral History Project
'The 1972 All-Ireland final was the best I've ever seen. Kilkenny played Cork and Kilkenny came from eight points down to win by seven... The hurling was magnificent with great stars like Eddie Keher, Frank Cummins and "Chunky" O'Brien.'
- Eugene Larkin, b. 1952
©GAA Oral History Project
'There were great competitions in hurling... and there were great leagues. And when you were in Kieran's you'd nothing else to do only play hurling or play football leagues and the whole lot. Now my young lad is just after coming through Kieran's... and sure, not unless you're on the elite would you be doing any hurling.'
- John Phelan, b. 1952
©GAA Oral History Project
Laois face Tipperary in the 1949 Oireachtas Final. ©GAA Oral History Project
Appearances in two consecutive All-Ireland hurling finals in 1914 and 1915, with a victory in the latter, were early milestones in the GAA story in Laois. A mixture of skilled administrators and the establishment of schools’ leagues helped reverse faltering participation that had occurred within the local Association in the late nineteenth century. If hurling was the game in which the Laois reputation on the national sporting scene was forged, it would soon be eclipsed by football. The decline in hurling’s profile was not helped by the failure of the county to win a single Provincial title between 1950 and 2012. For their part, the Laois footballers made history in 1938 by becoming the first team from Leinster to tour the United States. This came during a high point for football in Laois, with the county winning three Leinster titles in a row between 1936 and 1938, and another in 1946. It was not until 2003, however, that the county added to their Provincial tally, doing so under the guidance of Mick O’Dwyer. A real success story in Laois has been the growth of ladies’ football. The establishment of a county board for ladies’ football in the 1970s marked a watershed for the women’s game. The sport flourished in the county and in 2001 Laois overcame Mayo to win their first All-Ireland ladies’ title.
An advertisement for a fundraiser in aid of Durrow GAA in 1983. ©GAA Oral History Project
Paddy Bates, b. 1942
Paddy talks about playing hurling during lunch time in school in Clonaslee and how sometimes they lost track of the time.
Gerry Cullitin, b. 1936
Gerry discusses receiving a ban from the Laois county board after they discovered he played a rugby match for Tullamore.
'The introduction of ladies' football and the expansion of Camogie has been the single most influential factor in the GAA. With these games, and particularly football, the active membership of the GAA increased spectacularly and a whole new surge of able and dynamic members began to participate in all levels of club activity.'
- Fintan Walsh, b. 1936
©GAA Oral History Project
'I remember the first county final with our club in it. Dressing up in the red and white and making flags and banners, every teddy was taken out of the press and every ball of wool was used. We all headed to behind the goal posts to shout our team on. They lost but I still never forget the village that evening when they came through on the back of a trailer and tractor.'
- Cathyrn Foyle, b. 1977
©GAA Oral History Project
'Back in our own club when we started we had two big jobs up in our area up in Camross, in timber... All our lads worked in the forestry and Bord na Móna... that kept all the clubs here. We were fortunate enough lads didn't have to emigrate or go away like that. Now the forestry's gone... the timber's gone and Bord na Móna is completely nearly gone as well and now emigration is hitting a lot of clubs and hit Camross in a big way... not in Camross alone but a lot of clubs are feeling the pinch... Hopefully if the building could take off again we might get back players.'
- Frank Keenan, b. 1951
©GAA Oral History Project
A county calender featuring the Leitrim team that won the 1927 Connacht Championship. ©GAA Oral History Project
Although Leitrim has the smallest population of any other county in Ireland it can boast the highest number of GAA clubs and players per capita (twenty-four clubs in total as of 2010). The decline in the GAA’s fortunes in the 1890s was a national phenomenon, but it had a major effect on many of the smaller counties, such as Leitrim. The formation of a new county board in 1904 saw the expansion of the Association throughout the county, resulting in a renewed and vibrant club scene. Emigration, however, has played a critical role in the ability of Leitrim teams to compete on the inter-county scene. A population decline that began in the mid-nineteenth century continued until the 1990s, at which point the population of Leitrim stood at approximately 25,000. For all its obvious disadvantages, Leitrim has enjoyed some notable successes. Highlights include the winning of an All-Ireland ‘B’ football title in 1990 and an Intermediate All-Ireland Ladies football title in 2007. The vitality of the GAA in the county is also reflected in the contribution it has made to the development of the Scór competition, where Leitrim members have enjoyed considerable success.
A poem written by Johnny Mulhern about the 1988 All-Ireland Junior ladies' football champions. ©GAA Oral History Project
Mary Glancy, b. 1956
Mary recalls her time as county secretary and the difficulties in contacting players before the time of mobile phones.
Tommy Moran, b. 1941
Tommy talks about the make up of the GAA in Leitrim and discusses the loyalty of the players to the county team.
'Somebody said to me, "what was your first thought when you won the All-Ireland in 1988 and you're standing in the middle of Croke Park...?". My first memory was "where is the ball? Get it and put it back in the bag. Don't lose any of our stuff!"... You had to work so hard to get money to get jerseys, to get balls. You minded it when you had it.'
Mary Quinn, b. 1958
©GAA Oral History Project
'Leitrim, as a county, has been deprived of success at a national level but that doesn’t dampen the enthusiasm or commitment or the work of everybody that’s involved in whatever capacity. They embrace it.'
Joe Flynn, b. 1947
©GAA Oral History Project
'The football was made up of rags that were tied with a rope and played. That was our football. Sometimes the pig's bladder was used as well, but that was only at Christmas and, of course, inevitably it would get punctured... on a blackthorn stick or something like that... So that would end that football and we'd have to go back to the rags again.'
Michael McGowan, b. 1936
©GAA Oral History Project
Limerick face Tipperary in the 1937 Munster final in Cork. Tipperary were winners on the day. ©GAA Oral History Project
In keeping with the experience of many counties, the GAA in Limerick suffered a decline in the late nineteenth century. Its recovery would be quicker than most, however. The establishment of a new county board in 1894 was quickly followed by All-Ireland success in both football and hurling. Of the two codes, hurling would establish its pre-eminence in the county in the early decades of the twentieth century. The county won All-Ireland titles in 1918 and again in 1921, but the 1930s represented the true heyday of Limerick hurling. Five National League titles in a row were won, as were two All-Ireland titles, with a third added in 1940. Owing to emigration and other factors, this tradition of success could not be maintained and it was only in 1973 that Limerick’s hurlers won their next All-Ireland title. This remains their most recent national title. Despite the stiff competition faced by the GAA from rugby, particularly since the onset of professionalism and the success of the Munster Rugby team, important steps have taken by the local Association – manifest in the improvements to club and county facilities – to secure a healthy future for Gaelic games in the city and wider county.
Members of St Munchin's GAA Club appeal for money for their new field, Seoirse Clancy Memorial Park. ©GAA Oral History Project
Liam Lenihan, b. 1950
Liam talks about his involvement in the 'Lifting the Treaty' project; a project aimed at encouraging the playing of hurling in Limerick City.
Paul Herr, b. 1973
Paul discusses the popularity of handball in his home town of Hospital and in the rest of Limerick.
'Have great memories of going to games all six of family – parents, two sisters and brother in a small Anglia. Food would be consumed on the side of the road. Colours hung out and horns etc. blown at friend and foe. Many tears were shed on days of disappointment but the joy of winning was unbelievable and the Munster Hurling Final of 1973 will never be forgotten.'
- Gearóid Ó Súilleabháin, b. 1956
©GAA Oral History Project
'The highlight of our day, our week and our night was to go out for a puck, you’d have your stick stuck at the back of the gate somewhere because if someone found it he’d take it and you’d have no stick to go out for a puck.... It’s our stamp, the GAA is really our stamp it’s the rural man’s stamp, right, it says who he is like, what you stand for, right, where your spirit comes from, you know, ‘tis your freedom, you know, there’s nothing as good to hear or to do than to have a fair clash with the ash there like and to win an aul ball, d’you know and the other fell will enjoy it even though he might lose it, it doesn’t matter, but that’s the way it is like.'
- Micheál Mac an tSaoir, b. 1946
©GAA Oral History Project
'Ceapaim go bhfuil an CLG an-tábhachtach dúinn mar chlann, réitimid go maith lena chéile agus is é mo thuairim go bhfuil sé sin de bharr an páirt a bhí ag an CLG inár saoil.'
- Theresa Corbett, b. 1988
©GAA Oral History Project
Boys from a local team in Longford tog out in a nearby bush before the start of the game. ©GAA Oral History Project
With the national decline of the GAA in the 1890s, the Association in Longford was reduced from a vibrant organisation of twenty five clubs with over a thousand members to an almost non-existent entity. By the time the local GAA revived in the early 1900s, soccer had established itself as a dominant game in the county’s principal urban centre. As the GAA slowly regained lost ground, the preference for football over hurling in the county became apparent, not least in colleges such as St Mel’s, winners of the inaugural Leinster colleges’ competition in 1928. Longford experienced massive levels of emigration in the years following the ‘Emergency’ and though the GAA was affected at a local level, the effect on the county team was not immediately apparent. In fact, the 1960s was Longford’s most successful period. A first National Football League title was won in 1966, followed by a Leinster title in 1968. Success since then has centred on the county’s underage teams where investment in youth structures has delivered two Leinster minor football titles to Longford since the turn of the new millennium.
A poem about the former player and Director General of the GAA, Liam Mulvihill, written by Paddy Egan. ©GAA Oral History Project
Eugene McGee, b. 1941
Eugene discusses the success of Longford's footballers during the 1960s and the role his brother played in that success.
©GAA Oral History Project
Martin Jennings, b. 1948
Martin talks about how hurling has fared in Longford over the years and the improvements he has seen in recent years.
©GAA Oral History Project
'The GAA was very important in our house when we were growing up. We were brought to nearly all the Granard and Longford games and always encouraged by both our parents. Every Sunday the car was loaded up and we headed off to where ever Granard were playing. During Summer school holidays the only time we would get off the farm was mass on the Sunday and football training and matches. Most things were planned around the football.'
- Matt Smyth, b. 1963
©GAA Oral History Project
'During the Rosary my mother always prayed for one of my brothers in particular... This is probably because he was prone to injury. I remember one time a Guard called to our house late on a Sunday evening to tell my mother that my brother had been taken to hospital with a broken leg following a match injury. She was glad neither herself nor myself managed to get a lift to that particular match. My brother was on crutches after that and I remember him playing in goals (even with his leg plastered) in the hay field at the back of the house.'
- Mary Hughes, b. 1956
©GAA Oral History Project
'If he got hurt, there was no way he could go home and tell. He put out his collarbone this particular day, and he got the coat on after the match but he couldn't get the coat off because the collarbone was dislocated and, he had to go out and plough the next morning and he couldn't take off the coat - and he didn't take off the coat for about three weeks afterwards. It must have been unreal, the pain that he went through. But they had to show that they were tough, and if they got hurt playing football there was certainly no sympathy for them at home.'
- Martin Skelly, b. 1953
©GAA Oral History Project
Read a sample of a full length questionnaire: Fergal Kelly, b. 1976
The Sam Maguire Cup visits a local primary school in Louth following the county's 1957 All-Ireland football win. ©GAA Oral History Project
Louth’s winning of the 1957 All-Ireland football championship brought to an end a glorious half century of Gaelic games in the so-called ‘wee county’. 1957 had built on an established tradition. In the early decades of the twentieth century, the county repeatedly contested for provincial and national football honours, winning two All-Irelands in three years between 1910 and 1912. These finals had signalled the resurgence of the GAA in a county which, in keeping with the national trend, suffered serious decline in the early 1890s. Prior to that, the Dundalk Young Irelands, a club founded by the Young Ireland Society in 1885, contested the very first All-Ireland football final in 1887. Dundalk was a hotbed of early GAA activity in the county and, indeed, an urban-rural divide would remains a feature of the make-up of Louth’s All-Ireland winning teams of 1910 and 1912 – teams that were dominated by players from clubs in the urban centres of Dundalk and Drogheda. Although success at senior level has been absent since 1957, the GAA has continued to develop in the county. An increased investment in facilities, the introduction of ladies football and the establishment of a centre of excellence for county teams have all served to further embed the GAA into the community life of the county.
A letter from 1961 regarding the purchase of a ground by Dreadnots GAA through the Land Commission. ©GAA Oral History Project
Niamh Reid, b. 1990
Niamh talks about the need for increased publicity for Ladies' football and camogie and how the games would benefit if more people knew about them.
©GAA Oral History Project
Tommy Carroll, b. 1928
Tommy discusses the history of Dundalk Young Irelands and talks about the link between politics and the GAA in the past.
©GAA Oral History Project
'When that goal went in against Meath...I think that was the biggest disappointment. And the disappointment that expanded when I realised that within the GAA we had no format to handle that...I was disappointed that over all the years we've had there was no structure whereby the authorities could have stood up and said there: 'That's wrong. We're gonna have a replay'. Natural justice should have demanded that.'
- Padraic O'Connor, b. 1954
©GAA Oral History Project
'From a young age I realised that the GAA was a way of life, it was how my life was going to be… Every Sunday involved going to matches, going to training, watching the Louth County team train two, three times a week, going to club matches, helping out with the administration with my father at home in the house where his office was based... It's just all I've ever known.'
- Donal Kearney, b. 1976
©GAA Oral History Project
'We used to practice over in a field called the Castle Meadow, a mile or two away, and sure you'd be working here on the farm and sure you couldn't wait for night to come till you could get away...You'd hear the thud of the ball and you'd have to get away to that.'
- Willie Treacy, b. 1929
©GAA Oral History Project
Read a sample of a full length questionnaire: Michael Mooney, b. 1946
Locals posing with the Sam Maguire in the village of Shrule following Mayo's All-Ireland win in 1951. ©GAA Oral History Project
With a strong local tradition of athletics, Mayo developed as the pre-eminent football power in Connacht in the early twentieth century, winning eight of the nine Provincial finals played between 1901 and 1910. For all this dominance, however, Mayo had, by 1932, appeared in only three All-Ireland football finals – and lost all three. The fortunes of the county at national level changed in the years that followed, with Mayo embarking on a phenomenal run of success, winning six National Football League titles in a row, as well as a long awaited All-Ireland title in 1936. Further provincial honours followed in the 1940s, but the peak of the county’s GAA achievements came in 1950 and 1951 when Mayo won back-to-back All-Ireland titles. These victories were remarkable for being achieved against a backdrop of economic deprivation and decline – the population of the county had fallen steadily since the mid-nineteenth century. Football retains a strong hold on the county and, despite falling at the final hurdle in five All-Ireland finals between 1989 and 2011, a vibrant club scene has delivered All-Ireland club titles to both Crossmolina and Ballina Stephenites since the turn of the millennium. Mayo have also been trailblazers in the women’s football game, with four All-Ireland titles already to their name.
A tick book used to mark the attendence of committee members of Balinrobe GAA in 1921. ©GAA Oral History Project
Terry Reilly, b. 1943
Terry recalls his early memories of the GAA and the influence that the All-Ireland winning Mayo team of the 1950s had on him as a journalist.
©GAA Oral History Project
Paddy Muldoon, b. 1941
Paddy talks about the history of Westport GAA and discusses the club's links with the republican movement of the early twentieth century.
©GAA Oral History Project
'The football boots, I remember... We didn't even have the boots. Times were rough in the fifties... If you knew a fella with a left foot you got his right foot boot if it fitted you. That's a fact. Things like that. Because we had nothing.'
- Mick Loftus, b. 1929
©GAA Oral History Project
'The advent of the Mayo women's teams has been most exciting as Mayo people have once again had the experience of winning All Irelands. The standard of women's football is very high, especially their ability in taking scores. I think many of the male players have got afraid of missing scores and are not adventurous there.'
- Anthony Jordan, b. 1942
©GAA Oral History Project
'Bhí dhá chreideamh i mBéal Átha hAmhnais, cé go raibh mise sna fichidí nuair a chonaic mé Protastúnach ariamh. Bhí eaglais an pharóiste ansin ag ceann an bhaile, ag an ceann eile den bhaile, bhí mainistir na nAgaistínigh; ba chosúil gur dhá chreideamh éagsúil iad…Bhí dhá chóir againn; bhí cóir ag sagairt an pharóiste, bhí cóir ag na hAgaistínigh. Bhí dhá chumann drámaíochta againn. Bhí feis amháin againn, á reachtáil ag sagairt an deoise; bhí feis eile, nó aeiríocht ag na hAgaistínigh. Bhí dhá misean againn in aghaidh na bliana. Caitlicigh iad gach duine ach ba chosúil gur dhá sect éagsúil iad ag an am. Só bhí foireann peile ag na hAgaistínigh chomh maith le haghaigh na buachaillí a bhí ag feithil ar an Aifreann agus mar sin de.'
- Joe Kenny, b. 1932
©GAA Oral History Project
Read a sample of a full length questionnaire: Sean McManamon, b. 1939
Captain Brian Smyth holds aloft the Sam Maguire after Meath's 1949 All-Ireland win. ©Hogan Stand
As Secretary of the GAA from 1895 to 1898, Dick Blake from Navan oversaw the overhaul of Gaelic football, standardising the size of the ball, introducing linesmen to assist referees and fixing a goal's value at three points instead of five. It is not surprising that the sport that Blake did so much to shape should be the one most favoured in his native county. Gaelic football was enthusiastically played and followed in Meath from the early years of the GAA, yet it was not until the post-Second World War period that Meath finally claimed a first All-Ireland title. The first came in 1949 and was followed up by another title in 1954. The strength of Meath football during this period was further underlined by the county’s achievement in winning five provincial titles in the seven years between 1947 and 1954. The 1960s brought another All-Ireland football title to Meath and the successful team travelled to Australia in 1968 to compete against an Australian Rules selection. This tour, which followed an Australian visit to Ireland the year before, laid the foundation for the international compromise rules game that was officially established in the mid-1980s. In Meath, however, the 1980s are best remembered for the county’s re-emergence as a powerhouse in Gaelic football. From the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, the county won four All-Ireland titles, all of them under the charismatic stewardship of Dunboyne-man Seán Boylan. The massive levels of population growth that Meath experienced in the late 1990s and early 2000s has had a visible impact on the GAA in the county. As clubs expanded and membership increased, the Meath experience served to underscore the continued importance of the GAA to a changing Irish society.
A publication by Peter McDermott detailing Meath's trip to Australia in 1968. ©Peter McDermott
Michael Connaughton, b. 1942
Michael describes the atmosphere at one of the first meetings of St Brigid's G.F.C in the early 1960s.
©GAA Oral History Project
Peter McDermott, b. 1918
Peter recalls an on field incident between a friend and the local priest who was known for his republican leanings.
©GAA Oral History Project
'When the local team won it was always a great source of pride in Duleek, everyone in the village came out to celebrate and a band always played on the back of an articulated truck parked on the village green – everyone made speeches, there was always dancing and drinking on the village main street.'
- Frances Fahy, b. 1979
©GAA Oral History Project
'I'll never forget the year 2000... we won our first ever senior championship. To me that was the greatest day in the life of the club [Dunshaughlin] because... two or three years prior to that, we never saw ourselves as senior champions in this county renowned for football... and we achieved that.'
- Paddy O'Dwyer, b. 1945
©GAA Oral History Project
'I remember the Cork Meath, the '88 match, making a flag the size of the kitchen floor and saying 'Meath are magic, Cork are tragic' and coming out and crying. And up until three years ago I forgot why I didn’t like the colour red.'
Maria Kealy, b. 1984
©GAA Oral History Project
Read a sample of a full length questionnaire: John Gleeson, b. 1974
Camogie players from Toome GAA take a break during a game. ©Toome GAA
Within a year of the establishment of its county board in 1887, thirty two clubs were active across Monaghan – a rate of progress that, in Ulster, was only eclipsed by that of Cavan. It is even claimed that the Inniskeen club had been founded in 1883, a year before the foundation of the Association itself. Like much of the rest of the country, the GAA in Monaghan suffered decline in the 1890s, but a vibrant club scene developed in the early twentieth century. With the Castleblaney Faughs club in the local ascendancy in the years which followed the establishment of the Irish Free State, Monaghan would enjoy one of its most successful eras. Ulster titles were won, for instance, in 1927, 1929 and 1930. The GAA struggled in Monaghan in the decades that followed, its efforts undermined by the scourge of emigration, with the county losing 10% of its population between 1956 and 1961 alone. Despite this haemorrhaging of people, those who remained came together to win a junior All-Ireland title in 1956. In the 1970s and 1980s, improvements off the field were matched by success on it. Monaghan would bridge a gap of more than forty years to regain the Ulster title in 1979 and though further titles were added in the 1980s, senior All-Ireland football honours continued to elude the county. In the 1990s, however, the county’s hurlers secured a junior All-Ireland hurling title, while the Monaghan Ladies’ won the senior All-Ireland titles on two occasions.
A list of rules and bye-laws for a summer street league in Monaghan in 1922. ©GAA Oral History Project
Paul Swift, b. 1965
Paul recalls an incident involving jerseys the night before the first county final in Monaghan between Monaghan Harps and Aghabog.
©GAA Oral History Project
Pat McEnaney, b. 1961
Pat talks about the amalgamation of local rivals Corduff and Carrickmacross at underage level in his time and the different perceptions of players from the country and those from the town.
©GAA Oral History Project
'When I was younger, I remember coming across a photo of the local hurling team in the newspaper and looking at the names underneath. I recognised several of the local Patrician Brothers but the names under the photo didn't match! When I enquired about this, I was told that they weren't supposed to be playing hurling and that they had to play under 'assumed' names!'
- Marriane Lynch, b. 1959
©GAA Oral History Project
'I walked 3 miles to practice and back. The field was very uneven. The game of football rough and physical. Our shorts were very long and jerseys had long sleeves. Not many people came as spectators. The football was very heavy when it got wet as it absorbed water.'
- Maurice Coyle, b. 1940
©GAA Oral History Project
'I would have been one of the first in our end to get a car and I remember I used to - there was meself and the brother - we'd start off, go over and pick up Brian Coleman - that's three - go up pick up two Hughes - that's five - up to the crossroad - there could be two or three Donaghys standing on it - and you got as many in as you could and headed off. And had we had anything happen Toome wouldn't have been fit to field a team that day cause half of us would have been missing.'
- Enda Quinn, b. 1957
©GAA Oral History Project
Read a sample of a full length questionnaire: Bill Lynch, b. 1951
Mick Spain helps put the finishing touchs to Drumcullen GAA's new grounds in 1984. ©GAA Oral History Project
Offaly played host to the first All-Ireland hurling final played in Birr on Easter Sunday, 1888. Then known as King’s County, Offaly had been involved in the GAA from the very beginning with Clara being only the third club in Ireland to affiliate to the new Association. Geography was a key determinant in how Gaelic games developed in the county. Whereas hurling prospered in the south of the county, football dominated in the north. By the early 1900s there were twenty five Offaly clubs affiliated to the GAA and this number would rise steadily across the decades that followed. For all that this illustrated the local enthusiasm for Gaelic games, success was limited. Nevertheless, the development of state bodies in Offaly during the mid-twentieth century would play a crucial role in the advancement of the Association, providing employment and keeping potential players in the county. The 1960s signalled the beginning of a period of unprecedented success for Offaly in both hurling and football. The county’s first senior All-Ireland football title in 1971 was followed by six more over the next three decades, two in football and four in hurling. Offaly has since slipped in terms of success and it has been down to the county’s camogie players to provide cause for celebration in recent years.
A poem celebrating the Offaly's 1985 All-Ireland hurling victory. ©GAA Oral History Project
Emily Horan, b. 1920
Emily recalls her first experiences of playing camogie and describes how some matches were very rough.
©GAA Oral History Project
Sean Flynn, b. 1937
Sean describes walking along the train lines to an Offaly match in the 1950s after the train broke down en route.
©GAA Oral History Project
'Luckily for me, I was fortunate enough to have grown up in a era where Offaly GAA was very successful. My first time on a train was accompanying my father to the Leinster hurling final in 1980. There was no such thing as replica jerseys then, just rosettes and hats made from crepe paper.'
- Pádraic Tooher, b. 1966
©GAA Oral History Project
'A tradition that our family used was that every one of us playing GAA wore a miraculous medal on our togs and also my mother would throw holy water on the gear bag when leaving the house. She was a very holy woman and she believed it kept us safe when we played and I keep that tradition alive to this day.'
- Mary Kelly, b. 1958
©GAA Oral History Project
'My father told me about when he and his brothers used to play and the great games he saw. When he was playing full back one day he was marking a big tough man that a lot of people called mad. When his marker walked out he had a bottle of whiskey in his togs and he took it out and drank it in one go and pucked it out over the bar and said to my father, "When the first ball comes in, that’s where you’re going." But when the first ball came in he went to catch it but my father hit it out and the mad man never spoke during the match again.'
- Frank Cashen, b. 1959
©GAA Oral History Project
Read a sample of a full length questionnaire: Pat Nolan, b. 1982
The Sam Maguire rests on a stool in the village of Knockcroghery after Roscommon's All-Ireland win in 1943. ©GAA Oral History Project
While there was GAA activity in Roscommon in the late nineteenth century, it took until the early twentieth century for the county to enjoy success at a representative level. Several Connacht football titles were won during this period, as was a hurling title in 1913 – this remains the county’s only Provincial hurling success. Football was, and remains, the Gaelic sport of choice in the county, its popularity bolstered in the 1940s by the winning of back-to-back All-Ireland football titles in 1943 and 1944. Such success, yet to be repeated, was helped by administrative improvements in the county and the emergence of Roscommon CBS as a serious conveyor belt of local football talent. Efforts to build on the achievements of the 1940s were undoubtedly hampered by a declining agricultural economy and emigration. So while Roscommon managed to win at least one Connacht championship in each decade since the 1940s, no further All-Ireland titles have followed. Against that, the county’s hurlers have twice won an All-Ireland junior title while the ladies’ football team claimed a senior All-Ireland title in 1978.
A letter from the 'Roscommon exiles in Manchester' to Jimmy Murray congatulating him on the county's All-Ireland win in 1944. ©GAA Oral History Project
Tony Whyte, b. 1937
Tony recalls Clann na nGael's journey to the All-Ireland club football final in 1982.
©GAA Oral History Project
Frank Kenny, b. 1934
Frank discusses the history of St Brigid's GAA and talks about how the club came close to disbanding in the 1950s.
©GAA Oral History Project
'No Sunday dinner for there was always a GAA match to attend. Not much work done on evenings as training was number one.'
- Martin Hynes, b. 1937
©GAA Oral History Project
'I always loved football but unfortunately there were no girl’s teams in our area in the '60's or '70's. When Roscommon got to the All-Ireland in 1980 we had a great time going to Croke Park for the matches. In recent years, I encouraged my children to play and we are always planning some trip to a match.'
- Anne (Née McHugh) Walshe, b. 1959
©GAA Oral History Project
'Many people criticise the participation of London and New York in the championship but when one travels to either Ruislip or Gaelic Park you will meet thousands of Roscommon people in these places who will turn up to the matches as they never get to see their team play at home.'
- Frank Dennehy, b. 1944
©GAA Oral History Project
Read a sample of a full length questionnaire: Mary Moran-Regan, b. 1965
Sligo concede a goal from Mayo's Padraig Carney during an inter-county match c.1950s ©GAA Oral History Project
Sligo was one of the most organised counties in Connacht during the early days of the GAA, its first club being formed in Collooney in January1885. More clubs – and a county board – were established in the years that followed, but the momentum that built up in the late 1880s was, in keeping with developments elsewhere, reversed in the 1890s. Revival came with the new century. Hurling began to establish itself in the county, but football remained the primary focus of local GAA activity. A first Connacht title was won in 1928, but the county struggled to build on this achievement. One reason for this was the dominant position of soccer in Sligo town, the county’s main urban centre. A feature of the more recent sporting experience in Sligo has been the growth of ladies’ football. First organised in 1993, the Sligo women’s footballers lifted their first All-Ireland junior title in 2006. In the following year, Sligo’s senior men defeated Galway in the Connacht football final to win only their third senior provincial title, while in 2008 the county’s hurlers added a Nicky Rackard Cup. The development of a major GAA Centre of Excellence in 2011 is both emblematic of the current health of the GAA in the county and a testimony to its future ambitions.
A write up of Tobercurry's 1946 championship victory featuring individual photographs of the players. ©GAA Oral History Project
Christina Murphy, b. 1930
Christina recalls how the All-Ireland semi-final was delayed because of the tradition in Connacht of climbing Croagh Patrick on Reek Sunday.
©GAA Oral History Project
Brian McGaughran, b. 1938
Brian discusses the reasons behind the formation of a GAA club in Calry and how it has benefited the local community since its establishment in the early 1970s.
©GAA Oral History Project
'The town [Sligo] ran a lot of soccer street leagues. These were fairly informal. When I was about 16 a new GAA club was set up in the town for under age teams. This was the first time I played gaelic football outside of school, though I was still oblivious to the 'club'. It just seemed to be an extension of the street soccer leagues.'
- Padraig Ferguson, 1950
©GAA Oral History Project
'Any underage [that] wins a cup... that cup will not come back to a pub, and it will not be filled in a pub... We've seen clubs doing it, and what happened was then that the cup was brought in, and you could have 16-year-olds playing... and the cup was going round and they'd fill the cup...and they drink out of the cup. And then the parents will come along and they'll say: "Oh, ye started them on the drink"... but nobody can say that about Shamrock Gaels.'
- P.J. Quigley, b. 1940
©GAA Oral History Project
'My earliest memories of the GAA... would be going to a match... in the boot of a car with a priest called Fr Patten who essentially was the heart and sould of the GAA club... If you can imagine fifteen or sixteen young fellas sitting in an old Opel Cadet, some of us in the boot, some of us on top of each others' knees and essentially we all went to the match in one car and came home from the match, most of us, in one car.'
- James Fraine, b. 1961
©GAA Oral History Project
Click here to read a sample of a full length questionnaire: Donal Cummins, b. 1972
Tipperary's hurlers on the way home from America following a trip across the Atlantic in 1931. ©GAA Oral History Project
The GAA was founded at a meeting that took place in a hotel billiards room in Thurles, Co. Tipperary, on 1 November 1884. That meeting had been organised with the expressed purpose of forming an Association for the ‘preservation and cultivation of our national pastimes’ and to provide a sporting outlet for Irish people ‘during their leisure hours’. Within three years, the new sporting body prepared to stage All-Ireland competitions in football and hurling. Although the number of participating counties was small, Tipperary, unsurprisingly, competed in both. The county would enjoy unrivalled success in the late nineteenth century, winning a remarkable seven All-Ireland titles – five in hurling, two in football – in the years between 1895 and 1900. This spread of titles reflected the sporting strengths of a county where hurling predominated in the northern region and football in the south and west. Tipperary would enjoy arguably its greatest hurling era in the decade from the late 1950s to the late 1960s, contesting eight All-Ireland finals and winning five. The frequency of Al-Ireland honours slowed thereafter, yet Tipperary can still boast of at least one All-Ireland hurling title in every decade since the championship began. The county’s most recent success came in 2010 when they denied neighbours Kilkenny a historic fifth All-Ireland in-a-row.
A ledger from Maher's pub in Cashel detailing the expenses of Tipperary's 1932 camogie selection. ©Mícheál Maher
Enda McDonnell, b. 1951
Enda talks about the history of ladies' football in Tipperary and how it was played in the county before its official formation in 1974.
©GAA Oral History Project
John A. Murphy, b. 1941
John discusses Tipperary's All-Ireland hurling victory in 2010 and the graciousness of Kilkenny in their defeat.
©GAA Oral History Project
'When Tipperary defeated Galway in the All-Ireland Hurling Final in 1958 – a local man, Tom Larkin, was on the team. To date he remains the only All Ireland Senior Hurling title holder from the club. As a 10 year-old, cycling from the local shop with messages, I met him on his bicycle and he said "Hello James" and I felt about forty foot tall.'
- James Holohan, b. 1948
©GAA Oral History Project
'In 1953 or 1954, my father took me on the crossbar of his bike to Templemore to see a football match in the mid Tipp championship between Castleiney and the other end of our parish, Loughmore. At the time the parish had two GAA clubs. Castleiney colours were green, white and gold, and Loughmore’s were green and red, which are now the colours of the combined clubs.'
- Michael Kiely, b. 1946
©GAA Oral History Project
'One of my earliest memories is of the centenary Munster final in Thurles when a late Cork goal won the game. Grown men around me cried tears of heartbreak.'
- Colm Purcell, b. 1974
©GAA Oral History Project
Read a sample of a full length questionnaire: John Cleary, b. 1965
Lord Ashbourne, for whom the Ashbourne Cup is named, leads a Gaelic League parade to O'Neill Park in 1935. ©GAA Oral History Project
Although a GAA county board was not established in Tyrone until 1904, there is some evidence to suggest an earlier presence for Gaelic games in the county. Records indicate that a club existed in Cookstown in 1890 while camán, a game similar to hurling, is known to have been played in Tyrone during the nineteenth century. Despite the presence of a county board – which was linked to the language and national revival movement – the GAA did not develop any significant momentum in Tyrone and for the following two decades the Association had a low profile in the county. It was only during the 1930s and 1940s that the GAA began to make significant progress in the county, with Tyrone claiming two minor All-Irelands in the 1940s. These underage successes paved the way for the county’s first Ulster senior title in 1956. As in other counties north of the border, the outbreak of the Troubles had a detrimental impact on the playing of Gaelic games in Tyrone. Although an All-Ireland final was reached in 1986, it was not until the turn of the millennium – and the relative social normality that came with the Peace Process – that Tyrone fulfilled its full potential. Building on a series of successful underage teams, the county established itself as major force in Gaelic football during the early 2000s, winning five Ulster and three All-Ireland titles.
A ticket for a 'duck derby' fundraising event for Aghyaran G.A.C. in 1987. First prize was £100. ©GAA Oral History Project
Joe Martin, b. 1939
Joe recalls his father's attempt to delay his brother Michael joining Columbans in Dalgan so he could to play a county final in 1958.
©GAA Oral History Project
Jimmy Treacy, b. 1940
Jimmy discusses the impact that the Hunger Strikes had on the GAA in Tyrone during the Troubles.
©GAA Oral History Project
'As a youngster it was always great going to the Championship games especially to Clones for the Ulster final. Tyrone in the early 1990s were quite prolific at lifting the Anglo-Celt cup but unfortunately that’s where our season usually ground to a halt! It was quite frustrating as a Tyrone supporter and I will never forget the All-Ireland final v Dublin of 1995. However, things have changed considerably since then and Tyrone have won three All-Ireland titles in eight years. Tyrone are now considered the finest footballing county in the country. This in itself makes going to matches exciting as there is a real belief and expectancy about the county.'
Niall McCrory, b. 1979
©GAA Oral History Project
'1957, Tyrone v Louth: On the day of the game our house was full of family and neighbours to listen to the match. I was standing at the door as there was no room to sit down. We had got out fist dry battery wireless from an uncle from Belfast. During the match Micheal O'Hehir was describing how Jackie Taggart had beaten his man and sent in a dangerous cross, when a neighbour woman jumped up and shouted: "Jesus! Where’s Jones?". In doing so she sent the wireless crashing to the floor.'
- Seán King, b. 1946
©GAA Oral History Project
'In those days playing gear was rather primitive. Togs were not available as they were not stocked locally and most young people could not have afforded them, had they been available. Instead necessity became the mother of invention! A four-stone flour bag washed and bleached, to remove the writing, provided very suitable material for making a pair of togs. All was needed then was someone skilled with a needle and a bit of dress-making talent and elastic from Sammy King's drapery shop and 'hey presto' you were kitted out with togs like the best around. No O'Neill's classy designs in those days! ... The club would only have one football which was a precious commodity then – it was kept in Francey McCann's bicycle shop on the main street. The Association was built by unselfish individuals who were most generous with their time and money.'
- Tony McKenna, b. 1937
©GAA Oral History Project
Read a sample of a full length questionnaire: Pauline McSorley, b. 1983
Sods of blazing turf lead a parade into Touraneena following Sliabh gCua's Intermediate Hurling Final victory in 1980 ©GAA Oral History Project
Despite its present reputation as a hurling stronghold, Gaelic football was initially the preferred Gaelic sport in Waterford: the county was one of only nine to compete in the inaugural All-Ireland football championship in 1887. The development of the national rail network was crucial to the early progress of the GAA and this was no more evidence than in Waterford. For instance, the town of Dungarvan boasted extensive rail links and played host to several All-Ireland hurling finals during the early twentieth century for that very reason. In Waterford City, meanwhile, the development of hurling was assisted in the 1920s and 1930s by the work of schools and establishment of new clubs such as Erin’s Own and Mount Sion. All of this fed into the securing of a first Munster hurling title in 1938. A second provincial title came a decade later and it was accompanied by the county’s first All-Ireland triumph. Unfortunately the county’s second All-Ireland in 1959 did not pave the way for further success and it was not until recent decades that Waterford again re-surfaced as serious contenders for Provincial and national honours. But the hurlers of Waterford were the not alone in building a profile for Gaelic games in the city and county. The women footballers also blazed a trail of glory, winning a remarkable five All-Ireland titles during the 1990s.
A poster for the camogie All-Ireland final between Antrim and Waterford c.1940s. Antrim were the eventual winners. ©GAA Oral History Project
Pierce Butler, b. 1925
Pierce recalls a story about stealing apples from an orchard to eat during a match in Lismore in the 1930s.
©GAA Oral History Project
Brother Finbar Spring, b. 1938
Brother Finbar tells two different stories about handball during his time in St Augustine's College.
©GAA Oral History Project
'I am old enough to remember Michael O'Hehir on the radio on a Sunday. I remember going to a neighbour's house in 1963 to see the All Ireland on TV... We did not have television ourselves. The reception was very snowy and I spent most of the time saying the rosary... for a win. My prayers were not answered.'
- Mary Foley, b. 1952
©GAA Oral History Project
'The GAA gave us all a sense of purpose and it gave us many an hour of chat around the fireside discussing players, teams - both club and county - sometimes you make the sacrifices regarding your social life as a player, selector or club officer.'
- Sean Lennon, b. 1950
©GAA Oral History Project
'Leadership isn't about being popular, it's about doing the right thing and far from being popular it's about sometimes being prepared to take the unpopular decision, stand up for what is right. And there will be no time in your career as a chairman of a club or any organization that that cross won't arrive, it will and you'll have to stand up and be counted and the most you can expect from that is respect and if you have the respect of the players that you're in charge of, and the respect of the club overall, they might not like you - a lot of them won't and that's right and correct - that's the nature of the life.'
- Tony Mansfield, b. 1939
©GAA Oral History Project
Read a sample of a full length questionnaire: Mícheál Cronin, b. 1939
A Street League match in Mullinager during the 1970s. ©GAA Oral History Project
The GAA was born into a diverse and thriving sporting culture in Westmeath, where sports such hunting, polo, rugby and cricket were already keenly pursued. Indeed, a GAA county board was not formed until 1891 and, initially at least, the county defied the national experience by experiencing an actual growth in club numbers. This changed in the mid-1890s and it took the re-establishment of the county board in the early 1900s to restore momentum to the local Association. Across the decades that followed, such success as the county enjoyed came in the junior grades. A first All-Ireland Junior title was won in 1929 and this achievement was matched by the county junior hurlers in 1936. Unfortunately for Westmeath, the winning of Provincial Minor titles in 1939, 1952 and 1963 failed to translate into adult success; the reason for this were many, but they included high levels of emigration which deprived the county of many of its best players. In the 1990s, against a brighter economic backdrop, the county did manage to bridge the gap from minor to adult success. Following on from the winning of minor and under-21s Leinster and All-Ireland titles, Westmeath clinched its first Leinster Senior Football title in 2004. A Christy Ring cup for the county’s hurlers the following year, marked a successful period in the county’s history.
An entry from Coralstown GAA's minute book in 1949 proposing a dance for the club. ©GAA Oral History Project
Geraldine Giles, b. 1967
Former president of the Ladies Football Association, Geraldine Giles talks about Westmeath ladies' appearance on the Late Late Show on the eve of the 1987 All-Ireland final.
©GAA Oral History Project
Paddy Flanagan, b. 1930
Paddy recalls a unique incident in the 1967 Westmeath county final between Tubberclaire and Ballynacargy during which time he was county secretary.
©GAA Oral History Project
'I often came in, threw me cap in and the uniform jacket at seven o'clock, and was down at the market square for half seven to go out to train. And that has been, all my life I knew nothing else, and was interested in nothing else, only hurling and football. And wherever there was a ball hoppin' I was there.'
- Terry O'Dowd, b.
©GAA Oral History Project
'Travelling to club games in the 80's was great. I can recall going to a game in Drumraney (near Athlone) in a Granada estate car and 11 of the team were in that car. A panel of 21 and 3 selectors arrived in three cars!! Now you wouldn’t see that today!'
- Enda Kiernan, b. 1970
©GAA Oral History Project
'The teams togged out in local pubs. Cusack had no dressing rooms at the time. The town band paraded the teams around the field and when victorious local ladies would extol the wins. Sometimes wins were celebrated with excess consumption of alcohol – much to the annoyance of the Parish Priest.'
- Séamus Ó Faoláin, b. 1947
©GAA Oral History Project
Read a sample of a full length questionnaire: Eddie Martin, b. 1936
Mary Shannon (right) scores a goal for St Patrick's during a camogie match in Wexford in 1968. ©GAA Oral History Project
Wexford played host to the first ever football championship match in Ireland when Taghmon and Kilmannon met in the inaugural Wexford football championship in February 1887. Later that year, the county would enter teams in both the All-Ireland football and hurling championships – the first time they were played. The early twentieth century was a remarkably successful period for the GAA in Wexford and an All-Ireland in hurling title in 1910 was followed by a remarkable run of football success, the county winning four All-Ireland senior titles in-a-row between 1915 and 1918. Club numbers grew steadily over time, numbering more than 150 by the early 1950s. This was the decade in which Wexford hurlers carved for themselves a special place in the history of their sport, winning two All-Ireland titles and igniting the imaginations of many with the style of their play. These victories, together with another All-Ireland in 1968, cemented hurling’s position as the dominant Gaelic game in the county. Almost three decades later, in 1996, Wexford added a sixth All-Ireland title amid scenes of riotous colour and wild celebration. Despite the resuscitation in the county’s football fortunes in the 2000s, a combination of competition from other sports and growing urbanisation has presented new and serious challenges to the GAA in the county.
An entry in Craanford GAA's minute book from 1913 electing R. Kenny D.C. as the club's new president. ©GAA Oral History Project
Brian Murphy, b. 1937
Brian describes Castlebridge's successful attempt to get into the Guinness World Book of Records in 1986 for the longest continuous game of handball.
©GAA Oral History Project
Anthony Byrne, b. 1955
Anthony recalls Wexford's winning of the 1996 All-Ireland hurling final and what it meant to him and the people of the county.
©GAA Oral History Project
'Healthy competition and rivalries are the life blood of the GAA. Long may they continue. Neighbouring parishes and counties usually provide most rivalries and naturally the bragging rights which go with winning are most heard by your neighbours hence the 'resentment' that goes with it.'
- Eamonn Doyle, 1943
©GAA Oral History Project
'Travelling to county matches was mainly by the old steam trains with plenty of smoke especially when the train going through a tunnel. For the club it was a matter of putting as many as possible into a car which got us to matches outside of the Enniscorthy district. Otherwise it was by bicycle, which was probably more liable to accident than the game itself. It was usually the custom to attend an early mass before games in Dublin when the priest would offer prayers for a victory.'
- Noel Byrne, b. 1948
©GAA Oral History Project
'I attended my first match as a supporter in Croke Park 1984 to see Wexford beat Kilkenny. Tony Doran got the winning goal. I didn't understand the game much then, so when Tony Doran came into our hotel after the game I felt obliged to get his autograph. I had… no paper so I got him to sign a five pound note my mother had given me for the day. An hour later I was given the choice of getting a bar or holding on to the fiver. Easy enough choice at the time but the journey home was all the shorter with the added sugar boost from the chocolate.'
- David Guiney, b. 1970
©GAA Oral History Project
Read a sample of a full length questionnaire: Mairéad O'Connor, b. 1979
A picture of the Bray Emmets football team in 1904, winnners of the All-Ireland football championship in 1902. ©Jackie Napier
The immediate popularity of the GAA in Wicklow was obvious in the attendance of over thirty clubs at the first county convention in 1886. The county was badly affected by the national decline in the GAA during the 1890s and it was not until the beginning of the twentieth century that the Association began to regain lost ground. Soon after, the county was included in a new second tier Gaelic football league. This 'Second Division', created in 1905, was the to be the arena in which Wicklow would have most of its success, winning several Leinster junior titles over the next number of decades as well as the county’s first junior All-Ireland title in 1936. Football was always the dominant game in Wicklow and although hurling was played, it was mainly consigned to the east of the county with geography an important factor in the determining of sporting preference. During the 1950s, the domination of football teams from East Wicklow was broken by Baltinglass, winners of the 1990 All-Ireland club championship and later by Rathnew, Leinster senior club winners in 2001. This success was not replicated at county level, however, and despite improvement in recent years, Wicklow still waits for its first Leinster senior title.
A publication from 1935 documenting Wicklow's first fifty years of involvement within the GAA. ©Anthony Doyle
Peter Keogh, b. 1929
Peter recalls how he and a group of friends collected coupons from tins of Fry's Cocoa to get a new football for their school.
©GAA Oral History Project
Pat Mitchell, b. 1944
Pat describes how victories are celebrated in Rathnew and how they celebrated after the club's Leinster club championship win in 2001.
©GAA Oral History Project
'You could safely say that in every house in Rathnew, you'll find a pair of football boots. In every house in the village, there’s a pair of football boots behind the door as you go in.'
- Anthony Doyle, b. 1936
©GAA Oral History Project
'Rivalries are central to the excitement of the GAA. There is a reason why matches between local rivals are the best attended matches during the season. It pits neighbour against neighbour and relative against relative and gives rise to many a heated debate over a pint in the pub afterwards. I have many rivalries – in school my team see Arklow to be their main rivals. In Carnew Ladies, Bray would always be the old rival. And in Coolboy the local rivals would be Knockananna, so beating them in the Junior A county final this year was very very good!'
- Ann Lennon, b. 1978
©GAA Oral History Project
'We really began playing in a place called Fogarty's Field…and we played All-Irelands there to beat all All-Irelands. Everyday. And the church clock – the Protestant church was just a way over from us – and that was the clock.'
- Liam Dunne, b. 1936
©GAA Oral History Project
Read a sample of a full length questionnaire: Lisa Moore, b. 1970
Players from the Dubai Celts GAA club line up before a match in Oman in 2012. ©Dubai Celts GAA
The first game to be played under GAA rules outside of Ireland took place between Galway and Kerry in Boston in 1886. Prior to the establishment of the GAA, Gaelic games had been recorded to have been played, not only in the United States, but also in places like Argentina and Australia. Traditionally, Britain and the United States were the preferred destinations of Irish emigrants. The clubs that formed in these countries were not only sporting organisations but social outlets and entry points for Irish people into their new communities. During the years of the Celtic Tiger, clubs in these places suffered due to the decline in emigration from Ireland. In the wake of the recent economic collapse, there has been a renewed growth in emigration from Ireland not only to Britain and the United States, but also to places like Australia, New Zealand and Asia. The impact on the GAA has been significant: in 2010, for example, 960 official applications for transfers to overseas clubs were made. While this exodus has provided overseas clubs with fresh impetus, the big challenges for many of these clubs is to attract new members from non-Irish backgrounds – only this will guarantee them a healthy future!
An advertisement for a GAA fundraiser in aid of a widow in New York in 1932. ©GAA Oral History Project
Eamonn Sweeney, Scotland, b. 1945
Eamonn discusses the decision to reorganise the GAA in Scotland following a dinner dance in 1984 celebrating the centenary of the Association.
©GAA Oral History Project
'I think it means everything to the immigrants in New York. If we didn't have the GAA in New York, I don't think we would have met for jobs for people, met all these friends that we have. Oh, I think it meant everything. Gaelic Park, even though it's not what it used to be, meant everything at that time. It was the place to meet. I think if we didn't have it, if the immigrant didn't have it, we'd be lost.'
- Brendan Hynes, New York, b. 1934
©GAA Oral History Project
'It told me, if you like, as a young fella coming over from England who had been involved in the GAA over there, what a huge organisation the GAA was, in its home country, in Ireland. And how it was far more than a sports organisation, it was a national organisation… It probably told me what a huge position the GAA held in Irish life and therefore, if you like, how, you know, sort of, how strange it was for this young English born guy, you know to be involved in that.'
- Tommy Walsh, Liverpool, b. 1930
©GAA Oral History Project
'In the sixties, all the Irish young people, you met them there [The Red Mill Dance Hall] or you met them in Gaelic Park....Gaelic Park that time, you had 3,000 people there every Sunday and you'd always find someone looking for a job or if you knew someone looking for a job, loads of people got work there'
- Dinny Fahy, New York, b. 1945
©GAA Oral History Project
Read a sample of a full length questionnaire: Patrick Somers, b. 1923
Listen to a number of full-length interviews conducted as part of the GAA Oral History Project. There are four interviews to choose from: Pat Fanning from Waterford, Mick Higgins from Cavan, Mary Tuffy from Sligo and sisters Maria and Niamh Reid from Louth.
In November 2008, Pat Fanning — one of the most important figures in the GAA in the twentieth century — recorded a long and revealing interview with the GAA Oral History Project. The interview offers a unique insight into the life and times of a man much of whose life was dedicated to service of the GAA.
This service began in the 1920s. Pat was adamant throughout his life that the GAA was much more than a mere sporting organisation. He saw in the GAA a means to serve the Irish nation; he saw it also as part of a broader cultural initiative to promote a sense of Irishness.
What makes Pat Fanning’s insight into this era so vital were the various roles he held. Even while he was hurling with Mount Sion and with Waterford, he was secretary of his club and trained the Waterford minor hurlers to win the 1948 Minor All-Ireland championship, while being a substitute on the senior team that also claimed All-Ireland honours later in the afternoon. He recalls the enormous pride he took from his involvement as a selector on the Waterford team that won the All-Ireland in 1959.
Pat notes how he refused every promotion in his career for fear that it would hinder his ability to work voluntarily for the GAA. This work continued to the very highest offices of the GAA. It included chairmanship of the Mount Sion Club, of the Waterford County Board and of the Munster Council, before culminating in Presidency of the GAA.
That Presidency is most noted for the removal of the ban on foreign games in 1971. In this interview, Pat recalls the tensions which surrounded the entire matter and how, despite personally supporting the ban, he managed the removal of the rule.
His work was rooted in the notion of the GAA as an organisation at the very heart of the community. It was this ideal which sustained his interest in the Association until his death in 2010 at the age of 91.
**As the interview is quite a large file, it has been broken into sections to aid slower internet connections. We have not made any edits to the interview, except those requested by the interviewee. The clips appear here in the sequence they occurred in the interview. To listen, please click on a link below.**
Pat's memories of childhood and his school days
Developing Grounds
The GAA as a movement
The GAA ideal; young people of the GAA; developing Croke Park
The Waterford hurling tradition and the 1955–63 team
Pat's inter-county career
Pat's decision to get involved in GAA administration
Pat's presidency of the GAA and the removal of Rule 27
Effectiveness of Rule 27 and the removal of Rule 21
The GAA and the Troubles; The GAA Club Development Scheme
Organisational development in the GAA in Pat's experience
Place of the Irish language and Irish culture in the GAA
Reflections on the presidency of the GAA
Opening Croke Park; the GAA's future; Northern Ireland; media
Closing reflections
Mick Higgins just after his interview with the GAA Oral History Project on the 24th Oct 2008. © GAA Oral History Project
This interview with the late Mick Higgins was recorded in Virgina, Co. Cavan, on the 24th October 2008 as part of the GAA Oral History Project. During the course of the interview, Mick, who was born in New York in 1922, speaks about his playing career, both at club and county level, which spanned over two decades.
He is perhaps best remembered as being part of the Cavan team that beat Kerry in New York’s Polo Grounds in the All-Ireland Final of 1947. That victory ensured that Cavan GAA would forever be recorded in the annals of the GAA as being the first and only county to date to win the All-Ireland final outside of Ireland. Mick speaks here about travelling to New York, the game itself, their time in New York, and the reception they received when they came back.
During his playing career, Mick won every accolade going: three All-Ireland medals, a National League medal, seven Ulster Championship titles, two Railway Cups, and two McKenna Cups. Mick Higgins was the last Cavan captain to lift the Sam Maguire on behalf of his team when they beat Meath in the 1952 All-Ireland Final. Mick talks about the preparations for the 1952 final and recalls scoring seven of Cavan's nine points during that match, despite having had the flu during the previous week.
The following year, Mick retired from inter-county football and finally hung up his playing boots in 1955. Towards the end of the interview, he talks about his roles as a referee and team manager for Cavan, Longford, and Donegal.
Finally, he speaks about his occupation as a garda and his family life and concludes that the GAA is the backbone of the country.
Mary Tuffy just after her interview with the GAA Oral History Project on the 5th May 2010. © GAA Oral History Project
This interview with Mary Tuffy was recorded in Lacken, Co. Sligo, on the 5th May 2010 as part of the GAA Oral History Project. Mary, who was born in Curry in 1917, talks about her experiences with the GAA and her days playing camogie at both club and county level for Sligo.
Mary was involved in setting up of the first camogie team in Curry and during her time with the club they won three county championships. Soon after, Mary became captain of the first Sligo camogie team. She was nicknamed 'Lory Meagher' by her teammates after the famous Kilkenny player.
During the 1940s Mary became a referee and refereed matches at a county level. Towards the latter part of the interview Mary talks about the life of the community in times gone by and how technology was very basic. She describes how dances were major social events in the county and that many people were forced to emigrate because of poor economic conditions.
Maria and Niamh Reid just after their interview with the GAA Oral History Project on the 5th August 2010. © GAA Oral History Project
This interview with Maria and Niamh Reid was recorded in Co. Louth on the 5th August 2010. The sisters talk about their involvement with the GAA in Louth and playing for their local club, Cullen.
Maria and Niamh talk about their experiences playing both camogie and football in Louth and discuss the problems that the games face, such as lack of commitment, poor structures and not being prioritised by their clubs.
Niamh discusses her involvement with Louth County Board who she began working for at a relatively young age. She describes her experiences of attending meetings and her interactions with different members.
Towards the end of the interview Maria and Niamh put forward their belief that there is a strong need for improvement if ladies' football and camogie are to have a healthy future in Louth.
The Offaly Association in Dublin Airport before their trip to London to watch an exhibition of hurling and football games, 1975. © GAA Oral History Project
"Are you going to the match?" is one of the most commonly heard questions during the Irish summer. While the answer often depends on whether or not there is a ticket available, especially for the big games, the issue of how people get to the match is also central. GAA games are brought to life by the supporters who travel, whether between parishes or across the country, to cheer on their team. And the teams themselves have to get there somehow. Over the decades the GAA has travelled in a wide variety of ways. While driving up to Croke Park in a private car or hired coach might be the most common experience these days, in the past feet, bicycles, horses, lorries, trains and trams all carried people to the match.
Until the 1940s the most common forms of transport were the bicycle or the train. It was common, on a big match day like the Munster final, to have thousands of people cycling from neighbouring counties to see the game. And the railways were central to the development of the GAA. A train ride - often on a match day special - allowed people to travel cheaply and with their fellow supporters. The railway companies were also great sponsors of the games, and the Railway Cup began in 1927. In an age before television it was a great way for supporters to see their national heroes playing games that were affordable and easy to attend.
As the games of the GAA have reached beyond these shores, boat and plane travel have also been a regular feature. Teams have travelled out from Ireland to play games amongst the Diaspora, and many an emigrant has flown home from the four corners of the world to watch their county in an All-Ireland. So next time you ask whether your friend is off to the match, give a thought to the many ways that people have got to those games in the past 125 years.
Mick Higgins, 86, Cavan
'The whole trip took twenty-seven hours to get to America. When we were about to leave, we were delayed for four hours, due to high winds. The engine gave him trouble...'
John King, 58, Kerry
'Once I was able to get out and start travelling, I made my own way to games and things like that. So I suppose going to club matches in Tralee and hop on my bicycle...'
Paddy Wickham, 70, Wexford
'We’d go out to the game. Laces of the boots tied here, around the handle bars...'
Micheál Mac An tSaoir, 62, Limerick
'If you had a bike you were wealthy. Really, like you were wealthy. It was a means of transport, like. There would be a line of bikes...'
‘We always travelled in hope but we did not have much success either at club or county level. I attended the Leinster Football Final of 1946 in which Laois beat Kildare, I travelled by train from Athy to Heuston, fare 9 shillings and three pence.’
—Fintan Walsh, 72, Laois
‘My most treasured memories are of going to Munster hurling matches in the 1980s and watching my heroes, such as Nicky English and Pat Fox — poetry in motion. Traffic would be manic on the way into Cork City, as there was only one approach route, really, for Tipp supporters. I remember taking the “short-cut” across the River Lee over to Pairc Uί Caoimh with my heart in my mouth on small, over-crowded ferry boats, while Gardaί would be calling out asking the drivers for passenger boat licences!’
—Noel Howley, 27, Tipperary
© GAA Oral History Project
‘I remember travelling to matches as part of the under-age camogie team. Once, the whole team was transported to Castleblayney in two cars! … When we travelled a distance to matches, the team would usually be in cars, and we would all meet up at some point to travel in convoy together, especially if going to the North. … By the time I was a teenager, I had probably visited every county in Ireland (except Kerry and Mayo — no camogie!).’
—Marianne Lynch, 49, Monaghan
© GAA Oral History Project
‘As an 18–24-year-old in the 1950s in a rural part of County Cork, Ireland, transport to “away” hurling matches was almost impossible to obtain. Matches were invariably played on a Sunday because people were too busy to attend or play during the week. There was no suitable public transport. We used to cycle if the distance was within 4 to 5 miles. For greater distances, we were fortunate that one of our friends had a large van. Eight to twelve of us (boys and girls) would cram into this van and travel 10 to 12 miles to play a match. We sang songs in the van to pass the time on the journey. We rarely had meals out because we had very little money. We generally had to get home early to milk the cows.’
—Denis Kelleher, 74, Cork
© GAA Oral History Project
‘One of the first times I went with my dad to Croke Park, I can’t really remember what game I went to see but I was probably around 5 or 6. We parked in one of the side streets just off probably Drumcondra Road, and Dad asked one of the local lads that used to be mulling around to mind the car.’
—Brianán Nolan, 27, Dublin
© GAA Oral History Project
‘We always travelled in hope, but we did not have much success either at club or county level. I attended the Leinster Football Final of 1946 in which Laois beat Kildare. I travelled by train from Athy to Heuston, fare 9 shillings and three pence.’
—Fintan Walsh, 72, Laois
© GAA Oral History Project
‘As the club did not consider T.J. of much use for any other position he was nominated to be the club’s referee. As his only means of transport was an old Raleigh bike, this naturally put a limit on the distance he could travel, so most of the games he was appointed to officiate at were of course local derbies. … In the old days the Ref parked his bike at the back of a ditch near the exit from the grounds, placed his coat and jacket on the spring carrier, put his trousers inside his socks, and assembled the teams together in the middle of the field, where he gave them a lecture on the finer arts of the game and how he would deal with breaches of the rules.’
—an extract from The Referee — His Little Wooden Whistle Wouldn’t Whistle, by Joe O’Loughlin
© Joe O’Loughlin and the GAA Oral History Project
The All-Ireland Winning Tipperary Team on their way to the USA on board the SS Bremen, 1926. © GAA Museum and Archive, Croke Park
The first delegation to fly to congress — the Limerick Delegation at Shannon Airport, 1971. © GAA Museum and Archive, Croke Park
Young Kilmacud supporters take the bus to Parnell Park, c. 2005. Courtesy of Kilmacud Crokes GAA Club
Receipt from the Great Northern Railway Company for a special bus hired to transport a Donegal GAA team from Ballyshannon to Kilcar and back, 1935. © Donegal County Archives Service
Railway Poster advertising a Special Train for the Cavan v. Kildare All-Ireland Football Final of 1935. © Donegal County Archives Service
Letter bemoaning the Great Northern Railway’s refusal to run a train to a match, 1933. © Donegal County Archives Service
Railway Poster advertising cheap excursion tickets to the Cavan v. Kerry All-Ireland Football Final of 1937. © Donegal County Archives Service
The Davin Brothers: three of the best Irish athletes of all time, who won medals at almost every athletics event in Ireland in the 1880s.
Lining up on the same team as your brother, the mother who doesn’t complain when she has to wash the jerseys for the whole team, the wife who has spent too many cold afternoons watching her husband’s game efforts on the pitch, the knowledge handed down from one generation of committee men to the next: the GAA is all about family.
The GAA prides itself on its role as the glue that holds together communities, but it also functions, at club level, as an organisation that welcomes families and acts as a family. Club houses are the venues for all measure of family celebrations and occasions such as wedding parties, birthdays, anniversaries and wakes. To be involved with the GAA is to embrace family. Whether in Ireland, or across the oceans, the GAA works to welcome people to a network of relationships.
Families have thrown up some of the great players of the GAA. In the 1950s and 1960s the Harrison family from Ballykelly provided three brothers for the senior Kildare team, while a fourth brother won four junior All-Ireland medals. In Tipperary, brothers achieving at the highest club and county level has been a regular occurrence. The Leahys of Boherlahan - Johnny (1916, ’25), Paddy (1916, ’25), Tommy (1930), and Mick (1928) - all won All-Ireland senior hurling medals on the filed of play. The Ryans of Roscrea also all won All-Ireland senior medals: Mick in all three years of the 1949-51 three-in-a-row team. Jack in 1949, and Dinny as a sub on that team. The Kennys of Borrisileigh took their glory with the 1949-51 team, with Seán and Paddy playing - Seán being the 1950 captain - and Phil (Phibbie) being a substitute in 1950.
The GAA then, is not simply about the games we play, the teams we follow – it’s also about our nearest and dearest. The father who takes us up to the club for our first training session, our uncle who travels with us for the first trip to Croke Park, the sister who is a demon on the camogie pitch, or the grandfather who has seen it all and knows it was all better in his day.
John Stephen O'Sullivan, 69, Kerry
John talks about one of his earliest childhood memories: reading the names of famous GAA players from his father's newspaper.
The Ó Siocháin Family, Dublin
The family of the late Seán Ó Siocháin, who was the Director General of the GAA, talk about how his role impacted on family life.
Honora Kavanagh Martin, 65, Wexford
Honora talks about her family's involvement in the GAA and playing football in the back garden as a child.
Lorcan O'Rourke, 62, Kildare
Lorcan O'Rourke was the National Administrator for the Handball Council until his recent retirement. Here he discusses the impact his busy work schedule had on his family commitments.
Máire Kelly, 56, Fermanagh
Máire discusses the impact that her family's involvement in the GAA has had on her family life.
‘We were the only Dubs on my mother’s side of the family. The rest were fanatical Laois supporters. So that always led to a lot of slagging in the family. I always saw the funny side of it, but my older brother didn’t take to it too well. I don’t know why, but in my earlier years I supported Offaly. I think I liked the jerseys. One of my aunties was from Offaly, so I was her favourite for a while. Being an Offaly woman living in Laois could be tough around Championship time, so when I arrived with my Offaly jersey I was probably seen as her backup!’
—David Hyland, 34, Dublin
© GAA Oral History Project
‘We saw it as a way to escape the house in the '80s and see the county/country. We spent all our spare time in a field at the back of the house re-enacting Dublin & Kerry games, Kerry & Offaly, Cork & Dublin (1983), Cork versus Galway, Kilkenny in hurling — that phase passed quickly!!’
—Enda Kiernan, 39, Westmeath
© GAA Oral History Project
‘When the Cloyne adult teams were playing championship games, I was abandoned and given money for ice cream, which was meant to occupy me for the duration so that the folks could watch the game without interruption. I remember being at games and maybe not seeing much but meeting a lot of familiar people. There was never a question of food until we got home, and we never were encouraged to drink water in case we had to go to the usually non-existent toilet. When we visited my uncle’s farm at Kilworth at the weekends, we would then be "Kilworth people" and would support them, which I do to this day.’
—Jerome O’Brien, 53, Cork
© GAA Oral History Project
‘It is quite simply the best thing that ever happened to my family and I. The days out together watching Dublin, Cork, or Kerry in Fitzgerald Stadium, Parnell Park, Páirc Uí Chuíomh, or Croke Park. The days playing in the back garden with my dad and brother. The days supporting my brother’s school and club teams. The days my family came out and supported me. All cherished memories, and all great family moments.’
—Marcus O’Buachalla, 28, Dublin
© GAA Oral History Project
‘GAA didn’t just affect our family life — it was our way of life. Everything in my house revolved around it. If other things had to be done, they had to be fitted in around training and matches. There was very little more important in my house than GAA. My father was a trainer/selectors/masseur, and both of my brothers played the game. We were just always in Belfield. It was like our back garden — we went up there to play the same as all the other children in the locality, and we never really asked to go anywhere else — there was no point anyway! … My mother was a GAA woman, so there was no issue. My mother and my aunt would walk us all or wheel some of us to Belfield every Sunday afternoon, and when we got there we met up with other children and sometimes watched the games, but other times just played with each other. From a very early age, maybe 3, I was brought to Croke Park, and if I wasn’t hooked before that, I most certainly was then!’
—Maria Nolan, 52, Wexford
© GAA Oral History Project
‘My father told me he made his own football boots, as he was a shoemaker and they were the envy of all. He gave one boot to my uncle John Joe for one game and he wore the other — resource sharing in its earlier form. As I was the youngest of 10, there were a few stories knocking around, and both my brothers Michael Galvin and Tommy Galvin fared well at underage. Tommy played for a long time at corner back, which is where I played. My brother Martin took a minor team from Ennis (Éire Óg) to success in Clare, much to the surprise of West Clare and the Éire Óg hurling fraternity.’
—Brian Galvin, 49, Clare
© GAA Oral History Project
‘I recall most of my rather large family crowding into the sitting room at home to watch matches on TV from the mid- to late '80s on. As the youngest, I was usually squashed into the edge of the couch. For a number of years in the '90s, my two eldest brothers and myself would go to all of Offaly's Championship games routinely. It was easy then, as the teams were generally doing well.’
—Pat Nolan, 27, Offaly
© GAA Oral History Project
‘I felt that the new teacher in the boys’ national school had little interest in the young boys, Michael being one of them, my brother. I used to bring them up a field up the way that was owned by an uncle … it was the football field and I used to train them. Mike made the Kildare Minors and so did one of the other lads. I often would like to think that I had a little hand in it; I don’t know if I had or not.’
—Annette Coyle, 64, Kildare
© GAA Oral History Project
‘Until my very first hurling match, I was completely oblivious to the fact my friends and family were even fans. Only after I became an active supporter (attending matches, buying the county jersey) did my mother share with me how her mother was an avid fan of Waterford hurling. Never great fans in the direct male line in my family, I learned of the intense passion [in which] hurling and the GAA were held by many of the women in my family. At the same time I learned of the intense local rivalry with our neighbouring county, Kilkenny, and the lively banter such confrontations would bring … As a supporter, hurling has enabled me to connect with aunts, uncles, and cousins on a level I would have found difficult, if not impossible. Seeing them at that first hurling game was like finding out you share a dirty secret with previously distant neighbours.’
—Damien Murphy, 30, Waterford
© GAA Oral History Project
The 1982 All-Ireland winning Offaly team was a real family affair. The team includes five sets of brothers and a set of double first cousins.
A night out at an Offaly clubhouse. The GAA clubhouse acts as a social centre for the entire community, young and old alike, making it one of the few places where entire families can socialise together. © GAA Oral History Project
The six Gribbin brothers, who all played for Derry at various stages in their careers. © GAA Oral History Project
An image of three generations of one family being used in an RTÉ advertisement for its coverage of GAA events in the 1980s. Source: Gaelspórt GAA Annual for Boys, 1981
Letter written by the son of Michael Cusack, sympathising with the Davin family on the death of Michael Davin, 1927. © GAA Museum and Archive, Croke Park
The five Coughlan brothers of Blackrock, Co. Cork were renowned for their hurling ability. Source: Irish Independent Jubilee Supplement, 1934
Letter from Sean McDermott’s GFC, Mountrush, to Peadar Kearney, Secretary/Treasurer of Louth County Board, on the occasion of his retirement, thanking him and his family for their help over the years, 1988. © GAA Oral History Project
A celebration of great GAA families: the Graces of Tullaroan, the Landers of Tralee, the Doyles of Mooncoin, and the Leahys of Boherlahan. Source: Irish Independent Jubilee Supplement, 1934
Letter from Sean McDermott’s GFC, Mountrush, to Peadar Kearney, Secretary/Treasurer of Louth County Board, on the occasion of his retirement, thanking him and his family for their help over the years, 1988. © GAA Oral History Project
Extract from a letter from Salthill GFC attributing the high standards achieved by the club to the goodwill they have built up with the parents and children of Salthill club, 1974. © GAA Museum and Archive, Croke Park
The Thunder Twins: An extract from a comic strip about identical twin brothers, published in the Gaelspórt GAA Annual, 1983. Source: Gaelspórt GAA Annual, 1983
The three Doyle Brothers, who between them won eighteen All-Ireland medals. Source: Irish Independent Jubilee Supplement, 1934
The captain of the Scoil Mhuire Camogie Team, Cashel, is carried shoulder high by supporters. Courtesy of Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael.
Founded as it was, by men, and at the height of the nineteenth century obsession with masculinity and fitness, it is unsurprising that those meeting in Hayes Hotel in 1884 gave little thought to the women of Ireland. The early years of the GAA was dominated by male players and officials, and the rare times that women appeared in newspaper reports were as spectators (and with the journalist usually making some comment about their dress and appearance).
All this began to change as women started organising themselves and began carving out a space on the playing field. While the two main women’s games still remain officially independent, camogie and ladies football have become part and parcel of the world of the GAA.
Camogie began in 1903 when Màire Ní Chinnéide, Seán O Ceallaigh, Tadgh O’Donoghue and Séamas Ó Braonáin came together and adapted hurling into a game for women; the first practice sessions and games were held in Drumcondra Park and later the Phoenix Park. Slowly, other clubs emerged in Dublin and in Newry, and in 1904 the first public challenge match was played between Keatings and Cúchulainns during the Gaelic League Aeridheacht at the Meath agricultural grounds in Navan. By the end of summer 1904 five teams from Dublin had taken part in a league competition and camogie was established as the women’s game. The game grew steadily in popularity, although not across the whole country, and such was the number of clubs that in April 1911 the national Camógaíocht Association was founded. The first inter-county game took place in 1912 and the Ashbourne Cup, the inter-varsity competition, was established in 1913.
Once established on a national footing camogie existed as the single most important game for women until the advent of ladies football. Full-time officers were appointed for the first time in 1978, and television coverage, particularly on TG4, has cemented the game as one with a solid and popular following.
Given that camogie was an adaptation of hurling, it is perhaps surprising that a women’s version of football took so long to emerge. It would take until the 1960s before regular fixtures for a women’s game were staged for teams from Galway and Offaly in sevens tournaments, and in June 1968 a women’s tournament was organised as part of the Dungarvan Festival. In the first years of the 1970s football teams sprung up across the country and challenge games and mini-tournaments became a common feature of the sporting summer. In 1973 and 1974 several county boards were established to oversee the women’s game, and on 18 July 1974, at Hayes’s hotel ninety years after the GAA had been founded, the Ladies Gaelic Football Association was established. A sign of progress was immediate as, on 13 October 1974, the first Ladies All-Ireland final took place at Durrow, Co. Laois, between Offaly and Tipperary, with Tipperary the eventual winners.
Ladies football was regularly cited through the 1980s and 1990s as the fastest-growing participation game in Ireland. Support for the game in schools was strong and a developing scheme of university scholarships in the 1990s and into the 2000s did much to keep key players involved while constantly improving their skills and the spectacle of the game. As with camogie, support from TG4 in television coverage and the GAA in terms of opening Croke Park for major games has been vital in spreading the sport to an ever-wider audience and giving it a seal of approval. While it is clear that football has overtaken camogie in terms of player numbers and spectator interest, both games flourish. They reflect the growing importance of sport for women and the delivery of the spirit of Cusack (although he would never have envisaged women athletes) and his Irish games for an Irish people to the non-male half of the population.
As well as the games themselves, women have long played an important, albeit backstage role in the development and maintenance of GAA clubs across the country. From an early date the female members of Irish communities supported the GAA through their traditional roles as wives and mothers – washing several sets of team jerseys every week, providing refreshments and making the tea at the local clubhouse, ferrying children and husbands to and from matches, nursing the injured and roaring their support from the stands and terraces. More recently women have begun to come into their own as administrators both at club and county level. Many county boards have several female officers, particularly secretaries, while women officers at club level are now commonplace.
Fiona McConnell, 25, Cavan
Fiona discusses the difference in the number of supporters who turn out for men and women's games.
Blaithín Fitzgerald, 49, Dublin
Blaithín recounts some of her earliest Camogie memories, including getting her first pair of boots and playing in the Phoenix Park.
Patrick 'Musha' Maher, 47, Connecticut
Patrick outlines the advantages of female involvement in club administration.
Elizabeth Flynn, 26, Galway
Elizabeth, an All-Ireland medal winner with Galway, talks about her involvement in third-level Camogie.
Nollaig Cleary, 40, Fermanagh
Nollaig believes that closer integration between men and ladies clubs at a local level is the way forward, despite their differences at national level.
‘I grew up in the Past Pupils club. Therefore, we were all girls together. We trained in the school field. We had no clubhouse as such. If we had a visiting team, we had to get permission from the nuns to open the school. If we had an away game, we cycled if [the] venue was within range. Otherwise, we had to ask parents who were interested to drive us. A particularly generous parent used to carry so many in the back of his car that the rear wheels could not be seen. We wore the old traditional camogie uniform: white long-sleeved blouse, grey gymfrock with green sash, long black stockings, and canvas black boots. Most wore white ankle socks to break up the drag black look. When we won Cork championships, we went to the Savoy, first to the cinema and then to the restaurant for tea and cakes. A former member of our club was the manageress of the Savoy and she looked after us. Drink was unheard of. We went on an annual trip to Dublin. The big thing was to go to Cafollas on O’Connell St and see who could eat the most ice cream.’
—Mary Moran, 68, Cork
© GAA Oral History Project
‘I couldn’t imagine my mother ever attending a match. Now there are women who are officers of clubs. It’s for the better also. The mother is usually the one who is bringing the players to training/matches, so her input is vital. If she is not on the GAA club’s side, then the whole thing will fall down.’
—Adrian Hession, 31, Mayo
© GAA Oral History Project
‘Ladies Football has expanded rapidly among women and girls, as it is an attractive, skillful team sport. This has happened while camogie seems to have retained its popularity. However, more women need to get involved in coaching and refereeing.’
—Donal Daly, 57, Offaly
© GAA Oral History Project
‘Probably the economic successes of the past 15 years has been a drawback in some instances, as prosperity meant more people were taken up capitalising on the boom at the expense of getting involved in their clubs. More women at work meant less women in the home, so fewer people to drive children to games etc. during the week.’
—Gearóid Ó Súilleabháin, 53, Limerick
© GAA Oral History Project
‘In terms of the roles of women, they are no longer just the tea and sandwich makers. They have input into the workings of the GAA and have influence in the decision-making process. Despite this observation, however, there is obviously still a long way to go in achieving a balanced representation within the workings of the GAA. Furthermore, while many of the younger women involved in the GAA have moved away from the tea-making duties, those carrying out these duties are still largely women.’
—Laura Kelly, 25, Fermanagh
© GAA Oral History Project
‘I remember when I went for the interview for my post in school in County Wexford VEC. One of the panel said to me, "How could you possibly pick a football team, what do you know about football, you’re only a woman!" ... I said I grew up at the end of a hurling stick and I have inter-county players as uncles … They couldn’t handle it, it was something strange, something new, it was strange, it was new. I was probably encroaching on their territory, what they deemed their territory. It didn’t seem strange or new to me because I was involved since I could hold a hurley, having grown up in a family with hurling and football all my life.’
—Honora Kavanagh Martin, 65, Wexford
© GAA Oral History Project
‘They’re great in club activities as regards promotion and selling tickets and making a cup of tea in the club house.’
—Paddy Wickham, 70, Wexford
© GAA Oral History Project
‘The introduction of Ladies Football and the expansion of camogie has been the single most influential factor in the GAA. With these games, and particularly football, the active membership of the GAA increased spectacularly, and a whole new surge of able and dynamic members began to participate in all levels of club activity.’
—Fintan Walsh, 72, Laois
© GAA Oral History Project
‘I do think that it is still a male-dominated organisation, and while they are appreciative of the work that women contribute to the smooth running of the organisation, they don’t really encourage much the "promotion" of women within the GAA. In my opinion, they are quite content to let women do the ‘background’ stuff, but jealously guard any position that might be considered "men’s’ territory"!’
—Marianne Lynch, 49, Monaghan
© GAA Oral History Project
‘The participation of women brings the whole family along which is important. Also women are very involved in administration, such as club and county secretaries. Also many act as coaches, and generally an asset to any club as well as adding a bit of glamour to the scene.’
—Pat Burke, 60, Tipperary
© GAA Oral History Project
An action scene from the 1972 Gael Linn Cup. The Gael Linn Cup is the Camogie equivalent of the Railway Cup, a competition organised on a provincial basis. Courtesy of Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael
Loughinisland Ladies Football Team, Co. Down, celebrate their intermediate championship win on their team bus, 2004. Courtesy of Loughinisland GAA
A cartoon of an Irish wedding. The caption reads: ‘Déan deifir, a Athair. Gheall mé go n-imreoinn san dara leath.’ ('Hurry up, Father. I promised to play in the second half.') Many Irish wives and girlfriends have had to come to terms with the importance of the GAA in their other halves' lives. Source: Programme for Féile na nGael held in Wexford, June 1985
The first camogie team — Craobh an Cheitinnigh, c. 1904. Courtesy of Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael
One of the more traditional roles of women in the GAA club — the Ladies Committee of Naomh Malachi GFC, Co. Louth, looking after the catering at the opening of the new clubrooms. Courtesy of Edward Laverty, Naomh Malachi
Ticket for a Dublin school’s camogie match between Scoil Caitriona and Collaiste Dominic in Coolock. Courtesy of Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael
An extract outlining the early history of ladies football in Offaly prior to an exhibition game by Offaly Ladies Football team in London. © GAA Oral History Project
Programme for a camogie match between Cork and a Leinster Selection held in the Mardyke, Cork, on the 24th June 1945. Of particular interest is the advertisement for Margaret Magner’s Salon, urging ladies to call in for their holiday perm. Courtesy of Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael
Behind every good man is a good woman — the story of Pat Kinsella, whose husband Mick was Wexford County Secretary during the county's succesful All-Ireland campaign in 1996. Source: ‘Wexford 1996, The Road to Glory Volume II’
Flyer outlining the details of a trip to the Isle of Man for the Fourth All-Ireland Adult Easter Festival of Gaelic Sport in 1988. Football, hurling, and camogie will all be played in an attempt to permanently establish Gaelic games in the Isle of Man. This flyer illustrates the close links between ladies' and men's Gaelic sports, despite the independence of the ladies' governing bodies from the GAA. Courtesy of Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael
Map of Croke Park used in the Bloody Sunday Military Court of Inquiry, showing the layout of the grounds and the locations where people were shot. © The National Archives, Kew
From its inception, supporters and opponents of the organisation were agreed that the GAA was more than simply a sporting organisation. The unambiguous identification with Irish nationalism was apparent from the very first meeting, held in Thurles on 1 November 1884. At this, the GAA chose as its patrons the key figures in Irish national life– Parnell, the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party; Archbishop Thomas Croke, the leading Catholic cleric in the country and Michael Davitt, the leader of the Land League.
It is unsurprising, then, that the IRB saw in the GAA a fertile ground from which to recruit new members. The IRB began a concerted campaign to gain control of the association, the success of which is evidenced by the fact that by 1887, only one member of the central committee of the GAA – Maurice Davin – was not a member of the IRB. However, the Catholic Church was opposed to the activities of the IRB and even avowedly nationalist clerics fought to prevent that movement gaining traction. This campaign was further strengthened when, in 1891, the GAA’s central committee (dominated by IRB men) decided to support Parnell, in the wake of the Home Rule Split caused by Parnell’s affair with Catherine O’Shea. It was a disastrous decision – the GAA imploded as members left in their droves. Only 14 men attended the 1893 convention and as few as three teams entered the hurling championship played in that same year. That the GAA survived the 1890s was due in no small part to the secretaryship of Meathman, Dick Blake. Elected secretary at the GAA’s annual convention in April 1895, he moved to make the Association avowedly non-political, and banned all political discussions at convention.
This did not, however, mean that all GAA members withdrew from political involvement and discussion. Throughout its history, GAA members were involved in various political groups. Many, though by no means all, GAA members joined the Irish Volunteers, and, when that body split in 1914 some followed their volunteer leaders into the First World War, while others joined the leaders of the 1916 Rising and the War of Independence. Despite the association’s non-political stance the realities of Irish political life were brought home with the attack by members of the British security forces on the players and spectators at a Dublin and Tipperary match in Croke Park on the 21st Nov 1920. Indiscriminate firing at players and spectators left fourteen people dead, amongst them the captain of the Tipperary team, Michael Hogan. During the Civil War, as in the War of Independence, the activities of the Association were severely hampered. It would be wrong to simplify or to overstate the role that the GAA played in healing the bitterness of the civil war (or at least taking the edge off that bitterness). Nonetheless, it seems clear that by offering a neutral space for its members to play the games that they loved, irrespective of their political loyalties, the GAA played some part in smoothing national reconciliation.
In the aftermath of the setting up of the Free State, the GAA attempted to help create the ‘Irish Ireland’ which was supposed to flow from political independence. For some within the Association, the promotion of gaelic games and the other cultural activities were insufficient. Instead, they hardened the ban rules and forbade any GAA club from holding social functions at which ‘foreign dances’ were engaged in. A groundswell of opposition to the rules eventually led to the removal of many of their aspects in 1971 – though only after a decade of furious debate.
Meanwhile, in the North, the GAA was facing a whole new set of challenges. The decades after 1970 saw the escalation of the Troubles, the murder of GAA members and the destruction of GAA property. It was not until the peace process of the 1990s that the direction of northern politics turned. The end of large-scale violence, the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 and the establishment of the Northern Assembly redrew the parameters of life in the north. This change was reflected in the GAA, where Rule 21 was removed allowing members of the British security forces to join the GAA and Rule 42 was suspended paving the way for the playing of rugby and soccer internationals at Croke Park for the first time in February and March 2007.
Of course, the GAA has not only been impacted by national political issues, many of its members have pursued successful political careers, both locally and nationally. Jack Lynch, who was elected as Taoiseach in 1966, stands as the ultimate example of one who enjoyed success in the GAA and in politics, but he was far from alone. Having a profile as a leading member of the GAA was a useful headstart for aspirant politicians, particularly where constituency boundaries were contiguous with the counties whose jerseys had been sported. It was by no means a guarantor of success, however, for there were many GAA members who did not enjoy electoral success.
For the vast majority of GAA members who eschew wider political engagement, there was always the inner political working of the Association. This is no less fascinating or intensely contested. As a democratic organisation, every rule change and amendment, disciplinary offence and fixture change is hotly debated, at club, county and national level.
Muiris Prenderville, 91, Cork
Muiris recounts an incident when he was captain of Youghal Junior Team and the British Army Legion Band were at Copper Alley to lead the teams around the pitch before a match.
Eugene Deane, 80, Kerry
Eugene, a delegate for his club to the West Kerry Board, was so staunchly in favour of the ban on foreign games that he left the GAA rather than vote for the removal of the ban.
Pat Fanning, 90, Waterford
Pat Fanning, President of the GAA when the ban on foreign games was removed, discusses the events of that time.
Sean Gunning, 40, Derry
Sean recalls an event during the Troubles, when army Land Rovers pulled up at the GAA pitch in Swatra, Co. Derry, during a camogie match.
Dermot Mulholland, 52, Monaghan
Dermot discusses the role the GAA played in his time in Portlaoise Prison in the 1980s.
'I was brought up in a pro-ban house. I was pro-ban whether I liked it or not. But in his last few years, my father changed his mind on the ban and agreed that it should be got rid of. I remember the morning that they had the vital vote; I was driving him to work. I said to him, “What was the decision?” He said, "You know what it was." I think I accused him of letting down the GAA.'
—Marcus de Burca, 82, Dublin
© GAA Oral History Project
‘That was the time of Tops of Parish … and Parish Leagues … there were four areas in parish … at that time, one section of the parish was particularly suspicious of two other sections, and when I was secretary, I remember that being a big factor. One of those sections would have often felt a grievance, and everyone else would have said they were paranoid.’
—John Stephen O'Sullivan, 68, Kerry
© GAA Oral History Project
'One has to look at the number of footballers and hurlers who were elected as TDs. Being a good GAA player gave you an excellent start. Both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael used to seek players to run for their party ... there is an old saying: "The GAA, Second Mass, and Fianna Fáil in that order," and I believe they were right.'
—Jack Ryan, 74, Galway
© GAA Oral History Project
'There was some political bickering in 1964 when the Secretary and Chairman of the club were prominent Fianna Fáil supporters, and the Dunmore captain was Fine Gael. This was a source of contention when John Donnellan contested the by-election, which was caused by the death of his father on All-Ireland Day in Croke Park. John was captain of the winning team. John won the by-election in the biggest upset in voting trends since the foundation of the state!'
—Micheál Ó Liodáin, 63, Galway
© GAA Oral History Project
‘The one venue that does stick in my mind would be Crossmaglen in Armagh and going there with my father to the Cardinal O’Fiaich cup … that really is the memory that sticks out in my mind … it’s really not a competitive tournament … whether you’d be playing Armagh or Tyrone or whatever the case might be, all of a sudden these helicopters would come in over the pitch, not more than a hundred feet above the ground when the game would be played, soldiers rustling through the hedges around the pitch, and even prior to the game when we’d be standing around as the players would be getting ready in the changing rooms, we maybe outside having a social chat, British Army soldiers with their guns would walk directly for you and you’d have to stand out of the way.’
—Donal Kearney, 33, Louth
© GAA Oral History Project
“In my time in St. Paul’s (club) in Belfast on the Upper Falls Road in the ... late '70s and early '80s, inevitably the club was intertwined with the political situation, with the Troubles. Several members of St. Paul’s Club were involved in incidences and situations. Our club was raided pretty often by the British Army. My own experience was limited to having three cars hijacked or stolen. One of which happened while I was at a club meeting, I served on the committee at the time, but that was insignificant compared to what a lot of members suffered up there.”
—Greg Kelly, 57, Fermanagh
© GAA Oral History Project
'We went through, again in the '80s, a situation where every Sunday we had a bomb scare. You never had an evacuation, but you did have to call a search and you tried to do that discreetly, that you weren’t frightening the spectators. So there were various codes which avoided the use of the term "bomb". We had … fellows trying to get on, protesters trying to get onto the pitch and roll out the IRA banners.”
—Bill Barry, 62, Cork, Deputy Chief Steward, Croke Park
© GAA Oral History Project
‘The obvious one is the opening up of Croke Park and in my mind the social changes this has brought. People who before wouldn’t even think of visiting Croke Park (seriously — they had to put maps to Croke Park on the south-side darts) have visited the stadium and seem to be a lot more open to Gaelic Games. The whole GAA/Rugby/Soccer divide seems to be eroding. … A single change which I never thought I would see was the playing of "God Save the Queen" in Croke Park and the warm reception the song got within the stadium.’
—Mark Reynolds, 29, Dublin
© GAA Oral History Project
‘I wouldn’t be for letting foreign sports into Croke Park, I’m still against that, it was built by people throwing a pound in going into club games all over Ireland for years, and I still don’t like to see foreign sports in Croke Park.’
—Paddy Coyle, 47, Tyrone
© GAA Oral History Project
A photograph of two Irish Volunteers taken at Celtic Park, Derry, in 1914. © Museum of Free Derry
Prominent Irish politicians and GAA men — including Griffith, de Valera, O'Neill, Boland, and Collins — enjoying a match at Croke Park in 1919. © Collins 22 Society
Images of a number of the patrons of the GAA prior to 1934. All of the six patrons featured, with the exception of Archbishop Fennelly, were prominent Irish political leaders. Source: Irish Independent Golden Jubilee Supplement, 1934
Protests such as this were common at GAA matches across Ireland during the hunger strikes in the North. © Leitrim County Library
A British Army helicopter taking off from the security base bordering St. Oliver Plunket Park, Crossmaglen, during a GAA match, 2001. © Toni Carragher
Crime Department Special Branch Report from Co. Kerry relating to Bishop Coffey's denouncement of the GAA as a result of its links with secret societies, 1895. © National Archives of Ireland
The cover of the programme from the 1914 All-Ireland Final between Kerry and Wexford, which was refereed by Harry Boland. Boland was a prominent anti-Treaty politician who was shot during the Civil War. © Fr. Lory Kehoe Collection, Wexford County Archives
The order to raid Croke Park on Bloody Sunday, 21st Nov 1920. Section 3 states that 15 minutes before the end of the match, the spectators would be warned only to leave by the official exits. 'Anybody attempting to get away elsewhere will be shot.' © The National Archives, Kew
At club and county level, local politics played an important role, particularly in relation to player transfers and appeals of match decisions. This 1933 document illustrates some of the grounds used to appeal such decisions. © Donegal County Archives Service
Report, on the attendance of Douglas Hyde, President of Ireland and Patron of the GAA, at a soccer match between Ireland and Poland at Dalymount Park in his official capacity as Head of the Irish State, 1938. As a result of this action, he was eventually removed as patron of the Association. © National Archives of Ireland
Resolution from the Leitrim County Convention requesting the Irish Government to set up an inquiry into the unrest in Portlaoise Prison and requesting that the prisoners call off their hunger strike pending the setting up of the inquiry, 1975. © GAA Museum and Archive, Croke Park
Illustrating the link between the GAA and Irish music and culture, a group of traditional musicians playing a session on the front steps of New Haven Gaelic Football and Hurling Club. © GAA Oral History Project
Conceived as it was, at a time of cultural revival, the GAA aimed to revive a host of Irish activities. It is true that sport has come to dominate the Association’s activities, but clubs across the country are venues for supporting the Irish language, hosting the many cultural competitions associated with Scór as well as providing a venue for celebrating the births, deaths and marriages of its members. The GAA also appears outside its own spaces, with many clubs and leading officials taking part in a host of parades in Ireland and across the globe; there is rarely a St Patrick’s Day parade that doesn’t feature a GAA contribution.
In bringing the GAA to life, its founders saw the organisation as having a cultural remit. The Irish language was important to Cusack in particular, who regularly spoke in Irish at GAA meetings and was an active member of the Gaelic League. Whether or not the GAA should support Irish and how far this support should go has been a constant point of discussion in the Association. Across its 125 years the GAA has produced reports in Irish, passed rules promoting the use of Irish in official correspondence and produced handbooks of Irish language phrases for its players, officials and supporters. It has worked closely with organisations such as Foras na Gaelige, Gael Linn and others, and many of its leading officials have taken key roles in Irish language organisations, most notably Seán Ó Síocháin’s role as a trustee of Gael Linn and Liam Ó Maolmhichíl’s position as chairman of Foras na Gaeilge.
From its earliest days, GAA matches, and later the local club house, have provided venues for music and song. Brass, pipe and marching bands, traditionally, paraded teams through towns and onto the playing fields, creating an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation, while hawkers and ballad singers were an integral part of match day experiences.
However, despite the Association’s commitment to developing and supporting Irish culture, it was 1969 before this found a formal outlet. The birth of Scór that year offered a practical platform for clubs to promote Irish culture in a meaningful and enjoyable manner with competitions in categories such as dancing, singing, playing a musical instrument, recitation, novelty acts and question time. A key attraction is that it brings people into clubs who are not necessarily interested in the sporting side of the GAA. Scór is organised on the same All-Ireland lines as the Association’s sporting competitions. Beginning at club level, Scór works through a series of county and provincial championships until a national final is held in early summer.
In addition to the structured nature of Scór, GAA clubs across the world are venues for a host of informal cultural events. Whether the bonfire lit homecoming after victory, or the sing song after a match, the GAA resounds with a level of cultural activity which, while sometimes forgotten in light of the media coverage afforded the games, is a central part of the lifeblood of the Association.
Jim Hannigan, 92, Donegal
Jim recalls the events surrounging a céilí held after an inter-county camogie match between Donegal and Antrim.
An tAmhráin ‘Kilcash’
Con Hogan, Iar-Cathaoirleach Chontae Tiobraid Árann ag labhairt 'Kilcash' le Charles Kickham.
Aralt Mac Giolla Channaigh, 49, Ceanada
Aralt ag labhairt faoin chaidreamh idir pobal na Gaeilge agus an Chumann Lúthchleas Gael i gCeanada.
'Maloney Remembers the Resurrection of Kate Finnucane'
Catherine-Ann O'Connell recites her former Scór entry, 'Maloney remembers the resurrection of Kate Finnucane', by Brendan Kennelly.
Joe O'Loughlin, 76, Fermanagh
Joe feels that Irish plays an important role in the GAA for those who are fluent, but he dislikes games being broadcast in Irish without subtitles.
'Irish culture and language plays a huge part in my club, and while I would not be a fluent Irish speaker, I appreciate greatly what the GAA, Scór, etc. does to promote the language and culture.’
—Weeshie Fogarty, 67, Kerry
© GAA Oral History Project
‘I won an All-Ireland Scór na nÓg title in 1993 and have continued to dance on and off ever since. I got the group back together for my wedding this year, and it was a great feeling. My wife is from the Gaeltacht and never told her family that I dance. The Gaeltacht crowd were amazed at how cultured I was.’
—Adrian Hession, 30, Mayo
© GAA Oral History Project
‘I am a fluent Irish speaker, but the GAA only pays lip service to the language. Having to put the names of teams in Irish is doing nothing to foster the language. Imagine Tiger Woods was on your team — Tíogar Mac Giolla Coille, perhaps! The Scór competitions have been a great cultural help, and I have taken part in several of them. They are great fun, and at adult and Scór na nÓg level, they are a great source of entertainment.’
—Micheál Ó Liodáin, 63, Galway
© GAA Oral History Project
‘The GAA instilled a sense of "being Irish" in me. I think that standing in Croke Park when your team wins an All-Ireland Final is the epitome of being Irish.’
—Selina O’Regan, 31, Kerry
© GAA Oral History Project
‘Apart from Scór, I don’t get a lot of opportunity to make use of Irish in the GAA, because an awful lot of GAA officials don’t know much Irish language … I think that the notion of Oifigeach na Gaeilge wasn’t developed as it should have been at all … [this] was highlighted by the fact that they gave up calling it Oifigeach Gaeilge and called it Oifigeach Cultúr, which was a little bit more vague.’
—John Stephen O’Sullivan, 68, Kerry
© GAA Oral History Project
‘Every Christmas they had the annual Christmas Bazaar. I remember, you used to be infatuated looking up at the stage, and you saw all the rows and rows of toys and boxes of sweets and chocolates and everything else … and as the years went on, you might have got the job as you got a little bit older of selling tickets at that.’
—Sean Gunning, 40, Derry
© GAA Oral History Project
‘If you could speak the Irish language, well and good, but not being able to speak it didn’t prevent you being associated with the GAA or joining a club.’
—George Coulter, 84, Armagh
© GAA Oral History Project
‘The Irish language is very important in all aspects of my life. The GAA could encourage it more. Apart from the Irish language, there is nothing more Irish than the game of hurling.’
—Tom Kenny, 64, Galway
© GAA Oral History Project
‘For me, the GAA is a true reflection of Irishness. The game is unique to this country, so it is a real reflection of our culture and heritage that has survived for generations. But I think that in my mind it is also a reflection of traditional hard-working values to a great extent, and I think much of this is encapsulated in the amateur nature of the game. People play for a love of the game, for the jersey, and for the team, and for little financial reward; and I think this is important if the genuine nature of the game is to be maintained.’
—Enda Murphy, 29, Monaghan
© GAA Oral History Project
GAA clubs participating in one of the Tóstal Parades. An Tóstal was set up in 1953 to promote tourism in Ireland by acting as an annual showcase for Irish language and culture. © Westmeath Examiner
Image taken from the front cover of a booklet produced to increase the use of the Irish language at club and county level and to foster a friendly and favourable attitude to it. © GAA Oral History Project
Participants in the Bornacoola Scór Competition, Co. Leitrim. Scór competitions provide a way of integrating people who would not normally participate in sporting activities into their local GAA club. © Leitrim County Library
A scene from a Drumcollogher-Broadford GAA victory homecoming celebration. Note the lit turf burning on pitchforks in the foreground. The carrying of lit turf and the burning of bonfires are traditional GAA homecoming celebration rituals. © Limerick Leader
Beijing GAA Club participating in the 2008 St. Patrick's Day Parade in Beijing. GAA clubs are visible at almost every St. Patrick's Day parade in Ireland and around the world.
A poster advertising the official opening of Gaelic Park, Carlow, in 1936 illustrates the link between the GAA and Irish music and culture. Entertainment at the two opening matches was provided by several bands and celebrations continued in the evening with a céilí in Tynan's Hotel. © Carlow County Museum
Ulster Convention proposal to ban hawkers, ballad-singers, beggars, and collectors from GAA matches as they were causing a nuisance to spectators, 1952. © Cardinal O'Fiaich Memorial Library and Archive
'The Song of a Hurl' by Crawford Neil © GAA Oral History Project
Plan Forbartha i gCoir Tir Chonaill Oifigeach na Gaeilge. © Donegal County Archives Service
An extract from a Scór Novelty Act entry, 'The Elves and the Hurleymaker', by Benny and Nuala O'Connell. © GAA Oral History Project
Sliocht as Miontuairiscí Comhairle Uladh ag gearán faoi méadú líon na rincí gallda agus cluichí gallda timpeall na tíre, 1956. © Cardinal O'Fiaich Memorial Library and Archive
The opening of Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney, in 1936 illustrated the close links between the Catholic Church and the GAA. The ground was first blessed by Dr O'Brien, Bishop of Kerry, then officially opened by Archbishop Harty, Patron of the GAA. Courtesy of Fitzgerald Stadium
For many people over a certain age the formalities attached to major match days now appear different to those they remember from their youth. While the parade of players, the national anthem and the musical accompaniment of a band such as that from Artane have not changed, there are two significant omissions nowadays. The first was the singing of the Catholic anthem, Faith of our Fathers, and the second was the sight of a bishop throwing in the ball to begin the game.
The absence of such obvious symbols of Catholicism from major GAA days speaks volumes about the changed place of the Church in Irish society. The bishop throwing in the ball on All-Ireland Sunday symbolised the relationship which developed between the GAA and the Catholic Church after the partition of Ireland and the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. It is unsurprising that two organisations of such importance in independent Ireland should have sought to share a mutually-beneficial rapport. The nature of that rapport was shaped by those same forces which shaped wider society. The Catholicism of the southern state was reflected across the operations of the GAA. For all that the Association’s constitution proclaimed the non-sectarian nature of the Association, the overt Catholicism of its symbols ensured that the GAA was perceived as an organisation for Catholics. After all, the men who stood for the Catholic hymn, Faith of our Fathers, on All-Ireland Sunday and who knelt to kiss the bishop’s ring on the field of play were invariably Catholic.
The first patron, and one of the main movers behind the early success of the GAA, was Archbishop Croke of Cashel. His role as patron is something that has been filled ever since by a leading cleric. That Cusack saw the Church as a major force to rally behind his new sporting organisation was a masterstroke. The Church and the IRB fought out a major battle for control of the GAA during the late 1880s and the early 1890s. Although the IRB was initially successful in wresting control of the GAA, clerical denouncement of the IRB-controlled Association nearly led to its complete collapse by 1892.
In the early years of the twentieth century clerics resumed involvement in the GAA, however it was after 1921 that the Catholic Church and the GAA became more closely identified with one another as key institutions in independent Ireland. The fact that the GAA used the Catholic parish system as a territorial divider facilitated the involvement of clerics in the day to day life of clubs across the country. As well as committee and organisational roles, the clergy were also – despite rules to the contrary – often players and coaches at local and county levels. The Church’s involvement in schools was also of great importance to the GAA – while some leading Church schools chose rugby over Gaelic – many others championed the cause of the native games and these schools remain key incubators for successful county players. These included St. Jarlath’s, St. Kieran’s, St. Mel’s, North Mon, the Carmelite in Moate, and the Sem in Killarney.
That the Church has undergone profound change in recent years is undeniable. Equally the GAA has often had difficult relations with the other religions in Ireland, and men such as Sam Maguire stand out as one of the few leading Protestants to have been involved in the GAA at its upper levels. That said, the GAA is alive to all the challenges that accompany the complexity of religion in Ireland, and is aware how profoundly important the Catholic Church was in its foundation and in sustaining it, in many ways, across the last 125 years.
Bobby Goff, 52, Wexford
Despite the GAA being predominantly composed of Roman Catholic members, members of other faiths have also been involved in the Association. Here Bobby describes the role played by the local Church of Ireland population in club and county life in Wexford.
Sean McGettigan, 92, Armagh
Sean details the steps involved in securing the agreement of Fr Flanagan, the founder of 'Boys Town' — a special home for destitute children in the USA — to come and open a GAA Outdoor Week in Belfast in 1946. The outdoor week was being run as a fundraising event by the Corrigan Park Reconstruction Committee.
Jim McKeever, 78, Derry
Jim, a member of the Derry team that was defeated by Dublin in the 1958 All-Ireland football final, describes the throwing in of the ball by Bishop Farren to start the match.
Brian McCarthy, 67, Monaghan
The role of the clergy in Ballybay is recounted by Brian in this clip. He describes players being taken to matches by local priests, and the efforts of one Fermanagh priest to ensure the success of the Ballybay Minors.
John O'Donovan, 68, Connecticut
A good working relationship with the local clergy can often be useful to GAA clubs. John details the part played by the curate in New Haven, Connecticut, in the construction of the New Haven Gaelic Football and Hurling Club's St. Patrick's Day float.
‘My mother and father interspersed their family with their religion and their team, and that
was all.’
—Micheál Maher, 76, Tipperary
‘Back the years, it was hard to keep a club together without the full blessing of the parish priest. We have had a brace of clerical trainers in my time, and the church was always dedicated to the games. Nowadays, if not active, the priest is not given the honour of an administrative position.’
—Henry Bryan, 68, Offaly
© GAA Oral History Project
‘When I was young (e.g., under 10), supporting the local Duleek GAA club was practically a ritual each Sunday. The priest would always announce the match at the end of Mass and wish the team luck.’
—Frances Fahy, 29, Meath
© GAA Oral History Project
‘The present role of the clergy in my club is confined to the annual mass for deceased members, when four or five elderly priests arrive to officiate. Many camogie clubs, particularly in rural areas, were founded by members of the clergy. The priests supported the clubs and helped to keep them going.’
—Mary Moran, 67, Cork
© GAA Oral History Project
‘The clergy have been involved throughout. However, it has waned in recent years. The men of the cloth are no longer rich in GAA heritage and are busy in a more difficult, secular environment.’
—Liam Smith, 33, Kilkenny
© GAA Oral History Project
‘The local priest was instrumental in the forming of our club and continued to take a hugely active role when in the parish. Involvement afterwards for clergy was largely in a supportive role. There is a very good relationship between the local clergy and club, which is of mutual benefit. Twenty years ago, we had five priests in the parish of about 5,000. Today we have two priests for up to 8,000.’
—Eamonn Doyle, 65, Wexford
© GAA Oral History Project
‘It was brilliant. Going to the League Final on the same day as my confirmation was great! The Holy Spirit in the morning, the Holy Grail in the afternoon (almost, the Dubs beat us).’
—Enda Gorman, 30, Kildare
© GAA Oral History Project
‘Very few men or women from other faiths got involved in GAA. The priests saw the GAA as a vehicle for control and influence of people.’
—Joseph Gerard Burke, 54, Kilkenny
© GAA Oral History Project
‘When I was younger, I remember coming across a photo of the local hurling team in the newspaper and looking at the names underneath. I recognised several of the local Patrician Brothers, but the names under the photo didn’t match! When I inquired about this, I was told that they weren’t supposed to be playing hurling and that they had to play under ‘assumed’ names! I know these weren’t their actual names, but they were registered with the club under assumed names! I don’t recall any priests actually playing football or hurling, but there was one St Louis Sister that played for the local team — she was originally from Antrim and had learned to play at an early age.’
—Marianne Lynch, 39, Monaghan
© GAA Oral History Project
‘I remember Fr Sean O'Neill used to play with the senior hurlers in the late '80s/early '90s, and that Fr Gerry Boyle used to get involved with training some of the underage teams. The current parish priest is a former county board chairman but, to the best of my knowledge, does not have a significant role in the club at present, which is probably how it should be. The priests seem to be interested but don't appear to get involved in a big way. A person should only get an administrative position if he/she has a proven ability or potential to make a positive contribution in the position. A collar shouldn't be factored in when weighing this up.’
—Pat Nolan, 26, Offaly
© GAA Oral History Project
‘We played then in Pat O’Toole’s, the pitch sloping gently from the road towards the lake. There was a sharpish little rise up to the road goals, in this rise Bobby Madine, the Bishop, the captain of the team ... His game plan was simple and effective. When the opposition mounted an attack, the Bishop concentrated his attentions on the ball carrier. To the two defenders on either side, his instructions were unnerving and clear: “You take the man, boys, I’ll get the ball!”
'Arms outstretched, his impressive bulk showed the way. The ball carrier laboured up the slope. At the critical moment, as he prepared to shoot, Bobby launched himself upon him. The unfortunate was flattened, and Bobby came away with the ball wearing an expression [that said] … "Nothing to this game, lads, simple, just like life." So it was with the Bishop’s career in football: no shouting, no panic, no nonsense, just pure enjoyment. Knowing what we know now, it can’t have been all that easy to run a parish and a football team during the early years. But the Bishop did it, and our lives were enriched by his.’
—Hugh MacNamara, quoted in Michael Madine, Donal Gordon, and Tommy McLeigh, Loughinisland: Our Story, 1906–2006 (2008)
Fr JJ Meagher, Chairman of Tipperary County Board, makes a presentation to Jim Lanigan, captain of the 1937 Tipperary All-Ireland winning team. Also included is County Secretary Johnny Leahy. © Martin Bourke
Despite their prominence on major ceremonial occasions, much of the clerical involvement in the GAA was as regular volunteers: club and county officers, mentors, players, and even jersey washers, as in this photograph from Westmeath. © Westmeath Examiner
The traditional image of the team captain kissing the bishop's ring before the start of the match. This image shows Bishop Lucy and Jimmy Doyle at the 1962 Munster Senior Hurling Final. © Martin Bourke
Jack Boothman, one of the few high-ranking Protestant GAA officials, presides at an official opening with members of the Catholic clergy. Boothman served as President of the Association between 1994 and 1997. © Westmeath Examiner
Involvement in Gaelic Games was not solely the preserve of the male members of religious orders. Nuns, like the sister in this picture, have frequently taken on the roles of coaches and managers in camogie clubs. © Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael
A poster advertising the official opening of Gaelic Park, Carlow, in 1936 illustrates the link between the GAA and Irish music and culture. Entertainment at the two opening matches was provided by several bands and celebrations continued in the evening with a céilí in Tynan's Hotel. © Fred Reilly
The picture and signature of Archbishop Croke of Cashel, on his headed paper. Croke agreed to become one of the three original patrons of the GAA in 1884, alongside Michael Davitt and Charles Stewart Parnell. © GAA Museum and Archive, Croke Park
A receipt for the sum of £1721-12-6 donated to the Edmund Ignatius Rice Memorial Fund by the GAA in 1945. The letter accompanying the receipt conveyed the heartfelt appreciation of the brothers and stated that no group had subscribed more generously to the fund than the GAA. © GAA Museum and Archive, Croke Park
Fr Edward Flanagan is guest of honour at the GAA Outdoor Week, held at Corrigan Park, Belfast, in 1946. Flanagan was an Irish-born priest who had emigrated to the United States and, in 1917, founded ‘Boys Town’, a special home for destitute children. In the course of this visit to Ireland, Flanagan, an acknowledged expert in the field of childcare, criticised the treatment of Irish children in religious-run industrial and reformatory schools. © GAA Oral History Project
A letter from Archbishop Kinane, dated 4th January 1947, accepting the GAA's invitation to become a patron of the Association. Kinane recalls the long-standing connection between the Archbishops of Cashel and Emly and the GAA. © GAA Museum and Archive, Croke Park
An advertisement by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, published on the back of the Our Games Annual from 1972, appealing for men to join them in their work.
Playing handball at St. Patrick's College, Armagh, in the 1920s. © Cardinal Ó Fiaich Library and Archive
Going to school, and playing games are a central part of every child’s upbringing. As the largest sporting organisation in the country, the GAA has the most visible presence in the schools of Ireland. It is on the school pitches of the land, as well as in their clubs, that the young men and women of Ireland have cut their teeth and honed their skills as footballers, hurlers and camogie players.
The very origins of the GAA lie within the educational sphere. Michael Cusack was not only the founder of the GAA, but also a school teacher. He formed a hurling club which consisted of the boys who attended his Academy in Dublin and he encouraged them to take part in athletics. Lacking grounds within the school on Gardiner Street, Cusack’s boys played their matches in Phoenix Park. Inspired by Cusack’s calls for Irish sports for Irish youth, he was followed by the leader of the 1916 Rising, Patrick Pearse, who organised sporting activity in his school, St Enda’s, around hurling.
Many Catholic schools, in the spirit of national identity, turned to Gaelic games at the turn of the century. However, with the advent of Irish nationhood, from 1922, the education system came under the control of the state, and more schools were built with sporting facilities. While many schools chose not to support Gaelic games, the majority did, and a combination of lay teachers and Brothers ensured that the games of the GAA became a standard part of growing up in Ireland. Numerous schools run by the Christian Brothers in Ireland were devoted to Gaelic games. This was as true for primary schools as it was for secondary schools. Christian Brothers’ schools, such as Marino and Artane, dominated the competitions run by Cumann na mBunscol, which was founded in 1928 in Dublin. These schools produced a remarkable conveyor belt of players who went on to star at every level of Gaelic games.
As Church control of schools has lessened in recent years, so the domination of lay teachers in the area of Gaelic games has increased. A small army of full-time, part-time and voluntary coaches have brought a programme of coaching and skills games to schoolchildren across Ireland. The importance of a teacher who is dedicated to promoting Gaelic games remains crucial, however. Teachers have traditionally played a key role in establishing the GAA in areas where it had little or no presence. Arriving as single young men, with the status and respectability of their profession, embracing the GAA presented an entry point into the homes of the local community.
In many ways the strength of the GAA lies not just with the clubs, but with those schools, and their dedicated teachers, that run the games inside and out of school. For many people across the country it is the memories of those teachers, and the school matches that were played, that stand out as their abiding recollection of the GAA.
Sean Scollan, 83, Leitrim
Sean remembers playing school football with Ballinamore, Co. Leitrim, and how one teacher looked after an injury he received during a match.
Dan Hogan, 65, Kilkenny
Dan recalls several schools' championship matches in the 1940s. One was played in a local field, where the rivalry between the teachers outdid the rivalry of the teams on the field.
Brendan Crawley, 61, Monaghan
Brendan explains the motives behind the setting up of the Matt Talbot Club. The club comprised current and past pupils of inner-city Dublin schools and was set up by the schools' teachers.
Frank Shovlin, 38, Liverpool
Frank talks about his involvement in the setting up of Oxford University Gaelic Football Club, their annual matches against Cambridge, and the need to get English soccer or rugby players and Australian Aussie Rules players to make up a full team.
Joan Molamphy, 62, Armagh and Dublin
Joan, secretary of St. Jude's Club in Dublin, discusses the role played by the county board in keeping primary-school children engaged in Gaelic games. She describes how her club is now 'bridging the gap' by sending coaches from the club into secondary schools, where there are no teachers who can coach the games.
'We played a lot in school. The football was brown leather laced up. It made taking frees difficult.'
—Andrew Meaney, 44, Cork, interviewed by
a pupil at Grangemockler NS, Carrick on Suir
© GAA Oral History Project
'When I was younger, I lived in Dublin and went to a brothers' school. In my school it was banned to play soccer; instead you had to play a Gaelic sport, but outside of school there was mainly soccer fields only.'
—Stephen McDonnell, 46, Tipperary, interviewed by a pupil at Scoil Mhuire Portroe, Nenagh
© GAA Oral History Project
'Our national-school teacher was a footballer himself and always played football with us at lunchtime. He sometimes got carried away and it went on longer.'
—Martin Forkan, 68, Mayo, interviewed by a pupil from St Aidan's NS, Kiltimagh
© GAA Oral History Project
'While in national school I played football, hurling, and handball. In the years 1963, 1964, and 1965 I won three U-14 county titles with my parish, Tintern. I also played on the Wexford Vocational School team in 1967.'
—John Madigan, 58, Wexford, interviewed by a pupil at Scoil Naomh Áine, Wexford
© GAA Oral History Project
'One match [stands] out in my mind, a school football match — Grangemockler NS vs Rathcormack NS in Rathcormack. I was about 9 or 10 years old at the time. I got a lift to the match with a neighbour up the road from our house. On the way to the match he told us [that] if we lost, we would have to walk home. We got hammered in the match and I had visions of walking home 16 miles, but he was a kind man and forgave us and bought us chips on the way home.'
—Eamon Phelan, 50, Tipperary, interviewed by a pupil at Grangemockler NS, Carrick on Suir
© GAA Oral History Project
'Hurling was not allowed in Ballymana National School, as the grounds at the time were too small.'
—Patrick O'Farrell, 61, Galway, interviewed by a pupil at Ballymana NS, Craughwell
© GAA Oral History Project
'When we travelled to college matches we travelled in cars, and the players used get out halfway and walk around for ten minutes ... the biggest game I ever attended was the one I played in myself. It was the All-Ireland Colleges Senior A Hurling Final, played in my local town, Nenagh. All my family and friends were there to cheer me on. I played full back. In the last few minutes I dived and saved a certain goal. The result was that the match was a draw — we later won the replay.'
—Michael Gleeson, 49, Tipperary, interviewed by a pupil at Scoil Mhuire Portroe, Nenagh
© GAA Oral History Project
'When I was in third class, one of the teachers took us for training and encouraged us all to join the club, so we all went up one sunny Saturday morning and it was the start of my life being involved in the GAA ... the club plays a huge part in our community. Having a club coach in the school encourages far more children to join from a younger age.'
—Deirdre Magee, 26, Dublin, interviewed by a pupil at St Helen's NS, Portmarnock, Dublin
© GAA Oral History Project
'In our area, everyone played Gaelic football in school and every Saturday for the local club team. It was something we lived for! I played for the school team every year and the local club team every year.'
—Danny Murray, 48, Down, interviewed by a pupil at Ballina NS, Killaloe, Co. Clare
© GAA Oral History Project
Dr George Sigerson, born near Strabane, Co. Tyrone, 1836. In 1911, Sigerson, a lecturer at UCD, presented a cup to the GAA which was to be competed for through an inter-varsity Gaelic football competition. The Sigerson Cup is now the longest-running inter-varsity Gaelic Games tournament. © GAA Oral History Project
The College of Science Hurling Club, 1910–1911. © GAA Museum and Archive
The Queen's University Camogie Team, pictured at Amiens Street Station, Dublin, on their way to play Cork in the Ashbourne Cup, 1934. Source: Irish Independent Jubilee Supplement, 1934
The Ashbourne Cup in Trinity College Dublin, 1977. Inaugurated in 1915, the Ashbourne Cup inter-varsity competition is the oldest camogie competition. © Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael
The front cover of the Artane Boys Band's Project Two album, by Marin Costello. The Artane Band was originally composed of the boys from Artane Industrial School and gave its first performance at a GAA tournament on 14 June 1886. © GAA Museum and Archive
St. Kieran's, Kilkenny, is one of the best-known hurling schools in Ireland. It is renowned for its GAA actvities and the quality of players it produces. © Fred Reilly
A poster advertising a National League match to be played in O'Neill Park, Dungannon. The special rate of entry for schoolboys at the gate suggests that the GAA were aware of the importance of getting children involved in GAA activities from an early age. © Donegal County Archives Service
Report to the Ulster Council, November 1917, on the state of Gaelic games in Ulster Colleges. The report states that the majority of colleges had adopted 'Gaelic games to the exclusion of the foreign code'. © Cardinal Ó Fiaich Library and Archive
A report from the Secretary of Donegal Camogie in 1961 suggests setting up an inter-schools competition to promote an interest in the sport in the county. © Donegal County Archives Service
A letter advertising a meeting to discuss the formation and running of a Gaelic football club among the pupils and past pupils of inner-city Dublin schools. The club became known as Matt Talbot GFC. © GAA Oral History Project
An extract from the Wexford Schools Hurling Survey, compiled by the Wexford GAA Supporters' Club in 1995 to investigate the state of hurling in Wexford schools. © Wexford GAA Supporters' Club
A crowd gathers around the window of Kenny's of Campile, Co. Wexford, to listen to All-Ireland commentary in the 1930s. There were only two radios in the parish at the time this photograph was taken. Courtesy of Horeswood GAA
There is no sports event in the world quite like an All-Ireland Final. The hurling and football finals played in September every year have come to carry all the trappings of modern sports, not least massive crowds and saturation media coverage. But the finals are much more than carbon copies of international sports events recast on an Irish stage.
Instead, the finals have aspects which render them entirely unique. The atmosphere in Dublin on the weekend of a final is extraordinary. Country people take over the city and make it their own. They head for the same pubs and hotels year after year – and these are often the same pubs and hotels that were frequented by previous generations.
Around Croke Park the music of the buskers fills the air and the walk to the ground is filled with expectation. Best of all is the banter. Men and women of different counties talking up their own team’s chances and talking down their opponents.
There remains something magical about the way that supporters of GAA teams fill out a stadium with a capacity of more than 82,000 seats without any need for segregation. The idea that there could be violence in the stands at an All-Ireland Final simply does not come into the equation.
Pre-match excitement reaches fever pitch with the arrival of the teams onto the field. For teams that have not played in an All-Ireland for years – or who have never made it to a final before – the roar which rolls out of the stands when the players burst out onto the field is stunning.
A thoroughly unique aspect of big-match day in Croke Park is the pre-match parade. Led by the Artane Band, the parade is a glorious, colourful spectacle as it moves around the field in front of the stands.
The parade is a throwback to the very first days of the GAA, to an era when the GAA rented fields and was only beginning to establish itself in towns and villages across Ireland. In an attempt to draw crowds to a field and to lend a certain sense of carnival to Sunday afternoons, GAA teams paraded behind bands through the streets of towns.
On the day of the first All-Ireland hurling final, which was played in Birr, Co. Offaly, on April Fools’ Day 1888 the players of Thurles (who were representing Tipperary) and the players of Meelick (who were representing Galway) paraded through the streets of the town on the way to a field which was rented from a local farmer. Thurles duly won that first championship – with Limerick Commercials winning the football championship later that same month of April 1888.
Both championships were something of a shambles and gave little hint of the glories that were to follow. Just twelve counties entered teams in the football championship while 5 counties competed in the hurling championship.
The format of the championship was also markedly different to the one which has emerged today. In that first championship, individual counties were asked to play out a championship between their clubs and the winning club then went on to represent their county in the All-Ireland championship.
From the beginning there was a certain liberty taken with the rules. Both Thurles and Meelick filled out their teams with the best hurlers from surrounding areas. In time this practice evolved to the selection of proper county teams.
It took several years for the championships to find their feet, but by the 1900s huge crowds began to attend the finals. These were initially played at various venues around the country, before the purchase of Croke Park in 1913 led to it becoming the routine venue for finals (with just a few exceptions such as New York for the 1947 Football Final and Thurles for the 1984 hurling final).
Throughout the decades since the playing of the first final, old traditions have evolved and new ones have emerged. One of these traditions is the homecoming where winning – and losing – All-Ireland teams are welcomed back to their counties amid a riot of colour and song. It is one more unique spectacle attached to All-Ireland finals.
Eileen Malone, 81, Dublin
Eileen recalls the preparations, events, and atmosphere in her father's pub in Cathedral Street, Dublin, on the morning before and night after the All-Ireland Finals when she was growing up.
Paddy Buggy, 79, Kilkenny
Paddy, a former member of the Kilkenny Senior Hurling Team and past President of the GAA, describes the filming of the Hollywood movie Rooney during the 1957 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final.
Eileen McLoughlin, 73, Tipperary
Eileen discusses the importance of the All-Ireland in her social calendar and getting carried away with the excitement of a Tipperary victory in the 1950s. Eileen later married John McLoughlin, who played on the Tipperary Senior Hurling team.
Paddy MacFlynn, 91, Derry
Past President of the GAA Paddy MacFlynn recounts the sequence of events in a Central Council meeting that led to the decision to play the 1947 All-Ireland Football Final in New York.
Denis Lucey, 44, Kerry
Denis compares travelling to the All-Ireland Finals, by train, from Kerry in the 1980s with travelling in the present day.
'We dressed up with County hats and made a rosette to wear on our jumpers on days of All-
Irelands. We made them ourselves. In school on the Mondays our teachers spoke of the great games.'
—Loretto O'Driscoll, 50, Cork
'I would have to say it was 1957 when Louth won the All-Ireland, beating Cork in the Final. We were such a small county, we had no chance against the Rebels. I remember every kick of the ball. I and my uncle Georgie listened to the game, and Michael O'Hehir had us in his seat in Croke Park ... It was a day that stands out 52 years later, the feeling of pride that our lads were taking home the Sam Maguire.
'Dermot O'Brien was the captain; he hailed from Ardee and was taking Sam Maguire back to Ardee. He came through Knockbridge and we had a huge bonfire. They were supposed to be in the village at 9pm, and of course they got delayed. I remember being at the bonfire, and every time the lights of a car showed up in the darkness heading toward us, a big cheer went up. "They're here, they're here!" — only to find it was not the bus with the team, only somebody on their way home. Finally, very late, the real bus came. What speeches and roaring and cheers! I think you might have heard them in New York. It was a very late night for a young fellow.
'This was the real deal, a night for the ages. I got to know most of the players later on in life after, and I am amazed how I still can remember the handshake and the comments. Maybe it should not be so important to me. We never have come close to getting our hands on Sam again, so it was the best day of my sporting life and one of the best in my ordinary life.'
—Tommy Smyth, 63, Louth and New York
© GAA Oral History Project
'The 1998 football All-Ireland — Kildare were favourites. There were white flags everywhere. Dad got me a ticket beside him at the last minute. I remember this fabulous teamwork rearguard action leading to a goal. I knew Galway was going to win then. I remember Dad and me hugging each other at the end and both near tears.'
—Orlaith Mannion, 33, Galway
© GAA Oral History Project
'The 1992 All-Ireland Final — Donegal 0–14, Dublin 0–10. It was probably a poor enough match when compared to some epics, but for all of us who were there, nobody asked how, just how many points more we had! I had been to a league final in Croke Park while at college, but this was a personal thing. It was very special to be there. I was not a member of the local club, but my mother-in-law, God bless her, had got hurling tickets, which she swapped with someone in Cork for the football ones and gave them to me.'
—Pat Brennan, 47, Donegal
© GAA Oral History Project
'The 1998 All-Ireland Football Final was very special to us in Galway, as we managed to finally recapture the Sam Maguire Cup after a lapse of 32 years. Another special day was the All-Ireland Final of 1966, because, not alone were Galway completing the three-in-a-row, but also, a player from our local club, Bosco McDermott, was playing for Galway. He was also a member of the county team in 1964 and 1965, but in those years he was playing for [the] neighbouring club, Dunmore.'
—Leo Finnegan, 64, Galway
© GAA Oral History Project
'1967 All-Ireland Final replay. Dublin had won 10 titles in a row and seemed invincible. An Antrim side playing with flair and dash held them in the final. The replay was staged in Croke Park with the Kilkenny vs Clare Oireachtais Hurling Final and, consequently, drew a much bigger crowd than would usually be at the Camogie Final. Every man and woman in the stadium except diehard Dubliners got behind Antrim and roared them on. Antrim won in a thrilling finish, leaving everyone emotionally drained.'
—Mary Moran, 67, Cork
© GAA Oral History Project
'The '96 All-Ireland Final, when Wexford defeated Limerick. I was on holidays in Wexford at the time. On the Thursday before the game, my wife was involved in an accident and the car was a write-off. The garage I was dealing with in Mayo sent me down a top-of-the-range Ford Granada, which enabled me to attend the game. On the pitch afterwards, I was physically bowled over by a person who happened to be a long-lost friend from school days. I also met a friend who had flown in from Hong Kong for the game. At the beginning of the game I made a £10 [bet] with a man sitting next to me that Wexford would win, because Limerick had broken from the traditional parade before the completion of the circuit.'
—Noel Byrne, 60, Wexford
© GAA Oral History Project
'In Dublin we would always go to McDonald's on O'Connell Street before the game, an exotic treat, given that the franchise only existed in the main population centres of Ireland at that time. I remember my father used to bring a bag packed with all sorts of stuff, sandwiches, biscuits, tea, etc. It was the done thing by everyone years ago, but virtually no one does it now.
'Prices of tickets were never a great issue for me because no price was prohibitive to me going to a game. I always had my money in order first and foremost so that I could pay my own way into a game. I do remember that the price for a Hogan Stand ticket for the 1994 All-Ireland SHC final was IR£25, and thinking it was quite an amount of money. It was worth it come 5pm, though. In 1995 it was IR£27 for a new Cusack Stand ticket, and I wanted a refund after that game! The celebrations after the 1994 final were brilliant. I played in the pipe band that led the team bus through huge crowds in Tullamore and then Birr, which is a very special memory.'
—Pat Nolan, 26, Offaly
© GAA Oral History Project
‘Croke Park was only for big teams … you always had to pick another team when I was growing up that you’d want to win the All-Ireland, whether it be Kerry or Dublin or whoever. It was never even in the thinking that Carlow was going to get it.’
—Niall O'Neill, 34, Carlow
© GAA Oral History Project
'My introduction to Croke Park began when I was about six years old. My late father would always listen to the games on the radio: the wireless, as it was known then. Each week he would bring the wet battery into Donegal town and have it re-charged. Electricity arrived in rural Donegal in 1959–60. Our wireless was used sparingly, i.e., news bulletins and a few other important programmes, which included the big matches in Croke Park. As every house did not have a wireless, many of our neighbours' children would gather in our kitchen and listen to the late great Michael O'Hehir as he gave a blow-by-blow account of games one hundred and fifty miles away.
'Once the match was over, we would assemble in McGettigan's Field and replay the game. Two older boys would select the opposing teams. Everyone present was included, which meant we often played twenty a side. As our pitch consisted of the entire field, this was no problem.'
—an extract from 'From McGettigans Field to Gaelic Park'
© Mattie Lennon and the GAA Oral History Project
The Thurles team, which won the first All-Ireland Hurling Final, pictured here over 20 years later. © GAA Oral History Project
With the growth in popularity of the GAA, media coverage of the All-Ireland finals increased. This included the greater use of photographs. These images are taken from coverage of the 1912 All-Ireland Hurling Final. Source: Cork Examiner, 18th Nov 1912
Action from the 1942 All-Ireland Camogie Final between Dublin and Cork. © Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael
George Coulter and friends pictured on O'Connell Bridge, on their way to the 1953 All-Ireland Final. © GAA Oral History Project
Members of the All-Ireland winning Tipperary team aboard a lorry, hold aloft the Liam McCarthy Cup as they arrive to their homecoming reception. © GAA Oral History Project
The Artane Band parade around Croke Park prior to the start of the 2009 All-Ireland Club Football Final. The band has been associated with GAA events since its first performance at an early GAA tournament in 1886. © GAA Oral History Project
Appeal to the 'Gaels of Leix and Ossory' to subscribe to the Leix County Training Fund, 1914. At the time, All-Ireland contenders were expected to participate in a residential training camp. Without help from the public, a huge financial burden would be placed on the players, as they would have to find replacement workers to fill their jobs while they were at the camp. © GAA Museum
A poster advertising match-day specials on the Sligo, Leitrim, and Northern Counties Railway for the 1933 All-Ireland Football Final between Cavan and Galway. The train, which left Dromahair at 6.20am, arrived in Dublin at 11.30am. Courtesy of Selwyn Johnston and Fermanagh County Museum
Map showing the counties that won hurling and football All-Ireland titles between 1887 and 1934, and listing the years of these victories. Source: Irish Independent Jubilee Supplement, 1934
Cusack Stand tickets for the 'Thunder and Lightning' All-Ireland Hurling Final of 1939 between Cork and Kilkenny. A huge thunderstorm occurred during the match, which took place on the same day as World War II began. © GAA Museum
An advertisement carried in the 1947 All-Ireland Football Final Programme for TWA. TWA was the airline selected to carry the GAA's official party from Dublin to New York in 1947 for the only All-Ireland Final ever to be held outside of Ireland. © GAA Museum
Letter from Éamon de Valera, responding to a suggestion by Dr Kettle of Rathmines that de Valera's campaign to increase corn production was being hindered by the GAA's decision to hold their All-Ireland Hurling and Football Finals in September, as it resulted in large numbers of farmers leaving their land to journey to Dublin for the matches. © National Archives
Several generations of Roche Emmets GAA Club in County Louth help remove the goalposts from Treanor's field as the club prepares to move to new facilities in 1983. Courtesy of William Treacy
At the annual convention of the Leitrim GAA county board in January 1967, the Rev. B. Doyle told the gathering: ‘Patriotism begins and ends for most of us with the parish.’ The place of the GAA in communities all across the island lends an undeniable truth to those words.
This is, in the first instance, a reflection of the structure of the GAA. From the very first meeting in Thurles on 1 November 1884, the GAA laid out its ambition to establish itself in every corner in Ireland. This ambition was pursued by quickly establishing a structure which established the parish as the primary unit of the Association.
The notion of ‘one parish, one club’ did not immediately assert itself, however. Sometimes parishes held one or more clubs, and in city areas the parish rule had little meaning. Over the decades, though, the most usual way of organising clubs was along parish lines.
This was vital to establishing the notion of community which is the bedrock of volunteerism. Matches did not simply engage the players who lined out for club teams; often, they were important in creating a focal point for many within the parish who came as spectators. In this respect, the GAA afforded a break from the mundane realities of daily life. They offered a space where people could come together and socialise on a regular basis.
The sense that the GAA increasingly acted as a glue binding communities together was underlined by the fact that matches were merely one part of the association’s activities. Many clubs also ran social functions, annual balls and other formal functions.
Later still, as clubs acquired permanent playing fields, built dressingrooms and then added social centres, the place of the GAA at the heart of local communities was given physical expression. GAA rooms became venues for weddings and christenings, for birthday and retirement parties, or as somewhere just to sit.
None of this would have been possible without the culture of volunteerism which so defines the GAA. Players, officials and ordinary members have given of their time freely in service of the association. The fact that the GAA has not faced the obligations which drive professional sports to commit so much of their earnings to paying players, has allowed for a level of investment in facilities which illuminate the lives of tens of thousands of people.
The maintenance of those facilities – the work on the grounds, the fundraising – as well as the commitment required to play and manage at every level requires selflessness from members at all levels. This selflessness is an inheritance from pervious generations which sits at the core of what the GAA is all about.
Martin White, 100, Kilkenny
Martin recalls that as chairman of the Crokes Club, he used to travel from Dublin to Navan every Sunday to collect a player who had been transferred there. Although he usually found another way home, Martin would repeat the journey after the match if no other transport could be found for him.
Seán Seosamh Ó Conchubhair, 73, Kerry
Seán Seosamh remembers the innovative fundraising he undertook on behalf of Kilmoyley Hurling Club between 1954 and 1959, when he was Secretary of the club.
Marie O'Brien, 47, Cork
Marie describes events surrounding the disappearance of a jersey when it was her mother's turn to take charge of washing the Argideen Rangers team's jerseys.
Paddy Muldoon, 67, Mayo
Paddy discusses the manner in which people become involved in club administration, the commitment that it entails, and the sacrifices that people make.
Michael Leahy, 83, Clare
Michael talks about the importance of the ethos of volunteerism to the GAA, and how he feels that the payment of players would be the downfall of the Association.
'Kickham’s immortal phrase “For the sake of the little village” sums it up for me.'
—Pat Burke, 69, Tipperary
'Without question, the heroes of the organisation are the men and women who give their time and energy to the running of underage teams and the provision of the facilities which make the games attractive to young people. Within this group, I would particularly salute the former acclaimed county players who adapt readily from being demi-gods to the chores of running an under-fourteen team! I have great respect for some of the recent and not-so-recent presidents and some of the current county managers. I consider it would be invidious to identify individuals currently involved, but the role and vision of such as Alf Murray, whom I knew slightly, represents the best in the leadership of the organisation.'
—Michael McKeown, 65, Antrim
© GAA Oral History Project
'Volunteers are the main hub of people who run clubs who give time, effort, sweat and tears in some cases, to enable the bigger audience within communities to be a part of any club. If clubs start to pay people, it will break the bond that grows through clubs among its members, as people know that everybody is pulling the same direction to ensure that the club is the main winner, not individuals trying to benefit for themselves.'
—David P. McKittrick, 41, Dublin
© GAA Oral History Project
'Without the voluntary people there would be no organisation, no clubs, no organised games. Volunteers are the people that do the real work on the ground and at national and provincial levels. Policies can be set down all right, but if you don’t have the people to implement them and carry them out at county and club level, it is largely a waste of time and resources. You need the people at ground level to open the gates, open the dressing rooms, have jerseys ready, have footballs, hurleys and everything else ready for training sessions, meetings that have to be organised. They have to clean up dressing rooms after games [to make them] ready for the next session. And the many, many things that have to be done. I mean, the role of the voluntary person is invaluable; you can’t put a value on it.'
—Lorcan O’Rourke, 63, Kildare
© GAA Oral History Project
‘There’s so many lifers there … we have a man in the club, and he goes down and opens the gate every morning at 8am, he closes it every night at 10pm or thereabouts. When training is on … he’s down there, and if training is on at 7, he has the balls and the equipment out at 7, he has ice baths filled for the players after training, he takes care of tokens for the lights, he does so much work it’s unbelievable … this man works 7 days and 7 nights a week in the club.’
—Bobby Goff, 52, Wexford
© GAA Oral History Project
‘Unfortunately, sometimes when some of the volunteers should step aside, they don’t. Some of them believe they’re indispensable … there are times when people should move on and let the new ideas come in … Nothing is better than experience, but as you get older, there’s a time to move on and mature and let the new ones come in, but be available for advice.’
—Honora Kavanagh Martin, 64, Kilkenny
© GAA Oral History Project
'[There was a] gale force wind, and at half-time the manager, Tony Dempsey, said to me, "Go down behind the goal and fire back the balls," and we were playing with the wind in the second half. Well, I nearly died of the cold.'
—Paddy Wickham, 70, Wexford
© GAA Oral History Project
'I admire the “club man”. Unseen, unheard, he will go anywhere for a match, play under any name, in any position. He could be an ex-senior playing in a junior match. He could be a fifteen-year-old playing his first adult match and recounting the story for 10 years after. He could be a minor C playing AFL12. He is probably a guy who has touched senior, but will never let you down, limited talent, but full of heart, every match is an All-Ireland Final.
'Most of all, he cares. He goes to the senior matches, pays in (€15 into Parnell now!). He does the car park in the All-Ireland Sevens. He’ll put up nets for an important match. He’ll sell tickets for anything that is needed. And all just to be able to buy a pint with his mates in his club.'
—Robert Moloney, 45, Dublin
© GAA Oral History Project
'Were it not for volunteers, the association would fold. It costs many of them to be involved, from time to petrol to loss of work opportunities …. Many are glad to do so for love of club and parish, to help their own progress within the realm of Gaelic Games, to be popular in the community, to play some role.'
—Tommy O'Connor, 48, Kerry
© GAA Oral History Project
'The GAA would not exist without volunteers. They are the bedrock of the association. One has only to visit any club on a summer's morning and see the huge number of youngsters being trained. The example of volunteering is handed on from generation to generation and totally absorbs the life of volunteers. When Clare won their first All-Ireland for aeons in 1995, my husband met Sparrow (Gerard O'Loughlin), a team member immediately after the match, and he (Sparrow) said, "I will need a dozen sliotars for training (the U-21s) next Saturday night".'
—Kay Vaughan, 68, Limerick
A band parades over the bridge in Blennerville, Co. Kerry, in 1963. The parade was part of the annual fundraising carnival held by St. Patrick's GAA Club. © GAA Oral History Project
The level of commitment given by players to club and county is demonstrated by this group who travelled from Dublin to Leitrim every week to attend team training in the 1980s. © Leitrim County Library
Jim Faughan, from Annaduff, Co. Leitrim, prepares to push Ireland's largest ball through Mullingar in an innovative GAA fundraiser. © Westmeath Examiner
James Mulligan cuts the grass at Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney, in 2003, a role he continued to fill until 2007. © Fitzgerald Stadium Collection
An underage training session illustrates the importance of volunteerism to the continued success of the GAA. Throughout the country, large numbers of volunteers ensure that Gaelic Games are passed down to each new generation. © Fred Reilly
An affiliation receipt from the William K. Redmond Football Club shows that the cost of affiliation in 1889 was the substantial sum of ten shillings. © Horeswood GAA
A raffle ticket from Camp GAA, Co. Kerry, illustrates one of the ways that clubs attempted to raise funds in their localities. © GAA Oral History Project
This case report sheet details injuries suffered by Christy Ring at a match in Nowlan Park, Kilkenny, in March 1958. Gaelic players could, and often did, miss substantial periods of work as a result of injuries received during matches or training. © GAA Museum
Many volunteers incurred personal financial losses in their roles within the GAA, as portrayed by this letter from a Donegal County Board Secretary. © Donegal County Archives Service
The expectations placed on county players are illustrated in this note requesting Joe Corcoran of Mayo to attend a team function in the Imperial Hotel at 7.30pm on Saturday night and team training the following day at 3pm. © GAA Oral History Project
An advertisement carried in the 1947 All-Ireland Football Final Programme for TWA. TWA was the airline selected to carry the GAA's official party from Dublin to New York in 1947 for the only All-Ireland Final ever to be held outside of Ireland. © GAA Museum
An extract from the 1975 GAA publication Dressingrooms and Social Centres for GAA Clubs highlights the importance of voluntary labour to the development of club facilities. © GAA Oral History Project
The redevelopment of Croke Park on its original site began in 1994. © GAA Museum
An exchange of letters between two Irish sportsmen, Michael Cusack and Maurice Davin, in the summer of 1884 led to a general plan to hold a meeting in Tipperary on 1 November 1884 to establish an Irish athletics association. A plan was formed. On 11 October 1884 Cusack published an epistle ‘A word about Irish athletics’ in United Ireland. In that epistle, Cusack wrote that neglecting the pastimes of the Irish people was ‘a sure sign of national decay and of approaching dissolution, smoking and card-playing.’ He railed against the Englishness of everything now associated with Irish sport and declared: ‘We tell the Irish people to take the management of their games into their own hands, to encourage and to promote in everyway every form of athletics which is peculiarly Irish, and to remove with one sweep everything foreign and iniquitous in the present system.’
In the following edition of the paper, Maurice Davin offered unequivocal support for Cusack’s views and called for the establishment of an association to draw up proper rules for athletics, hurling and ‘Irish’ football. To lend a sense of gathering momentum, Cusack and Davin then combined to issue a circular which announced that a meeting was being called for Hayes’ Hotel in Thurles, Co. Tipperary on 1 November at 2pm ‘… to take steps for the formation of a Gaelic Association for the preservation and cultivation of our national pastimes and for providing rational amusements for the Irish people during their leisure hours.’
Although the meeting was fixed for 2pm, the new organisation immediately established what might be called ‘GAA time’ and so it duly started an hour late at 3pm that Saturday afternoon. Maurice Davin took the chair and spoke about the motivation for establishing the GAA. Michael Cusack spoke at length, also about the reasons for establishing the GAA, and read extensively from letters and telegrams received from those who could not attend. The meeting chose Maurice Davin as President, and Michael Cusack, John McKay and John Wyse Power as secretaries. Understanding the political and social mood of the decade, it was decided to approach Archbishop Thomas Croke of Cashel (considered the most nationalist member of the Catholic hierarchy), Charles Stewart Parnell (the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party), and Michael Davitt (the founder of the Land League), to ask them to act as patrons of the new association. All agreed to assume the position. Finally, the meeting chose as a name for its newly-formed organisation, ‘The Gaelic Association for the Preservation and Cultivation of National Pastimes’ and concluded by promising to hold a second meeting in Cork in the foreseeable future.
After the work which Cusack and Davin had put into calling the meeting – and particularly given the publicity it had generated in the newspapers – the small turnout did not augur well for the future of the Association. The actual number who turned up at the meeting is a source of considerable debate, primarily because of how the meeting was reported in the newspapers. Three of the men known to be present were journalists. Michael Cusack, as well as running his own school, was a prolific columnist on educational matters in the Dublin press and, as already noted, secured a newspaper column for GAA matters. Two other founding members were full-time journalists: the Belfastman, John McKay, who wrote for the Cork Herald and Cork Examiner; and John Wyse Power, who was the editor of the Leinster Leader based in Co. Kildare. All three journalists published reports of the meeting.
The first report of the meeting was published in the Cork Examiner on Monday 3 November by John McKay. McKay (who quoted at length from a speech which he had given to the meeting) listed seven men as being present, though he did finish the list with the intriguing addendum, ‘&tc, &tc’. The men whom McKay wrote were present as well as himself, Cusack, Davin and Wyse Power, were J.K. Bracken (a Tipperary stonemason), St. George McCarthy (a police inspector and longtime friend of Cusack), and Joseph Ryan (a solicitor from Callan in Kilkenny). As United Ireland was published on a weekly basis, Michael Cusack’s account of the meeting did not emerge until the following Saturday. Cusack agreed with much of what McKay wrote, though he ignored McKay’s speech and focused on his own contribution and that of Maurice Davin. Cusack, too, listed seven people as being present at the meeting, although he also added that intriguing ‘&tc, &tc.’ On the same day, John Wyse Power reproduced Cusack’s article almost word-for-word in the Leinster Leader. The GAA has subsequently repeated as fact the idea that there were seven founding members of the association.
There is another contradictory version. Newspaper reports of the meeting also appeared in The Irish Sportsman and the Tipperary Advocate – it is unclear who wrote them, except that they were clearly written by the same person – list up to 13 people being present. These reports suggest that six other men (William Delahunty, John Butler, M. Cantwell, ?. Dwyer, Charley Culhane and William Foley) were also reported to have attended the meeting. To add to the confusion, in the late 1890s and early 1900s, several newspaper articles written by Cusack state that eight or nine people attended, and named Frank Maloney from Nenagh as another of those who attended. This brings to fourteen the number of people reported to have attended the meeting.
Micheál Maher, 89, Tipperary
Micheál describes the circumstances leading up to the first All-Ireland Hurling Final between Thurles (representing Tipperary) and Meelick (representing Galway). Although the final was played in 1888, it was actually the final of the 1887 championship. Two of Micheál’s uncles were members of the Thurles team.
Terry Reilly, 66, Mayo
Terry recounts events surrounding the setting up and early years of Ballina Stephenites GAA Club.
Patrick Weir, 86, Mayo
Paddy recalls the role of the local curate in the founding of Bonniconlon GAA Club in the 1920s and the trouble they had getting a football to play with at the time.
Karen Plunkett, 28, Dublin and Liverpool
Karen describes the foundation of the first ladies' Gaelic football team at Liverpool Hope University.
Noel O'Neill, 52, Cork
Noel discusses the need for the GAA to have more of a presence in primary and secondary schools around the country to further encourage children to take up Gaelic games.
'Sometime, maybe round 1926–1927, a few of the senior lads called a meeting in a barn behind Gallagher's Pub in Lower Main St, Stranorlar, and formed a school pupils' team known as Fág a Baile.’
—Jim Hannigan, 92, Donegal
'I went out on my own to see the Cusack cottage. I remember climbing over a gate at the end of the laneway leading up to it, and when I got up to the stone building, being overawed by the fact that a man who lived in Carron in a stone cottage at that time, where one can’t see any further than a couple of hundred yards — you can’t see anywhere, really, from where the cottage is, other than the boundaries of the hillocks going up from it — I thought it was tremendous that a man who lived there had the vision to do what he did and to inspire people all over the country to develop the association, from club level right up to national level.'
—Lorcan O'Rourke, 63, Kildare
© GAA Oral History Project
'It made me realise that when Michael Cusack called, "Bring hurling back to Ireland!", that that call helped bring back the Irish spirit that had been downtrodden by famine, failed insurrections, and a chance that we might even have become another British shire. In reality, hurling brought back the Irish spirit, the love for freedom, our own games, culture, song, dance, and music of the Gael.'
—Pat Hennessy, 89, Kilkenny and Indiana
© GAA Oral History Project
'On 4th July 1888, the first meeting of the G.A.A. was held in Kilconnell and it was agreed that a Mr John McKeigue would convene a general meeting four days later. This meeting was very crowded and 45 members were enrolled and they all handed in their subscriptions. John McKeigue was elected Captain or Chairperson, Michael McGuinness and Joseph Callanan were the treasurers, William Carroll was the referee, David Hogan and Pat Naughton were the umpires, P. Dillon and Michael Kelly goalkeepers.'
—Paddy Naughton, Aughrim's Sporting History
© GAA Oral History Project
'The McKittrick family would be one of the names that would be synonymous with Fingallians GAA over the years from the start, back in the early 1900s. My grandfather was one of the founding members of the club; he was one of the original committee members to help form the Fingal League way back in the '50s. All my uncles played or were involved within the club at a committee level. One of them was the club secretary for over 39 years; another was a top referee within Dublin for over 25 years.'
—David McKittrick, 42, Dublin
© GAA Oral History Project
'To promote Gaelic Games … the number one goal of the club is to bring Gaelic football to kids, and show them what it is and keep it going, that when we’re all dead and gone, they’ll still be playing Gaelic football in America.'
—Niall O'Neill, 34, Carlow and Connecticut
© GAA Oral History Project
'On his [Hugh MacNamara's] return to this native county to take up a teaching post in Downpatrick, he found that the football team in Loughinisland had collapsed, and any local footballers were playing with Ballynahinch. To remedy this state of affairs, Hugh O’Toole and himself secured a field — not a good one; an old set of posts was found lying around. They called a meeting of the young fellows of the neighbourhood, and a club was formed ... At the outset, despite the weakness of their team, a rule was made that only local lads should play for the team — the cause of the collapse of the previous team having been that players gathered from here and there and had no real loyalty to Loughinisland. Everybody pitched in and squared up the field; everybody subscribed five shillings. A ball was purchased, and Loughinisland were back in football.'
—Hugh MacNamara, quoted in Michael Madine, Donal Gordon, and Tommy McLeigh, Loughinisland: Our Story, 1906–2006 (2008)
'I feel that that they [GAA administrators] must be to some greater extent or lesser extent motivated by their knowledge, and I presume they still have some knowledge, by the reasons for the association, of the work of Croke, Cusack, and Davin, and what they did for the Ireland of their time, and the obligation attaching to them to do something today for that thing called Ireland, and I believe that is the reason for the GAA, in addition to serving and giving the county and its people something unique.'
—Pat Fanning, 91, Waterford
© GAA Oral History Project
'When you go back to the foundation of the association, when you have somebody like Michael Cusack, who always portrayed the idea that there was no use in the Irish politicians looking for independence without us having social independence, and the promotion of the GAA was that social independence. And that would certainly be my father’s attitude at the time: that the GAA was who we were, it was our national identity, it was what we were about, and it socially put us in separation from the British, I suppose.’
—Donal Kearney, 33, Louth
© GAA Oral History Project
'Sometimes, if you look back, it motivates you or inspires you for the future. And we had much to look back on, and we had many to honour. We had many great leaders, we had many great players, we had many great people, and that’s what it was all about.'
—Paddy Buggy, 80, Kilkenny
© GAA Oral History Project
A portrait of Michael Cusack, co-founder of the GAA. © NUIG
A portrait of Maurice Davin, co-founder of the GAA. © GAA Museum
Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael was founded in 1904. This photograph was taken at the first camogie practice in that same year. © Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael
An image from the opening of a handball alley in Co. Leitrim, 1929. Note the presence of both Church and State representatives at the event. © Leitrim County Library
Enjoying their first drink in the new clubhouse in Loughinisland, Co. Down, December 2007. © Loughinisland GAC
Minutes from one of the early meetings of the Dublin Hurling Club in January 1883. The club, which pre-dated the establishment of the GAA, was set up in response to moves by the Irish Hurley Union to draw their rules closer to the game of hockey played in England. © NUIG
A letter from Michael Cusack to Maurice Davin discussing the setting up of the GAA and fixing the date for the first meeting. © GAA Museum
A programme for the first inter-county competition under GAA rules, held at the estate of Charles Stewart Parnell at Avondale, Co. Wicklow, in 1886. © GAA Museum
When the GAA was first established, the rules laid down for the playing of football and hurling specified that teams should comprise 21 players. This document illustrates the manner in which the players should line out. Source: P. O'Neill, Twenty Years of the GAA, 1910–1930 (Kilkenny).
The front page of the first history of the GAA written by T.F. O'Sullivan in 1916. Source: T.F. O'Sullivan, Story of the GAA (1916)
An extract from the 1975 GAA publication Dressingrooms and Social Centres for GAA Clubs highlights the importance of voluntary labour to the development of club facilities. © GAA Oral History Project
The scene at the Hotel Astor, New York, on the 13th June 1934, when a testimonial dinner-dance was held for the All-Ireland winning Kilkenny Hurling Team by the Kilkenny Men's Association. © Donal Dalton
In an age of global sport, the GAA is unusual in that it supports and organises indigenous games. Hurling and football, as well as the various cultural events associated with the Association, still flourish 125 years after the GAA’s foundation. However, as the history of the GAA and that of Ireland are inseparable, the long tradition of emigration from Irish shores has resulted in the presence of sporting Gaels in many far flung corners of the globe.
Given the size and scale of Irish emigration in the second half of the nineteenth century, which coincided with the establishment of modern sport and the birth of the GAA, it is perhaps unsurprising that the Irish, wherever they emigrated to, were key players in the new sporting landscape. Many Irish, in America, Britain and Australia, chose sporting assimilation. As a result the ranks of late nineteenth century baseball teams in the north-east of America, soccer teams in Scotland and northern England, and Australian Rules teams in Melbourne, Australia, were packed with Irish players. Through sport these recently arrived Irish men could find an entrée into their new society, and for some their choice of sport, especially if they could excel, would provide a living that was preferable to working in sweated industries. As the GAA had to fight for sporting space in Ireland, a battle it would win, so the same was true overseas. GAA games in cities such as Boston and Chicago, London and Liverpool, are recorded in the 1880s and 1890s, and it appears that these first gatherings mixed newly arrived Irish with knowledge of the fledgling GAA, with those Irish who had settled in the previous decades. As more Irish arrived in America, Britain and Australia (as well as Argentina) in the final years of the nineteenth century, so the number of clubs and competitions grew.
The GAA overseas has always attracted new arrivals into its ranks. As such those foreign fields such as the various Gaelic grounds in New York, Ruislip in London and Canton in Boston, have functioned as a first stop after leaving the harbour, airport or train station. At the grounds, and in the network of GAA clubs and pubs, men and women have been able to recreate local parish and county networks overseas, have entered a ready built community that eased them into the world of work in their new home, found them somewhere to live and cared for them in hard times. The difficulty for the GAA was that the Irish emigrant experience has been one of assimilation. While the GAA, and Irish neighbourhoods may have been the first port of call after arrival, the suburbs and the sports of the new country became the norm during the process of assimilation. As such the GAA overseas has historically thrived, at least in terms of numbers, during periods of high emigration – the 1880s and 90s, the 1920s, 1950s and 1980s – and has struggled during times of economic stability in Ireland.
From its traditional areas of strength, which reflected traditional emigration patterns, the GAA has spread further across the globe in recent decades. From its core area of strength in the US, the GAA has spread west, while it continues to flourish in San Francisco aided by the development of state of the art facilities at Treasure Island in the Bay Area. The GAA has been supported by an educational initiative to spread beyond those with an Irish background amongst the school children of Warwickshire and the West Midlands of England, and has found new homes in the new financial centres of the Middle and Far East.
Joe Carey, 75, Tipperary and New York
Joe talks about the role played by Gaelic Park, New York in the social life of Irish emigrants. He recalls making dates with girls he met at the park, the dances that were held after matches, and the crowds that used to attend.
Connie Kelly, 67, Kerry, London, & Boston
Connie describes emigrating to Harrow, in London. Despite having a large Irish population, the area was too far away from the grounds at New Eltham to travel there several times a week. He and his friends therefore did not get involved in the GAA in London.
Tommy Walsh, 79, Liverpool
Tommy discusses the community care role played by the GAA in Liverpool. People came to matches to spectate and play, and also to find out about job opportunities and accommodation in the city.
Members of St Patrick's GAA Club, Connecticut
Members of St. Patrick's GAA Club outline the difficulties they face as they try to introduce hurling to children in Connecticut.
Aileen Breen, 27, Tyrone and Glasgow
Aileen recalls meeting a member of the Glasgow Gaels Club at Glasgow Airport and recounts how this led to her involvement with ladies football in Glasgow.
'When we came here, there was an unspoken rule that if you didn't play football, you wouldn't get a job.'
—Dermot Mulholland, 52, Monaghan and New York
© GAA Oral History Project
‘I lived in New York, so Gaelic Park was like the church to us almost. We went there every Sunday, year after year after year … actually I met my wife in Gaelic Park …you go there to hurl or football. There was a dance, there was a dinner, there was so much going on in Gaelic Park, and any given Sunday if there was any kind of a final, semi-final, you had close to 10,000 people there. Even all the Irish-American people used to go there; in fact, I shook Robert Kennedy’s hand in Gaelic Park.’
—Jimmy Fahey, 69, Tipperary and Connecticut
© GAA Oral History Project
‘At that time there was a lot of migration, and round this area they’d go to England on the 20th of June — what they’d call the hay farmers, they'd go into Lancashire … and once that would come, you’d hardly have a team left. Most of the young men would go, and even before that I remember some of them were afraid to play football in case they’d get hurt.’
—Paddy Weir, 86, Mayo
© GAA Oral History Project
‘I had to come home to play when I was in Bristol and Manchester, all the important matches. And there were plenty of times when I didn’t want to come home, they thought they were doing me a favour bringing me home. I was having a good time over there, playing matches over there, and the dances and all that sort of stuff on a Sunday night, Saturday night … I remember I was doing finals in an exam and I couldn’t get away, they were meeting every plane, coming in over Antrim, waiting on me getting off it.’
—Willie Cassidy, 74, Derry
© GAA Oral History Project
‘The major change is that when you live abroad (as I have for the last six years), you can find places with relative ease that can show the games. One can also tune into the local radio stations for league games or any games that are not televised. When Kildare are playing and I’m listening online, I like to also listen in to the local station of the county we are playing. Gives a great insight into how the opposition views us. It’s really interesting; sometimes it’s like listening to two completely different games! God bless local radio. My favourite quote from KFM — “Balls are dropping in on top of Ken Donnelly like confetti at a funeral!” We really enjoy our funerals in the Shortgrass.’
—Enda Gorman, 31, Kildare and London
© GAA Oral History Project
‘I played a match for Aer Lingus against the Irish College in Rome in 1971. This game had to played on a soccer pitch with the soccer goal posts.’
—Paul Connolly, 65, Kildare
© GAA Oral History Project
‘I think that Gaelic football would thrive in this country if … kids could watch it at home on ESPN … it’s too closed down to people that just come on a Sunday morning to see the games. If you were able to expose it on TV in people’s living rooms, it would be incredible what it would do for the game.’
—Paddy Coyle, 48, Tyrone and Connecticut
© GAA Oral History Project
'My only experience has been as a spectator. My uncle came to San Francisco with the All-Stars team about 25 years ago, and I went to the game they played here. In recent years I have gone to the Irish Center to see the All-Ireland. There is never a great "atmosphere" there … not many Kilkenny immigrants. I suspect the Irish Center here draws more of the football crowd, many “old Irish” from Kerry and Cork in San Francisco.'
—Sr Anne Maher, 60, Kilkenny and San Francisco
© GAA Oral History Project
'Then our attention turned to what was going on in the Junior Championship in Ireland. After beating Warwickshire in the British final, we had to play Dublin in the All-Ireland Semi-Final. This was played on a warm Saturday in July. This was an even more historic day for Gaelic football, and also Gloucestershire, as it was the first inter-county All-Ireland Junior football championship match to be played in Cardiff. Being realistic, we knew that we did not have much chance of beating a very good Dublin side, who had better games under their belts and had some very talented players with a very good manager in Mick Deegan. They also had former Dublin Senior Midfielder Darren Homan. He was on the bench.
'Dublin were brilliant from the off and blitzed into a big lead before we even got our first score. However, even with the talent that Dublin had, we did manage to get some scores, and we even scored a goal. However, as expected, Dublin were far too good for us and went on to win easily. It was a big defeat, but for me it was a special day, as it was amazing to be part of a great squad who, even though we did not win the game, we played Dublin in our first All-Ireland Semi-Final.'
—Aidan Raftery, 33, Roscommon and Bristol
© GAA Oral History Project
'When I moved to the States I took part in the Louth football club. Through the football, I made many friends and was also able to find work. As I grew older, I tried to keep the club alive. We are a small county with not very high numbers emigrating from Louth. I found it a strain to find jobs for the boys, places to stay. Going to airports, meeting players. We had no cash and did not have a connection with unions or places where you could get work for lads out for the summer. Many times I found my house and my life overrun with players staying for periods of time. I just could not keep the team together, and Louth folded under my watch in about 1993. I regret it, because I saw so many players around after that that would have played for me.'
—Tommy Smyth, 64, Louth and New York
© GAA Oral History Project
The captains of the Kilkenny and New York teams pictured here with the Hearne Cup in Gaelic Park, 1934. © Donal Dalton
A group of men, including Dick 'Boiler' Conroy, watch a game of football in London in the 1960s. © GAA Oral History Project
Members of the New Haven Gaelic Football and Hurling Club present a football and hurl to Bobby Kennedy. Politicans were frequent visitors to GAA events across the United States. © GAA Oral History Project
A family enjoys a dinner dance held by Brian Borus GAA Club in London in the mid-1960s. Pictured from left to right are Johnny Barrett, Joan Barrett, PJ Barrett, and Anna Barrett. © GAA Oral History Project
Spectators soak up the atmosphere at the final of a sevens competition run by Wellington GAA Club on the 14th Dec 2008. Source: http://picasaweb.google.com/wellingtonGAA
A rule book for the Irish-Argentine Hurling Federation, 1918. Gaelic games were played in Argentina from the 1880s but became more widespread in the early 20th century through a network of Catholic Irish-Argentine schools. © GAA Museum
Flier advertising Labor Day attractions at Innisfail Park (later Gaelic Park), September 1932. The event, held to help a widow and her seven children, comprised four matches followed by Irish and American dancing. © GAA Oral History Project
A plea for young Irishmen to attend hurling practices at Sexton Park, which was carried in a concert programme published by Conradh na Gaeilge in Liverpool, 14th March 1906. © Máire Bhreathnach Collection, Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael
A membership card for New Haven Gaelic Football and Hurling Club, Connecticut. © GAA Oral History Project
In 1964, in celebration of its 50 years in existence, the Gaelic Athletic Association of Greater New York organised a world tour. This poster includes a photograph of the football team selected and a map of the route of the tour. © GAA Oral History Project
Official programme for the Guinness Southeast Asia Gaelic Games, held at the Nomad's Club, Manila, The Philippines, from the 31st May to the 2nd June 1996. Source: http://www.gaa.hk/gallery
Hardworking members of Seán O'Heslin's GAA Club, Ballinamore, Co. Leitrim, take a break from developing their new playing field to pose for a photograph. © Leitrim County Library
A sense of home has always been important to the Irish. This is no less important for the GAA – a field and a clubhouse where the club, and its members, can belong. In the contemporary era this often means a large club house with a range of facilities, all weather and floodlit pitches and a real sense that the local GAA club is at the heart of the community. It has not always been so.
The first major hurdle was the acquisition of a national stadium for the GAA. Where Croke Park now stands was a patch of land owned, from the 1870s, by Maurice Butterly. It was used during his period of ownership as a sports ground, and was known at the City and Suburban Racecourse. It was most frequently used as an athletics track, and was also the first home of Bohemians soccer club. As an available sporting space in the city, it was used by the GAA for athletics events and hurling and football matches from 1884. The importance of the grounds, and their emergence as the home of the GAA was evidenced in 1896 when both (the delayed 1895) All-Irelands were played there. However, while the ground was becoming important to the Association, it presented the same problems as many other grounds that were regularly used by the GAA: they were tenants and not owners. In theory, as happened across the country, rents could rise or else the owner decided that they wanted to do something else with the land. When Butterly died in 1905 the grounds came up for sale. It took three years before the GAA could act, and it was journalist and GAA member, Frank Dineen, who borrowed much of the £3,250 asking price and bought the fourteen acre site in 1908. Dineen was not a wealthy man, and struggled with the repayments. The GAA, while relying on the good spirit of Dineen for continued access to what was then known as Jones’ Road, had to move so that the Association, rather than relying on a supportive individual, owned the grounds. Money was raised, and in 1913 the GAA came into exclusive ownership of the plot when they purchased it from Dineen for £3,500, and the decision taken to name the ground after the GAA’s founding patron.
The pattern established by the use, and later purchase, of the Croke Park site, was a common one across the country. In most cases the local club or county board would begin leasing land, would enclose it (and depending on the demands of crowds, build stands), and eventually move towards purchasing the plot. In order to become property owners – and controllers of their own destiny - a process that dominated the life of the Association from the 1920s until the 1960s, the GAA needed money. It was not a sports organisation that could call on a legion of wealthy members to bankroll ground purchases. Rather, the GAA had to raise money from its members by staging challenge matches and other fundraisers and, most importantly, it had to grow its number of clubs and fixtures so that profits accumulated from gate receipts could be used to purchase grounds. Some matches were held on private grounds with the support of the owners, most notably the 1904 hurling final. It was staged on the fields at Maurice Davin’s home, Deerpark, and saw Kilkenny take their first ever All-Ireland, beating Cork. Davin was an exception – he was a central figure in the establishment of the GAA and, as a successful businessman he had the kind of property where games could be played. Such figures were unusual in the Association, and it was not a way of hosting games on which the GAA could rely.
The election of Pádraig Ó Caoimh to the position of General Secretary in 1929 (a position he would hold for 35 years) was vital in galvanising the GAA in the wake of the Irish Revolution. Due to the dislocation caused by the War of Independence and the Civil War, the activities of the GAA had been disrupted. This led to a smaller number of active clubs around the country and an ever diminishing bank balance. Unless the GAA could be reinvigorated, the issue of purchasing grounds was an irrelevance. Ó Caoimh balanced the books quickly, and the growing appeal of the games for spectators was evident from the rise in gate receipts for major championship matches: the replayed 1931 football final brought in £8,000 through the turnstiles, and the 1933 hurling final £4,000. While overall gate receipts across the country remained static in the 1930s, the thrill of the championship, the emergence of new counties in the top flight and the demand for tickets for big matches meant that by the mid-1930s Ó Caoimh was managing an annual surplus rather than an overdraft. The number of clubs affiliated to the GAA also rose. In 1935 the total number had been 1,686, by 1945 it was 2,010, with steady growth, for the first time, across Ulster.
The most telling changes in the area of grounds have taken place in the last decade. Croke Park was completely rebuilt in the 1990s, so that it is now the largest and most modern sports facility on the island, holding a capacity crowd of 82,300. The availability of money in the economy during the 1990s and early 2000s, and the soaring values of land, meant that many GAA clubs were made offers by developers for their grounds. Clubs relocated and reaped the benefits of new and larger purpose built facilities.
While GAA grounds will undoubtedly be moved and redeveloped again in the future, the key issue is a sense of place. Whether a player or spectator, or a parent dropping children off for a practice session, the GAA ground dominates the local area. It is a hub of community activity, and for many it is a place they identify with as home. While Croke Park may remain as a September Mecca, open to only a small number of counties, the dream of getting there inspires supporters, county players and the youngsters. Grounds, the grass and cement that makes the GAA real and gives it a sense of place, are key in forging a link between the people and the Association.
Dan McEvoy, 81, Kilkenny
Dan recounts the story of the opening of Nowlan Park, Kilkenny, in 1928 and how the day became known as Ham Sunday.
Jim Cantwell, 89, Kilkenny
Jim vividly recalls being brought to the Munster Final in Thurles, 1932. He describes the grass banks, the people standing on boxes, and how he got separated from his father and ended up behind the goals.
Donal Kearney, 33, Louth
Donal details the problems encountered by Clogherhead Dreadnots when they tried to purchase playing grounds from the Land Commission. The plot selected was in high demand with local farmers, who attempted to thwart the sale of the property to the club.
Michael Loftus, 80, Mayo
Michael remembers the various methods used to raise the £2,000 necessary to purchase and develop the Deel Rovers' GAA pitch and facilities in Crossmolina, Co. Mayo.
Gareth Doonan, 33, Fermanagh and Glasgow
Gareth describes the poor quality of the GAA's playing facilities in Glasgow and expresses his disappointment that improvements have not been made before now.
‘He set the ball on top of a rush bush, and he hit it that hard that the ball went over the bar and the rush bush went into the net. He scored a goal with the rush bush and a point with the ball.’
—Joe O'Loughlin, 77, Fermanagh
© GAA Oral History Project
‘When I was finished at college in 1933, I asked Father McGarvey, who was administrator in Annyalla, to buy us a football. This he did, and we spent the summer evenings playing in a little field beside the road belonging to John McGuiness, Lismagunshion. This field was too small for playing matches, and so our football was confined to playing into the one solitary goal. When night fell, we used sit or lie on the hay in a little shed inside McGuiness's gate and talk football until it was time to go home.’
—extract from the diary of PJ Duffy, Cremartin, Co. Monaghan
© GAA Oral History Project
‘There was a chap working here with me, he was a young lad, he was awful interested … I said, "You know, there’s a bit of forestry out the hills there, and it [has] lovely posts, sitka spruce poles..." ... "Ah," he said "We wouldn’t get them." I said, "We’ll go out some night and get a couple." So myself and himself went one fine harvest night and went out and cut two of them and carried them in a good five miles.’
—Paddy Weir, 86, Mayo
© GAA Oral History Project
‘I can remember the first time playing U-12, U-14 … they played in what they called the wee back pitch behind the Hib Hall. It was remarkable, because when you stood in one of the goals, you couldn’t see the other goals. There was that big of a hill just in the middle of the pitch, you couldn’t see from one goal to the other.’
—Sean Gunning, 41, Derry
© GAA Oral History Project
‘We occupied a field belonging to some person, and we knew at that particular stage we were trespassing, and we were always aware that that owner may pop over a fence somewhere and we had to scurry. And the answer at that particular stage was to the rest of the boys, "Lift the coats" … We had no goal posts, and we took off our jacket if we had one on and we put it down, and some other person did the same, and that was the designation of the goal posts … If the landowner came to evacuate us, the shout was "Lift the coats!", because if you didn’t lift the coat, the landlord lifted it, and you had to go back and claim it off him later on in the evening, and you were being chastised for trespassing on his field.’
—Jim Hannigan, 92, Donegal
© GAA Oral History Project
‘You’d see the older players that were playing that time. They’d have to go away somewhere and get four goal posts … they’d have to get four goal posts, and they’d come along, and a couple of them, they’d all help in, dig a couple of holes for to stand the posts, they’d go to some farmers then for what was known as a load rope, that would be a rope for tying hay, and put that across for the bar you see, under that then was the goal, over it was the point ... There was no such thing as having a green flag and a white flag that time. One fella might wave his cap for the goal and the other his handkerchief for the point.’
—Eugene Deane, 81, Kerry
© GAA Oral History Project
‘Even considering the fact that GAA players are not paid, the costs associated with providing good-quality playing pitches, dressing rooms, playing equipment, and social amenities is so great that no club could continue without the high levels of input by large numbers of unpaid volunteers.’
—Denis Kelleher, 75, Cork
© GAA Oral History Project
‘The club has been central to the Leixlip community over the years. It is a focal point for young and old, male and female. The club premises is used extensively for many social and cultural activities, as well as sporting activities. It also provides facilities for Meals on Wheels and also helps bereaved families. Birthday parties are also facilitated, which plays a big part in fostering friendship and good will in the community.’
—Pat Burke, 70, Tipperary
© GAA Oral History Project
‘Clane GAA Pitch was my favourite as a kid. There was a stream flowing around the grounds which was overhung with trees. It had a kind of magical quality, and I can distinctly remember swinging over and back across the stream on a rope. Ah, good times.’
—Enda Gorman, 31, Kildare
© GAA Oral History Project
‘We got our first pitch in 1975, and there was a small clubhouse built in the late '70s or early '80s, but our current clubhouse was opened in 2004 … that incorporates two dressing rooms, a gym, a function room, a bar, a store, and an office. Referees' changing facilities, we’re doing a bit of work on that now, we’re putting in a new gym at the moment into the old clubhouse … we haven’t made our mind up yet what we are going to do with the gym, but it’s possibly going to be used as a dressing room for the camogie club … we also have a tennis club.’
—Bobby Goff, 53, Wexford
© GAA Oral History Project
Brian O'Gara enters Casement Park on the final leg of the relay organised to celebrate the official opening of the park in June 1953. The relay involved the carrying of an urn of soil from Semple Stadium in Thurles to Croke Park and on to Casement Park. © GAA Oral History Project
The old dressing rooms at Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney, Co. Kerry. While these are a far cry from modern facilities, they represented a vast improvement to players more accustomed to togging out in nearby ditches. © Fitzgerald Stadium Collection
The development of Cremartin Shamrock's playing facilities are illustrated in this image showing the entrance to the Black Meadow playing field from 1969 and the entrance to the new Shamrock Park opened in 1987. © GAA Oral History Project
Volunteers at Down Athletic Grounds assemble the goal posts. Included are (l-r) Frank O'Gorman, Joe Harney, Cathal McQuade, Michael O'Connor, Francie Hannaway, and Damien O'Gorman. © Cardinal Ó Fiaich Memorial Library
Sheep graze in Loughinisland GAC's playing field in 2008. This was a common sight at GAA pitches around the country in the past. © Loughinisland GAC
Handwritten notes taken at an informal meeting of interested locals concerning the purchase of Thurles Showgrounds for GAA purposes in 1910. © Micheál Maher
Agreement made by the trustees of the handball section of St Connell's Club, Glenties, Co. Donegal, with the Donegal County Council for the lease of a portion of ground adjacent to the courthouse for use as a handball court. © Donegal County Archives Service
A request for contributions towards the redevelopment of Gaelic Field, Waterford. The committee had managed to raise £2000, but were in need of an additional £1000 to complete the construction of a covered stand and improved dressing room facilities. © GAA Museum
The front cover from the programme for the opening of the newly reconstructed Corrigan Park, June 1946. © GAA Oral History Project
Letter from the Land Commission to Peadar Kearney, Secretary/Treasurer of Louth GAA Board, wondering if the board had made any decision on whether or not to apply for a portion of the Markey Estate at Clogherhead. © GAA Oral History Project
Extract from a letter from Salthill GAA Club outlining the work they had done in clearing and developing a six-acre field of rough ground on the west side of Pearse Stadium, so that it comprised two pitches. © GAA Museum