47-731: The Offaly County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( Irish : Bord Contae Uíbh Fhailí de Chumann Lúthchleas Gael ) or Offaly GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland , and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Offaly . Separate county boards are also responsible for the Offaly county teams. The county hurling team won All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (SHC) titles during
94-604: A District Inspector in the Royal Irish Constabulary , P. J. Ryan of Tipperary, John Wyse Power and John McKay. Maurice Davin was elected president, Cusack, Wyse-Power and McKay were elected Secretaries and it was agreed that Archbishop Croke , Charles Stewart Parnell and Michael Davitt would be asked to become Patrons. In 1922 it turned over the job of promoting athletics to the National Athletic and Cycling Association . The GAA organises
141-903: A county board re-formed in 1979. Offaly won their first major national titles in 2002 when they won the second division of the National Camogie League and in 2009 when they defeated Waterford in the All Ireland junior final. Drumcullen reached the final of the All Ireland club junior championship in 2003. Kinnity won the Division 3 shield at Féile na nGael in 1997, Drumcullen won the Coiste Chontae an Chláir Shield in 1997. Notable players include soaring star award winners Karen Brady , Elaine Dermody , Audrey Kennedy , Michaela Morkan , Fiona Stephens , and Arlene Watkins . Miriam O'Callaghan served as president of
188-507: A decade later. A new constitution in 2010 shortened the name to An Cumann Camogaíochta and accepted the English title "Camogie Association" on official documents for the first time, reflecting the increased presence of the game in Europe, North America, Asia and Australasia. The game's National Development Plan 2010–2015, entitled Our Game, Our Passion , aims to increase the club base of
235-538: A group of Irishmen gathered in the Hayes' Hotel billiard room to formulate a plan and establish an organisation to foster and preserve Ireland's unique games and athletic pastimes. Arising out of the meeting, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) was founded. The architects and founding members were Michael Cusack of County Clare , Maurice Davin , Joseph K. Bracken , Thomas St George McCarthy ,
282-635: A meeting organised by Seaghán Ua Dúbhtaigh at 25 Rutland Square (now Parnell Square ), Dublin. It was revived in 1923 and the first congress held on 25 April 1925, when over 100 delegates gathered in Conarchy's Hotel, Parnell Square. It was reconstituted again in 1939 as Cumann Camogaiochta na nGael. For a period in the 1930s it organised women's athletics events. A breakaway Cualacht Luithchleas na mBan Gaedheal continued in existence during 1939–51 as clubs in Cork, Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow disaffiliated in
329-522: A number of GAA supporters were killed and clubhouses damaged. As the profile of Gaelic football has been raised in Ulster so too has there been an increase in the number of sectarian attacks on Gaelic clubs in Northern Ireland. Some of the protectionist rules are as follows: Rule 42 (Rule 5.1 in the 2009 rulebook) prohibits the use of GAA property for games with interests in conflict with
376-401: A number of competitions at divisional, county, inter-county , provincial, inter-provincial and national (All-Ireland) levels. A number of competitions follow a progressive format in which, for example, the winners of a club county football competition progress to a competition involving the top clubs from each county in the province, with the champions from each province progressing through
423-459: A number of initiatives aimed at making the association and Gaelic games more accessible to northern Protestants. In November 2008, the council launched a Community Development Unit , which is responsible for "Diversity and Community Outreach initiatives". The Cúchulainn Initiative is a cross-community program aimed at establishing teams consisting of Catholic and Protestant schoolchildren with no prior playing experience. Cross-community teams such as
470-630: A rule in 2007 that prohibited collective training for inter-county players for a period of two months every winter. This has proven to be controversial in that it is difficult to enforce; in the drive to stay competitive, managers have found ways to avoid it, such as organising informal 'athletic clubs' and other activities that they can use to work on the physical fitness of players without overtly appearing to be training specifically at Gaelic games. Camogie Association The Camogie Association ( Irish : An Cumann Camógaíochta , formerly Irish : Cumann Camógaíochta na nGael ) organises and promotes
517-638: A score of 1–15 to 0–17. The Offaly vocational schools' team have made it to six All-Ireland finals but lost all six, including the first final when they were beaten by the Cork City team in 1961. Nine Offaly camogie clubs were organised in the 1930s and Offaly entered the Leinster championships of 1935 and 1936, but the game declined amid the Camogie Association disputes of the 1940s and had to be revived by Clare-born Mary O’Brien in 1973, and
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#1732791355478564-402: A series of disputes, largely over whether male officials should be allowed to hold office and whether players of ladies' hockey should be allowed to play camogie. The last of these disputes was not resolved until 1951. The decision to change the playing rules from 12-a-side to 15-a-side teams and to use the larger GAA-style field led to an increase of affiliations after 1999 from 400 clubs to 540
611-574: A series of national finals. The association has had a long history of promoting Irish culture. Through a division of the association known as Scór (Irish for "score"), the association promotes Irish cultural activities, running competitions in music, singing, dancing and storytelling. Rule 4 of the GAA's official guide states: The Association shall actively support the Irish language , traditional Irish dancing , music , song, and other aspects of Irish culture . It shall foster an awareness and love of
658-401: Is an All Ireland Club Championship at senior, intermediate and junior level, a National League an inter-provincial Gael Linn Cup at senior and junior level, inter-collegiate Ashbourne and Purcell cups and a programme of All-Ireland championships at secondary schools senior and junior levels . The president of the association is elected by the sport's annual congress, in modern times for
705-451: Is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling , camogie , Gaelic football , Gaelic handball , and rounders . The association also promotes Irish music and dance , as well as the Irish language and it also promotes environmental stewardship through its Green Clubs initiative. As of 2014,
752-723: The Australian Football League . The venue alternates between Ireland and Australia. In December 2006, the International series between Australia and Ireland was called off due to excessive violence in the matches, but resumed in October 2008 when Ireland won a two test series in Australia. The Irish welcomed the All Australian team at the headquarters of the GAA (Croke Park) on 21 November 2015. It
799-494: The Camogie Association . Under Camogie's National Development Plan 2010–2015, "Our Game, Our Passion", five new camogie clubs were to be established in the county by 2015. Offaly Camogie launched home and away jerseys in May 2021. Offaly has a ladies' football team. Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association ( GAA ; Irish : Cumann Lúthchleas Gael [ˈkʊmˠən̪ˠ ˈl̪ˠuːˌçlʲasˠ ˈɡeːlˠ] ; CLG )
846-507: The Church of Ireland . The council has also undertaken a series of meetings with political parties and community groups who would have traditionally have had no involvement in the association. In January 2011, the then President of Ireland, Mary McAleese , announced the launch of an island-wide project called the "GAA Social Initiative". This aims to address the problem of isolation in rural areas where older people have limited engagement with
893-900: The National Handball Centre , which replaced the old Croke Park Handball Centre built in the 1970s. The centre is due to be the home of GAA Handball and to play host to All-Ireland Gaelic Handball finals. The next three biggest grounds are all in Munster : Semple Stadium in Thurles , County Tipperary , with a capacity of 53,000, the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick , which holds 50,000, and Páirc Uí Chaoimh , County Cork , which can accommodate 45,000. Other grounds with capacities above 25,000 include: Research by former Fermanagh county footballer Niall Cunningham led to
940-528: The Republic of Ireland in terms of attendance. Gaelic football is also the second most popular participation sport in Northern Ireland . The women's version of these games, ladies' Gaelic football and camogie , are organised by the independent but closely linked Ladies' Gaelic Football Association and the Camogie Association of Ireland , respectively. GAA Handball , is the governing body for
987-613: The Ulster Football Finals were played in Croke Park, as the anticipated attendance was likely to far exceed the capacity of the traditional venue of St Tiernach's Park , Clones . Croke Park is the association's flagship venue and is known colloquially as Croker or Headquarters , since the venue doubles as the association's base. With a capacity of 82,300, it ranks among the top five stadiums in Europe by capacity, having undergone extensive renovations for most of
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#17327913554781034-502: The 1980s and 1990s. The county football team won All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) titles during the 1970s and 1980s. Clubs contest the Offaly Senior Hurling Championship . That competition's most successful club is Coolderry , with 31 titles. After a scheme developed by the Gaelic Athletic Association in the 1970s to encourage the playing of hurling in non-traditional counties, Offaly
1081-441: The 1982 All-Ireland Final when Offaly played Kerry . The match was a repeat of the previous year's final; however, not only that but a win for Kerry would give them an unprecedented fifth consecutive All-Ireland SFC title. Kerry were winning by two points with two minutes to go when Séamus Darby came on as a substitute and scored a critical goal. Kerry fumbled the counterattack which allowed Offaly to win by one single point with
1128-471: The 1990s and early 21st century. Every September, Croke Park hosts the All-Ireland inter-county Hurling and Football Finals as the conclusion to the summer championships. Croke Park holds the All-Ireland club football and hurling finals. Croke Park is named after Archbishop Thomas Croke , who was elected as a patron of the GAA during the formation of the GAA in 1884. The Croke Park campus is also home to
1175-763: The Belfast Cuchulainn under-16 hurling team have been established and gone on to compete at the Continental Youth Championship in the USA. Similar hurling and Gaelic football teams have since emerged in Armagh, Fermanagh, Limavady. David Hassan , from the University of Ulster, has written about the cross community work of the association and other sporting bodies in Ulster. The 'Game of three-halves' cross-community coaching initiative
1222-523: The GAA is applied to the use of grounds. Clubs play at their own grounds for the early rounds of the club championship , while the latter rounds from quarter-finals to finals are usually held at a county ground, i.e. the ground where inter-county games take place or where the county board is based. The provincial championship finals are usually played at the same venue every year. However, there have been exceptions, such as in Ulster , where in 2004 and 2005
1269-786: The World Handball Championships are organised by the World Handball Council. A European Tour has been set up with players from across Europe participating. 4-Wall Handball is played primarily in Ireland, the US and Canada while the 1-Wall code is played (in addition to the three mentioned) in Belgium, France, Holland, Italy, Spain and the UK. To address concerns about player burnout , the association adopted
1316-700: The association from 540 clubs to 750 by 2015. Targets include: An international games development strategy was commenced in 2010, with camogie established as part of the Continental Youth Games in the United States and a target of three teams from Great Britain participating in Féile na nGael by 2015. The Camogie Association organises All-Ireland Championships at Senior , Intermediate , "Premier Junior" , Junior A, Junior B, Minor A , Minor B, and Minor C, and Under-16 A, B and C level. There
1363-605: The community. The initiative was later expanded by teaming up with the Irish Farmers Association to integrate that organisation's volunteers into the initiative. Members of the Irish diaspora have set-up clubs in a number of regions and countries outside of Ireland, and there are GAA clubs in the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada, China, continental Europe and elsewhere. The GAA World Games were first played in Abu Dhabi in 2015. The next edition
1410-539: The greatest comebacks of all time, scoring two goals and five points in the last five minutes. They defeated Limerick by 3–16 to 2–13. The Vocational Schools team has made it to 12 All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship finals but have never won one. Clubs contest the Offaly Senior Football Championship . That competition's most successful club is Rhode , with 30 titles. Perhaps the most famous moment in football history came in
1457-435: The interests of the GAA referred to by some as "garrison games" or foreign sports . Current rules state that GAA property may only be used for the purpose or in connection with the playing of games controlled by the association. Sports not considered 'in conflict' with the GAA have been permitted . On 16 April 2005 the GAA's congress voted to temporarily relax Rule 42 and allow international soccer and rugby to be played in
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1504-466: The mainly Catholic nationalist community, and many in the Protestant unionist population consider themselves excluded by a perceived political ethos. According to one sports historian, the GAA "is arguably the most striking example of politics shaping sport in modern history". A perception within Northern Ireland unionist circles that the GAA is a nationalist organisation is reinforced by
1551-425: The management of Croke Park has been allowed to earn revenue by renting the facility out to competing sports organisations, but local GAA units which own smaller facilities cannot. It is also said that it is questionable as to whether or not such rental deals would be damaging to the GAA's interests. The GAA has had some notable rules in the past which have since been abolished. Rule 21 , instituted in 1897 when it
1598-459: The naming of some GAA grounds, clubs, competitions and trophies after prominent nationalists or republicans. Other critics point to protectionist rules such as Rule 42 which prohibits competing, chiefly British, sports (referred to by some as "garrison games" or foreign sports ) from GAA grounds. As a result, the GAA became a target for loyalist paramilitaries during the Troubles when
1645-490: The national ideals in the people of Ireland, and assist in promoting a community spirit through its clubs. The group was formally founded in 1969 and is promoted through various Association clubs throughout Ireland (as well as some clubs outside Ireland). The association has many stadiums scattered throughout Ireland and beyond. Every county and nearly all clubs have grounds, with varying capacities and utilities, where they play their home games. The hierarchical structure of
1692-422: The organisation had over 500,000 members worldwide, and declared total revenues of €96.1 million in 2022. The Competitions Control Committee (CCC) of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) governing bodies organise the fixture list of Gaelic games within a GAA county or provincial councils . Gaelic football and hurling are the most popular activities promoted by the organisation, and the most popular sports in
1739-400: The publication in 2016 by his website, gaapitchlocator.net, of a map of 1,748 GAA grounds in Ireland, ranging from 24 grounds in his own county to 171 in Cork. The association has, since its inception, been closely associated with Irish nationalism , and this has continued to the present, particularly in relation to Northern Ireland, where the sports are played predominantly by members of
1786-463: The rules of either Gaelic football or hurling. However, the first international match between France and Italy was played in 2014. Compromise rules have been reached with two "related sports". Hurlers play an annual fixture against a national shinty team from Scotland . International Rules Football matches have taken place between an Irish national team drawn from the ranks of Gaelic footballers, against an Australian national team drawn from
1833-409: The sport of camogie in Ireland and around the world. The association has close ties with the Gaelic Athletic Association , but is still a separate organisation. The Camogie Association was founded in 8 North Frederick St, Dublin on 25 February 1904, with Máire Ní Chinnéide as President. In 1911, it was reconstituted as Cualacht Luithchleas na mBan Gaedheal ("Gaelic Athletic Company of Women") at
1880-539: The sport of handball , while the other Gaelic sport, rounders, is managed by the GAA Rounders National Council ( Irish : Comhairle Cluiche Corr na hÉireann ). Since its foundation in 1884, the association has grown to become a major influence in Irish sporting and cultural life , with considerable reach into communities throughout Ireland and among the Irish diaspora . On 1 November 1884,
1927-648: The stadium while Lansdowne Road Football Ground was closed for redevelopment. The first soccer and rugby union games permitted in Croke Park took place in early 2007, the first such fixture being Ireland's home match in the Six Nations Rugby Union Championship against France . In addition to the opening of Croke Park to competing sports, local GAA units have sought to rent their facilities out to other sports organisations for financial reasons in violation of Rule 42. The continued existence of Rule 42 has proven to be controversial since
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1974-489: Was established in predominantly Protestant east Belfast in 2006. Organised through Knock Presbyterian Church, this scheme brings Association coaches to work alongside their soccer and rugby counterparts to involve primary school children at summer coaching camps. The Ulster Council is also establishing cross-community football and hurling teams in schools and is developing links with the Ulster-Scots Agency and
2021-522: Was expelled for attending a soccer international. Rule 27 was abolished in 1971. The association points out the role of members of minority religions in the membership throughout its history. For example, the Protestant Jack Boothman was president of the organisation from 1993 to 1997, while Sam Maguire was a Church of Ireland member. Nonetheless, to address concerns of unionists, the association's Ulster Council has embarked on
2068-569: Was one of the first teams to benefit. As a result, the county won six Leinster Senior Hurling Championship titles in the 1980s, as well as its first All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship in 1981. The county team has since gone on to win three other All-Irelands. Perhaps Offaly's most famous win came in the All-Ireland Final of 1994 in what has come to be remembered as the "five minute final." Limerick looked set to win their first All-Ireland title since 1973 until Offaly staged one of
2115-557: Was played in Dublin in 2016 with subsequent editions to be played in Ireland every three years. The 2019 games were awarded to Waterford , but the next edition in Derry was deferred to 2023 due to the Covid pandemic. While some units of the association outside Ireland participate in Irish competitions, the association itself does not organise regular international games played according to
2162-487: Was single one-off test match, which led the Irish to reclaim the Cormac McAnallen Cup by a score of 56–52. The international dimension of Gaelic handball includes a World Championship tournament, alongside a European Tour and US Semi-Professional Tour. The 4-Wall and 1-Wall codes of the game are played around the world [with slightly different rules depending on which country one is playing in] and
2209-629: Was suspected that Royal Irish Constabulary spies were trying to infiltrate the organization, prohibited members of the British forces from membership of the GAA. The rule was abolished after an overwhelming majority voted for its removal at a special congress convened in November 2001. Rule 27 , sometimes referred to as The Ban , dated from 1901 and banned GAA members from taking part in or watching non Gaelic games. During that time people such as Douglas Hyde , GAA patron and then President of Ireland,
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