52-863: The Westmeath County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( Irish : Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae na hIarmhí ) or Westmeath GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland , and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Westmeath . The county board is also responsible for the Westmeath county teams . The county football team won the Leinster Senior Football Championship in 2004. The county hurling team contests
104-604: 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
156-538: 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 ,
208-522: 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
260-401: 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
312-459: 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
364-627: A row. O'Donovan Rossa won the All-Ireland senior club championship in 2008. Antrim are the 2010 All-Ireland junior champions . Notable players include team of the century member Mairéad McAtamney , player of the year winners Sue Cashman and Maeve Gilroy , All Star award winner Jane Adams and Gradam Tailte winner Josephine McClements , and All-Ireland final stars Marjorie Griffin , Marian and Theresa Kearns . Marie O'Gorman . Celia Quinn and Madge Rainey . Rosina MacManus , Nancy Murray and Lily Spence served as presidents of
416-509: 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. Antrim GAA The Antrim County Board of
468-574: 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
520-451: 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,
572-511: The 2008 Tommy Murphy Cup , beating Wicklow in the final and gaining revenge for losing the 2007 final to the same opponents. Antrim reached the 2009 Ulster SFC final, the first Antrim team to do so for 31 years. The team lost to the 2008 All-Ireland SFC winner Tyrone . Antrim have won the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship six times and been runners-up ten times. Camogie arrived in 1908 with
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#1732794078595624-723: 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
676-507: 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
728-750: The Gaelic Athletic Association ( Irish : Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae Aontroma ) or Antrim GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland , and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Antrim , Northern Ireland . The county board is also responsible for the Antrim county teams. The county hurling team contested All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (SHC) finals on two occasions: 1943 and 1989 . The county football team contested All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) finals on two occasions: 1911 and 1912 . As of 2009, there were 108 clubs affiliated to Antrim GAA —
780-918: The Liam MacCarthy Cup via the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship . Clubs contest the Westmeath Senior Football Championship . Westmeath clubs have won the following: the Leinster Senior Club Football Championship (1): Garrycastle, 2011; and the Leinster Junior Club Football Championship (3): Ballinagore, 2005; Moate All Whites, 2014; Multyfarnham, 2017. The county team has never won an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC). Under
832-900: 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
884-481: The National Hurling League in 1985–86, and were the only team to beat Galway in an 18-month period. This team included the three Kilcoyne brothers and produced an All Star award for David, who was the team's free taker and top scorer in 1986. The first All Star award for any Westmeath player in hurling or football. In 2005, the county won the first Christy Ring Cup and thereby gained promotion to
936-598: 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
988-666: 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
1040-471: 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
1092-514: The 2006 Liam MacCarthy Championship. In 2006, they beat Dublin in the first round of the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship before losing the semi-final to Kilkenny in Mullingar by 14 points. They then lost to Waterford , Galway and, disappointingly, Laois before tamely losing a relegation playoff against Dublin on a scorching July day in Tullamore . Despite progress made in 2006,
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#17327940785951144-763: 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
1196-637: The Coiste Chontae an Chláir Shield at Féile na nGael in 1987. Aileen Lawlor refereed the All Ireland senior finals of 2002 and became president elect of the Camogie Association in 2011. 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. Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association ( GAA ; Irish : Cumann Lúthchleas Gael [ˈkʊmˠən̪ˠ ˈl̪ˠuːˌçlʲasˠ ˈɡeːlˠ] ; CLG )
1248-523: 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
1300-515: The GAA condemned the county's hurlers to the Christy Ring Cup - this time without the prospect of promotion. Further rule changes and a Christy Ring win in 2010 allowed Westmeath back into the 2011 Liam MacCarthy. Further progress came on 20 April 2008 with victory in the NHL (Division 2), winning the final against Carlow. That day also saw their footballing counterparts move into Division 1 of
1352-539: The Leinster League twice in succession, the Junior Championship in 1936, and beat Laois to qualify for the 1937 Leinster Senior final. Rickardstown's John 'Jobber' McGrath , who played for the county in the 1950s and 1960s, is regarded as Westmeath's greatest hurler, and as one of the greatest players never to have won an All-Ireland senior hurling title. Westmeath played in the first division of
1404-622: The NFL also, with a win over Dublin. In 2015, the Westmeath minor hurlers surprised heavy favourites Wexford by two points in the Leinster quarter-final, the win has been regarded by the manager as the 'biggest result in history of Westmeath hurling'. The senior hurlers beat Carlow by two points in the Leinster Qualifier group and extended their winning run beating favourites, Antrim 1–21 to 0–7. A famous victory over near rivals Offaly
1456-724: The Senior Championship because the Junior grade was abolished. Antrim hurlers featured strongly in Ulster Railway cup final appearances in 1945, 1993 and 1995. In hurling, the progression that began with Loughgiel's success at club hurling level in 1983 (with players like 15-stone goalkeeper Niall Patterson) culminated in an All-Ireland final appearance in 1989 . Clubs contest the Antrim Senior Football Championship . The county team
1508-786: 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
1560-668: 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
1612-511: The fact four of their semi-finals and two of the finals were played at Corrigan Park and Antrim was described as the "home of camogie." Players from the Belfast league clubs such as Deirdre , St Malachy's and St Theresa’s and Glens villages such as Dunloy and Loughgiel Shamrocks to win all but a handful of the Ulster camogie championships played. They defeated Dublin in a 1956 semi-final that prevented Dublin winning 19 All-Ireland titles in
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1664-404: The first of which was in 1943 losing to Cork and the second was in 1989 losing to Tipperary . In 1943 Antrim defeated both Galway (by 7-0 to 6-2) and Kilkenny (by 3-3 to 1-6) in the old Corrigan Park, but disappointed in the All-Ireland against Cork . Two years previously, Antrim had been graded Junior a year before, and had been beaten by Down in the Ulster final. It was only competing in
1716-421: The foundation of Banba club, but the movement joined by clubs such as Crowley's, Mitchel's and Ardoyne was short-lived. A 1927 revival was more successful and in 1934 there were three adult leagues in Belfast, southwest and north Antrim. Antrim's successes include a three-in-a-row in 1945-7, with the benefit of a dispute that removed their main rivals Dublin and the arrival of a Dublin coach, Charlie MacMahon, and
1768-435: 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
1820-466: 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
1872-517: The management of Páidí Ó Sé , the county team won the 2004 Leinster Senior Football Championship Final . That campaign is covered in the documentary film Marooned . In 2022, Westmeath won the inaugural Tailteann Cup , defeating Cavan in the final at Croke Park. Clubs contest the Westmeath Senior Hurling Championship . The Westmeath hurlers experienced a successful period in the mid 1930s, when they won
1924-425: 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
1976-459: 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
2028-490: 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
2080-422: 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
2132-451: 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
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2184-463: 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
2236-539: 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,
2288-648: 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
2340-581: The third highest, alongside Limerick . Clubs contest the Antrim Senior Hurling Championship . Antrim's first All-Star, Ciaran Barr , helped Belfast club Rossa to reach the 1989 club hurling final and put in a great show against Buffer's Alley. Dunloy were back in the All-Ireland club final in 1995, when they lost in a replay, 1996 and 2003 when they were heavily beaten. Antrim is the only Ulster county to appear in an All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (SHC) final,
2392-722: Was achieved in May 2016 in the Leinster Championship. Westmeath led by some distance for the entire game before winning 2–21 to 1–10. Westmeath won the Máire Ní Chinnéide Cup in 2006. They were defeated in the final of the fourth division of the National Camogie League in 2009 and 2010 . Mary Henry won the camogie All-Ireland Poc Fada Championship in 2006, the first Westmeath woman to win it. Tubberclair in 1987 and Cullion in 1992 won
2444-489: 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
2496-522: 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
2548-557: 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
2600-487: 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
2652-629: 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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#17327940785952704-529: Was the first in the province of Ulster to appear in an All-Ireland final, in 1911 and repeated the feat again in 1912, losing on both occasions. The county team has won the Ulster Senior Football Championship on ten occasions: 1900, 1901, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1946 and 1951. A drawn Ulster SFC semi-final with Derry in 2000 was one of the highlights of Antrim's football at inter-county level, alongside winning
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