A county is a geographic region within Gaelic games , controlled by a county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and originally based on the 32 counties of Ireland as they were in 1884. While the administrative geography of Ireland has since changed, with several new counties created and the six that make up Northern Ireland superseded by 11 local government districts, the counties in Gaelic games have remained largely unchanged.
59-572: The Armagh Junior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by lower-tier Armagh GAA clubs. The Armagh County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1925. The national media covers the competition. Collegeland are the title holders (2024) defeating An Port Mor in the final From the launch of the Junior Championship in 1925 until 2013, five clubs won
118-647: A crowd of 70,000 spectators. By 1958, Wembley Stadium hosted annual exhibition games of Gaelic football in England, before tens of thousands of spectators. Gaelic Athletic Association county However, the county as used in Gaelic games does not always and everywhere cover precisely the same territory as the traditional county. Particularly in the first 50 years of the Association but also in more recent times, there are many examples of clubs based in one of
177-581: A dozen clubs had been established in the US by 1893. The first clubs appeared in England in 1896. Around 1900 the game began to resemble more closely to the running game of today, players were able to lift the ball off the ground and run and carry it if they bounced it every 4 yards. The first match played in Australia was in 1902 finding a niche in Queensland during a period when Australian football there
236-443: A larger ground. 2. There shall not be less than 14 or more than 21 players a side in regular matches. 3. There shall be two umpires and a referee. Where the umpires disagree the referee's decision shall be final. There shall also be a goal umpire at each end of the ground to watch for goals and points. The referee shall keep the time, and throw up the ball at the commencement of each goal. 4. The goalposts shall stand at each end in
295-404: A player from throwing the ball a little in front to allow himself more freedom in kicking it. 11. Where the rules are broken the referee may allow a free kick if he thinks fit. In such a free kick the ball must be kicked from the ground. No player on the opposite side is to approach nearer than 14 yards until the ball is kicked; but if the free kick is allowed nearer than 14 yards of the goal line,
354-419: A rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kicking or punching the ball into the other team's goal (3 points) or between two upright posts above the goal and over a crossbar 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) above the ground (1 point). Players advance the ball up the field with a combination of carrying, bouncing, kicking, hand-passing, and soloing (dropping the ball and then toe-kicking
413-593: A row between 2010 and 2013. Greatest Hurling achievement: Semi-finalists of the 1913 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship . Gloucestershire , Hertfordshire , Scotland and Yorkshire compete in the All-Britain Junior Football Championship. As of 2023, no team from continental Europe , Canada, the rest of the United States , Middle East, Asia or Australasia competes against the counties of Ireland in any of
472-566: A row in 1968 and 1969. Greatest Hurling achievement: Winners of the 2017 Lory Meagher Cup . Lancashire county hurling team competes in the National Hurling League, All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship and Lory Meagher Cup. Their football team competes in the All-Britain Junior Football Championship. Greatest Football achievement: Winning four All-Britain Junior Football Championships in
531-498: A variable number of substitutes. Gaelic football is one of four sports (collectively referred to as the " Gaelic games ") controlled by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the largest sporting organisation in Ireland . Along with hurling and camogie , Gaelic football is one of the few remaining strictly amateur sports in the world, with players, coaches, and managers prohibited from receiving any form of payment. Gaelic football
590-762: Is France, where it has been growing lately, not least in the Celtic region of Brittany . Gaelic Park in New York City is the largest purpose-built Gaelic sports venue outside Ireland. Three major football competitions operate throughout the year: the National Football League and the All-Ireland Senior Championship operate on an inter-county basis, while the All-Ireland Club Championship
649-503: Is contested by individual clubs. The All-Ireland Senior Championship is considered the most prestigious event in Gaelic football. Under the auspices of the GAA, Gaelic football is a male-only sport; however, the related sport of ladies' Gaelic football is governed by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association . Similarities between Gaelic football and Australian rules football have allowed
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#1732780169730708-439: Is driven over the goal line, and not through the goal, the goalkeeper shall have a free kick from the goal, and no player on the opposite side to approach nearer than the 21-yard line until the ball is kicked. If the ball is driven over the goal line by a player whose goal line it is, it shall count one point for the opposite side; if driven over the goal line within 21 feet of either goal post, it shall count three points; if through
767-514: Is mainly played on the island of Ireland, although units of the Association exist in Great Britain , mainland Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. The final of the All-Ireland Senior Championship , held every year at Croke Park , Dublin , draws crowds of more than 80,000 people. Outside Ireland, football is mainly played among members of the Irish diaspora . A notable exception
826-720: Is most likely the "football kicking under the Irish rules" that Thomas Croke later recalled in County Cork . Irish football is a great game and worth going a long way to see when played on a fairly laid out ground and under proper rules. Many old people say just hurling exceeded it as a trial of men. I would not care to see either game now as the rules stand at present. I may say there are no rules and therefore those games are often dangerous. Maurice Davin , 1884 Irish historian Garnham, citing R.M. Peter's Irish Football Annual of 1880, argued that Gaelic football did not exist before
885-764: The 2013 Connacht Senior Football Championship . Greatest Hurling achievement: Winners of the 1901 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship . New York enters a county team in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and won its first game in the 2023 Connacht football championship vs Leitrim after more than 20 years of trying. They also enter the Tailteann Cup. New York last entered the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship in 2006. Greatest Football achievement: Semi-finalists of
944-455: The 2023 Connacht Senior Football Championship . Greatest Hurling achievement: Runners-up of the 2006 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship . Warwickshire county hurling team competes in the National Hurling League, All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship and Lory Meagher Cup. Their football team competes in the All-Britain Junior Football Championship. Greatest Football achievement: Winning two All-Britain Junior Football Championships in
1003-487: The United Ireland magazine on 7 February 1887. The original rules bear many similarities to modern football with the requirement to kick, handpass, and the basic scoring system, however, the original rules also included many Australian features including additional scoring posts (removed later in 1910 ). The code had already begun to diverge, with the mark being deprecated, the soccer ball being adopted, and carrying
1062-578: The Victorian Rules (first codified in 1859 and then played extensively in the Colony of Victoria and Colony of Queensland and to a lesser extent in the colonies of New South Wales and New Zealand ). This kicking variety of football was even played with an oval ball which became customary in Australia in the 1870s and that scoring was achieved only by kicking goals. A major difference between
1121-420: The "field game" in which the object was to put the ball through arch-like goals, formed from the boughs of two trees, and; the epic "cross-country game", which lasted the whole of a Sunday (after mass ) and was won by taking the ball across a parish boundary. "Wrestling", "holding" opposing players, and carrying the ball were all allowed. Some accounts of traditional Irish football come not from Ireland, but from
1180-412: The 1840s in the Colony of Victoria including Melbourne at Batman's Hill and the goldfields in the Colony of Victoria . The account of H C A Harrison , one of the seminal in the history of Victorian football, of Irish rules was that it gave players "the full ability to kick anybody that came within reach". Shin-kicking (or hacking ) was a major feature of traditional Irish football and also one of
1239-559: The 1858 Cambridge Rules ) and Blackheath (1862 club rules). County Limerick was a stronghold of the game in the 1880s, and the Commercials Club in Limerick , founded by employees of Cannock's Drapery Store, was one of the first to impose a set of rules, which was adapted by other clubs in the city. These rules are believed to be the basis for the rules that were later adopted by the GAA and appear to have contained some of
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#17327801697301298-494: The 1880s and curious about the origin of the distinctive features believed that clubs from England in 1868 most likely introduced elements of their codes including the " mark " (a free kick to players who cleanly catch the ball, which was a feature of the matches played in the 1880s), lack of offside and scoring by kicking between the upright posts. Unable to identify the source of these peculiar traits he concluded that they must have been introduced by Trinity, Cambridge (those known as
1357-493: The 1880s are scant. USGAA makes the unsourced claim that matches were played at Hyde Park, San Francisco in the 1850s. During the 1860s and 1870s, rugby football started to become popular in Ireland. Trinity College Dublin was an early stronghold of rugby, and the rules of the (English) Football Association were codified in 1863 and distributed widely. By this time, according to Gaelic football historian Jack Mahon, even in
1416-454: The British champions in the quarter-finals. † The 1964 winner was probably an amalgamated Dorsey and Cullyhanna team, Tom Williams GFC. Gaelic football Gaelic football ( Irish : Peil Ghaelach ; short name Peil ) , commonly known as simply Gaelic , GAA or football , is an Irish team sport . A form of football , it is played between two teams of 15 players on
1475-419: The GAA county of Dublin, corresponding to the modern administrative county of Fingal — previously competed against other counties. Since the inception of the county system, there have been changes to the respective regions of control of the overseas units. In Ireland the concept of the county is very strong and changing the county boundary is extremely controversial. In 2002 a proposal to divide Dublin in two
1534-788: The Hurling and Football Championships. Counties as used in Gaelic games outside Ireland cover large geographic non-traditional areas which are not considered as counties in any other context. For example, Scotland is a county for GAA purposes, as is London , while the remaining counties of Great Britain cover wider areas than their names suggest. The Hertfordshire County Board , for example, oversees clubs in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire; Gloucestershire GAA reaches into South Wales, Warwickshire GAA includes Staffordshire and Birmingham, and so on. There are also "county boards" for Australasia , Canada , New York ,
1593-596: The Irish countryside, caid had begun to give way to a "rough-and-tumble game", which even allowed tripping. The first account of what the founders of modern Gaelic football referred to as Irish football dates to 1873. Paddy Begley notes that in County Kerry in 1870 only soccer and rugby were played, although historian Paddy Foley notes that by 1874 a third, very different form of football began to emerge and spread across South-West Ireland . At Killarney , these highly popular matches were virtually indistinguishable from
1652-579: The Irish diaspora, often in celebrating traditional events such as St Patrick's Day. The largest such communities existed in Britain, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Many of the earliest football matches in Australia date back to the 1840s amongst Irish immigrants. In the Colony of South Australia , there are several accounts of Irish football being played at Thebarton in 1843 and again in 1853. There were similar accounts of football in
1711-540: The Lyons or Newcastle), was charged with accidentally stabbing a player named William Bernard. A field near Newcastle, South Dublin is still known as the football field. The Statute of Galway of 1527 allowed the playing of "foot balle" and archery but banned " ' hokie'—the hurling of a little ball with sticks or staves" as well as other sports. By the 17th century, the situation had changed considerably. The games had grown in popularity and were widely played. This
1770-484: The Victorian Rules of 1866. It is not known how or when these Victorian Rules reached Ireland, though many of the goldrush Irish immigrants returned to Ireland during the 1870s and 1880s as the colonial fortunes faded. At a similar point in time, the same football rules were proposed as an alternative to those of soccer and rugby in northern England but did not take root there. Playing the code under its own rules
1829-411: The administrative counties being allowed to participate in the leagues or championships of a neighbouring county. There are also instances where the official county boundary does not coincide precisely with the county as used in Gaelic games, for example where a club is based on a parish that crosses the county border. While in most cases the name of the county as used in Gaelic games is the same as that of
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1888-461: The ball not allowed, as such there was no requirement to bounce or solo the ball carrying the ball remained illegal until the turn of the 20th century. The game was intended to promote peace and harmony, rejecting the violence of other football codes, and Davin even included a requirement for players to hold hands with their opponents though this practice fell out of favour. The first game of Gaelic football under GAA rules (developed by Maurice Davin)
1947-541: The ball upward into the hands). In the game, two types of scores are possible: points and goals. A point is awarded for kicking or hand-passing the ball over the crossbar, signalled by the umpire raising a white flag. A goal is awarded for kicking the ball under the crossbar into the net (the ball cannot be hand-passed into the goal), signalled by the umpire raising a green flag. Positions in Gaelic football are similar to those in other football codes and comprise one goalkeeper , six backs, two midfielders, and six forwards, with
2006-472: The ball were permitted. However even "foot-ball" was banned by the severe Sunday Observance Act of 1695 , which imposed a fine of one shilling (a substantial amount at the time) for those caught playing sports. It proved difficult, if not impossible, for the authorities to enforce the Act and the earliest recorded inter-county match in Ireland was one between Louth and Meath , at Slane , in 1712, about which
2065-431: The centre of the goal line. They shall be 21 feet apart, with a crossbar 8 feet from the ground. Besides the goal posts, there shall be two upright posts standing in each goal line 21 feet from the goal posts. A goal is won when the ball is driven between the goalposts and under the crossbar. A point is counted when the ball is driven over the crossbar, or the goal line, within 21 feet of either goal post. 5. The captains of
2124-834: The club (representing County Limerick) later won the inaugural 1887 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final . English (Association) football started to take hold, especially in Ulster , in the 1880s. By the mid-1880s it had become so popular that it was feared by many to completely displace Irish football. Ball-playing, hurling, football kicking, according to Irish rules, 'casting', leaping in various ways, wrestling, handy-grips, top-pegging, leap-frog, rounders, tip-in-the-hat, and all such favourite exercises and amusements amongst men and boys, may now be said to be not only dead and buried, but in several localities to be entirely forgotten and unknown. Thomas Croke , 1884 letter to Michael Cusack Irish football, however, continued its grip on
2183-420: The current or former administrative county, there have been exceptions: Derry has never used the official county name of Londonderry , and the board of the county then officially known as Queen's County changed its name in 1907 to Leix and Ossary, later becoming Laois . Each county board is responsible for organising GAA club fixtures within the county, and for the promotion and development of Gaelic games and
2242-505: The development of international rules football , a hybrid sport , and a series of Test matches has been held regularly since 1998. While Gaelic football as it is known today dates back to the late 19th century, various kinds of football were played in Ireland before this time. The first legal reference to football in Ireland was in 1308, when John McCrocan, a spectator at a football game at Novum Castrum de Leuan (the New Castle of
2301-432: The goal it shall count a goal. 9. The match shall be decided by the greater number of goals. When no goal is made, or when the goals are even, it shall be decided by the greater number of points. 10. The ball must be struck with the hand. It may be caught when off the ground, and the player catching it may kick it any way he pleases, but must not carry it or throw it forward. Note. — There is nothing in this rule to prevent
2360-443: The location of the province, i.e. north, south, east, west. Listed below are the 14 county boards outside of Ireland and the provincial council to which each is affiliated to. Seven county boards are affiliated to Britain and three county boards are affiliated to North America (an unofficial province). The remaining four county boards are not affiliated to any. 40 of the 46 national and overseas county teams currently compete in
2419-684: The main reasons why it failed to be widely adopted in Australia. Irish football was also played in the Colony of New Zealand in the 1860s and 1870s in Auckland during Thomas Croke 's term as Archbishop there. An 1882 theatrical performance in New York portrays a controversial Irish football match on Saint Nicholas Day 6 December 1790 at the school of Champs de Mars in Paris. Despite a large Irish population references to it being played in America before
Armagh Junior Football Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
2478-467: The match, full power to disqualify any player or order him to stand aside and discontinue play, for any act he may consider unfair, as set out in Rule 6, or for vicious play. No nails or iron tips are allowed on the boots. Strips of leather fastened on the soles will prevent slipping. The dress for hurling and football is to be knee breeches and stockings and shoes or boots. Gaelic football spread throughout
2537-436: The opposite players need not stand behind that line. 12. If the ball strikes a bystander near the sideline, except the referee or umpire, it shall be considered out of play and must be thrown in as directed in Rule 8. If it occurs near the goal line it shall be considered out of play and must be kicked from the goal. In the latter case, the referee may allow one point or more if he thinks fit. 13. The referee shall have, during
2596-476: The other objectives of the Association. The county can also refer to the inter-county teams fielded by each county board. While in general any county, and only a county, is eligible to compete in the provincial and national championships and leagues, and almost all do so, again there can be anomalies: in the National Hurling League , for example, a team representing Fingal — a sub-region of
2655-632: The poet Séamas Dall Mac Cuarta wrote a poem of 88 verses beginning "Ba haigeanta". A six-a-side version was played in Dublin in the early 18th century, and 100 years later, there were accounts of games played between County sides (Prior, 1997). By the early 19th century, various football games, referred to collectively as caid , were popular in County Kerry , especially the Dingle Peninsula . Father W. Ferris described two forms of caid :
2714-649: The preliminary round or the quarter-final stage. 2005's winning club Clonmore advanced to that year's Ulster Club JFC final. 2012's winning club An Port Mór went on to win the 2012 Ulster Club JFC. The Armagh JFC winners — by winning the Ulster Junior Club Football Championship — may qualify for the All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship, at which they would enter at the semi-final stage, providing they haven't been drawn to face
2773-405: The referee may think fit, and his side cannot substitute another man. Wrestling shall not be allowed. 7. The time of actual play shall be one hour, and sides are to be changed only at half-time. 8. When a player drives the ball over the sideline, it shall be thrown back from the point where it first crossed the line by a player on the opposite side. It may be thrown in any direction. When the ball
2832-659: The rest of United States , Europe and Asia , while other overseas GAA regions such as the Cayman Islands operate with their own structures not including county boards. London county football team competes in the National Football league, Connacht Senior Football Championship, All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and Tailteann Cup. London county hurling team competes in the National Hurling League, All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship and Christy Ring Cup. Greatest Football achievement: Runners-up of
2891-513: The rules widely distributed in 1887. The GAA sought to promote traditional Irish sports, such as hurling, and to reject "foreign" (particularly English) imports. The first Gaelic football rules, showing the influence of hurling (and incorporating some of the Victorian Rules of 1866 and 1877 ) represented the strong desire to differentiate from association football (and rugby)—for example in their lack of an offside rule . The rules were first drawn up by Maurice Davin in 1884 and later published in
2950-402: The southern counties. Accounts from 1889 state that the variety of football that was becoming popular in Ireland in 1884 bore little resemblance at all to the old mob football and was received by the public as more a hybrid of English and Scotch football. Irish forms of football were not formally arranged into an organised playing code by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) until 1884 with
3009-430: The teams shall toss for choice of sides before commencing play, and the players shall stand in two ranks opposite each other in the centre of the field until the ball is thrown up, each holding the hand of one of the other side. 6. Pushing or tripping behind, holding from behind, catching below knees, or butting with the head, shall be deemed foul, and the player so offending shall be ordered to stand aside for such time as
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#17327801697303068-491: The title four times, with 42 other clubs winning it at least once. The 2020 final went to a replay. The trophy presented to the winners is the Sean Quinn Perpetual Cup. The Armagh JFC winners qualify for the Ulster Junior Club Football Championship. It is the only team from County Armagh to qualify for this competition. The Armagh JFC winners may enter the Ulster Junior Club Football Championship at either
3127-470: The two styles is that the Irish variety featured high kicking " up and under " whereas in colonial Victoria, the little marks or foot passes were much more common. While the founders of the game were all familiar with or played rugby, including Cusack and Davin, few had played Irish football as it was so rare outside of the South-West, though the influence of this football on the founders was obvious, this
3186-471: The world in the late 19th century. Despite a huge Irish American population there was limited awareness of the game in America, though there was limited knowledge of its rules, apart from that the ball cannot be lifted from the ground by hand, and throttling is banned. It was first played in North America in the 1890s with games being played in both Canada and the United States in 1892. More than
3245-628: Was attacked by the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), including its Auxiliary Division . 14 people were killed and 65 were injured. Among the dead was Tipperary footballer Michael Hogan , for whom the Hogan Stand at Croke Park (completed in 1924) was named. In 1930 the GAA banned children found playing rugby instead of Gaelic football. In 1939, at Yankee Stadium in New York City , Kerry played Galway in front of
3304-517: Was due to the patronage of the gentry. Now instead of opposing the games it was the gentry and the ruling class who were serving as patrons of the games. Games were organised between landlords with each team comprising 20 or more tenants. Wagers were commonplace with purses of up to 100 guineas (Prior, 1997). The earliest record of a recognised precursor to the modern game dates from a match in County Meath in 1670, in which catching and kicking
3363-518: Was in recess. Some Gaelic Athletic Associations began to impose strict nationalistic policies during this time. For example, in Connacht free kicks began to be introduced into some leagues penalising speaking of any language but Irish, and imposing a rule that the referee may speak only in Irish. On Bloody Sunday in 1920 , during the Irish War of Independence , a football match at Croke Park
3422-464: Was played near Callan, Co Kilkenny in February 1885. From 1886 the GAA banned tackling. The widely published GAA rules were as follows: 1. The ground for full teams (21 aside) shall be 140 yards long by 84 yards broad, or as near that size as can be got. The ground must be properly marked by boundary lines. Boundary lines are to be at least five yards from the fences. Note— There is no objection to
3481-403: Was quickly and strongly opposed. The following is a list of the 32 county boards in Ireland and the 14 county boards outside of Ireland. Listed below are the 32 county boards based in Ireland and the provincial council to which each is affiliated to. Connacht have five affiliated county boards, Leinster have twelve, Munster have six and Ulster have nine. Also provided is a map showing
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