82-473: The Ulster Junior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by Ulster Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is played between the Junior championship winners from each of the nine counties of Ulster . The competition has a straight knock-out format. It was first held in 2001 as an unofficial tournament, and has been organised by Ulster GAA since 2004. The winners are awarded
164-646: A belief that caid played some part in the origins of Australian rules football . Some historians have cited questionable cause as a reason for the assumption, while others suggest reverse causation as a possible scenario. Nevertheless the relationship of Irish football to Australian football and a hypothetical role in the Origins of Australian rules football remains the subject of debate. While there are some mentions of Irish playing football in Australia (English and Scottish foot-ball were far more common) before
246-438: A combination of carrying, bouncing, kicking, hand-passing, and soloing (dropping the ball and then toe-kicking 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
328-499: 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. Comparison of Australian rules football and Gaelic football Australian rules football and Gaelic football are codes of football , from Australia and Ireland respectively, which have similar styles and features of play. Notably both are dominated by kicking from
410-581: 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
492-526: A game (which along with soccer) that the GAA viewed as a threat to Irish nationalism. Croke's desire to help promote an Irish style of football as an athletic pursuit was well known, referring to 'football kicking, according to Irish rules' in his 1884 letter to the Irish Republican brotherhood's Michael Cusack and he favoured it being played on Sunday. Croke had ample opportunity not only to witness
574-670: A game of caid in Thebarton. Some historians have argued that Gaelic football influenced Australian football. For example, Patrick O'Farrell has pointed out that the Irish sport of hurling , which has similar rules to Gaelic football, was played in Australia as early as the 1840s, and may also have been an influence on the Australian game. B. W. O'Dwyer points out that Australian football has always been differentiated from rugby football by having no limitation on ball or player movement (in
656-443: 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
738-404: 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,
820-679: A recognised precursor to the modern game date from a match in County Meath in 1670, in which catching and kicking the ball was permitted. The earliest recorded inter-county match in Ireland was one between Louth and Meath , at Slane , in 1712, about which the poet James Dall McCuairt wrote a poem of 88 verses beginning "Ba haigeanta". Gaelic football was codified by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in 1887. GAA founder and Irish nationalist Michael Cusack wanted
902-819: A round ball similar to a soccer or volleyball. The round ball can be kicked anyway you like, inside, outside and middle of your boot. The instep is the most popular style based on culture, the drop punt used in Gaelic is a far superior kick in terms of distance and accuracy, but is rarely taught. The first codified games of Australian rules football in 1858 used round balls. Australian rules has evolved to have sleeveless jumpers, whereas Gaelic footballers wear short sleeved outfits similar to soccer or rugby tops. Long sleeves (usually worn due to cold weather) are acceptable in both codes. Senior Australian rules matches typically go for 80 minutes, consisting of four 20-minute quarters (plus added time on; which ensures that many quarters in
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#1732787152238984-543: A time when Victorian rules was immensely popular His sister Mother Mary Ignatius Croke moved to Australia in 1866 and he made a planned visit to her Sisters of Mercy in 1875. Victorian rules was also known in New Zealand in the 1870s and was growing in popularity with the earlier games in Auckland played under hybrid rules of British and Victorian Rules not unlike Gaelic football, but its popularity lagged behind rugby,
1066-403: Is an Irish team sport . A form of football , it is played between two teams of 15 players on 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
1148-439: 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
1230-771: Is mainly played among members of the Irish diaspora . A notable exception 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
1312-668: 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
1394-612: 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 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
1476-440: Is rectangular, stretching 130–145 metres long and 80–90 metres wide. There are H-shaped goalposts at each end with a net on the bottom section. Lines are marked at distances of 13 m, 20 m and 45 m from each end-line. An Australian Football playing field, is oval shaped, and may be 135–185 m long and 110–155 m wide. It has a centre circle, centre square to control player positioning at start of play, and superficial markings including
1558-573: The All-Ireland Club Championship 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
1640-487: 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
1722-521: 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
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#17327871522381804-537: The handpass or disposal with a clenched fist. Unlike other forms of football, both games are notably distinct because of the absence of an offside rule . In both games, a player must bounce (or Solo in Gaelic) the ball while running. Australian rules allows full tackling above the knees and below the shoulders, whereas Gaelic football explicitly disallows directly tackling players. Both sports allow "shepherding" or blocking, although in Australian rules, bumping
1886-406: The old mob football played in Ireland bore very little resemblance to modern Gaelic football which upon first appearance in 1884 was received by the Irish as more a hybrid of English and Scotch football. British historian Tony Collins argues strongly that the GAA hybridised Australian rules and soccer to differentiate from rugby, however takes the view that the development of Australian rules in
1968-399: The "Father of Australian Football" H. C. A. Harrison who had sought to "code of our own" in 1859 was genuinely surprised in 1927 to learn that the Irish had been playing a very similar game since the 1880s. Geoffrey Blainey in 2010 wrote: If an historian of football wishes to press the argument that one code must have copied the other, then this conclusion would be difficult to escape:
2050-420: 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
2132-496: The "high catch" in Gaelic Football. This list is incomplete Both codes use grassed fields of similar length, however Australian Football fields are oval shaped, slightly longer and wider, usually cricket fields . Another key difference is the score posts. Australian rules consists of four posts without a crossbar or net, whereas Gaelic football consists of two posts with crossbar and net. The Gaelic football pitch
2214-412: 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
2296-559: 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
2378-410: The 1866 and 1877 Victorian rules. For example early codified Gaelic called for Australian rules style behind posts (not present in caid and later removed) with 5 point goals scoring (later changed to 3) and 1 point "behind"s all borrowed from Australian Rules, and Rule 27 in reference to kicking styles, Rule 15 relating to foul play and rules dictating playing equipment appear to be directly borrowed from
2460-494: 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
2542-645: The 1880s and curious on the origin of the distinctive features was of the belief that clubs from England in 1868 were most likely introduced elements of their codes including the "mark" (a decade after it had been introduced in Australia) and scoring by kicking between the upright posts. He believed these attributes to have been introduced by English clubs Trinity (1854) and Blackheath (1862) who had their own distinctive rules, rather than from those of Melbourne. However these English games were otherwise dissimilar to both Gaelic Football or Australian Football of 1885. Like
Ulster Junior Club Football Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
2624-438: 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
2706-466: The 50-metre lines and goal squares. Goal posts are 6.4 metres wide for both codes. The obvious difference is the ball used. Australian rules uses an oval ball (a prolate spheroid ), similar to a rugby ball . This makes a difference in the variety and style of kicking . Australian rules is capable of producing a diverse range of kicking styles, the drop punt is most commonly used in the modern game, more so at professional levels. Gaelic football uses
2788-418: The Australian game being played but obtain copies of the rules which were widely published and distributed. Croke was idolised by Gaelic Football's codifier Maurice Davin. There are many more links between the two countries than just Croke. Davin had other links to Australia, including his younger brother Denis, like his other brothers, an Irish athlete, who had emigrated there, and would have been familiar with
2870-500: The GAA creating Gaelic Football as a hybrid of existing football codes (codifier Maurice Davin in an effort to differentiate from rugby has been found to have been making extensive notes on Association Football (soccer) from which some of the rules were based), and the Victorian Rules of 1866 and 1877 (which the modern Australian rules is based on), which were popular and widely distributed. More recently direct references to
2952-596: 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
3034-579: 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
3116-540: 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
3198-668: The Paul Kerr Cup. The winners go on to represent Ulster in the All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship . Monaghan clubs have won the competition eight times, more than any other county. Rock St Patrick's are the most successful club, having won the competition three times. The current champions are Naomh Pádraig from Donegal . Gaelic football Gaelic football ( Irish : Peil Ghaelach ; short name Peil ) , commonly known as simply Gaelic , GAA or football ,
3280-419: 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
3362-517: The Victorian Rules. Early Victorian Rules was played with also a round ball until the introduction of the Sherrin in the 1880s. Other than the directly copied rules, analysts argue that so many of the rules are so similar to the Victorian Rules that it would have been impossible for the GAA rule makers not to have obtained a deep knowledge of the Laws of Australian Football. Jack Worral in 1926 wrote that
Ulster Junior Club Football Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
3444-485: The Victorian rules were well known by them. They were by no means the only Irish Australians involved in the game at the time, there were many, many others. This rule sharing has evolved the Irish game and continues to the present as recently as 2017 with the GAA's introduction of " the mark " from Australian Football, one of the game's other distinctive features, in order to encourage more spectacular aerial contests or
3526-682: The Victorians, the GAA worked hard to create a game that would differentiate from the popular British sports of rugby and soccer. While the GAA may have used Victorian rules to create Gaelic football, it is not known exactly how or when, Victorian rules were transferred to Ireland. One theory suggests that the origin was Archbishop Thomas Croke , one of the founders of the GAA, was the Bishop of Auckland and lived in New Zealand between 1870 and 1875. Croke visited Melbourne in both 1872 and 1875 at
3608-414: The absence of an offside rule), the need to bounce the ball (or toe-kick it, known as a solo in Gaelic football) while running, punching the ball (hand-passing) rather than throwing it, and other traditions. As O'Dwyer says: These are all elements of Irish football. There were several variations of Irish football in existence, normally without the benefit of rulebooks, but the central tradition in Ireland
3690-461: 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)
3772-472: 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
3854-515: The ball, everything apart from the shape of the field. Adding weight to this theory is former Gaelic footballer Joe Lennon 's thorough post-doctoral research analysing of accounts of caid and GAA codified rules against the Melbourne Football Club rules of 1959 and Victorian Rules of 1866 and 1877 appear to indicate direct copying, some virtually verbatim by the GAA from Australian rules and other football codes, but primarily from
3936-431: 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
4018-834: 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
4100-581: The conditions and terrain of Melbourne's parklands, influenced the first rules of Australian football. It has been suggested that Wills was influenced by an Australian Aboriginal game, Marn Grook , as Wills grew up in an area where the game was played by local tribes. Historians such as Geoffrey Blainey have argued that the origins of Australian rules football lie purely with rugby and other English public school games. In 1843, Irish immigrants in South Australia celebrated St Patrick's day by playing
4182-591: The country's many customs. Like Davin, GAA founder Michael Cusack had both a brother and a sister John and Mary who had emigrated to Australia at a similar time. Between the 1850s and 1880s, there was a strong Irish Australian involvement in the early history of the game and officials regularly moved between the two countries, for example, Melbourne's Thomas H. Smith and the Brisbane Football Club 's first presidents in 1868 and 1870 were all Irish, and Dr Kevin O'Doherty returned to Ireland in 1885,
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#17327871522384264-505: 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
4346-548: The formation of the Melbourne Football Club, there is no specific mention of either "Caid", "Irish football" or "Gaelic football" in Australian newspapers of the time. The earliest mention from an Irish sources in Australia in 1889 was that the old mob football had very little in common with modern Gaelic football which upon first appearance in 1884 was received as more a hybrid of English and Scotch football. Patrick O'Farrell , and Chris McConville along with Marcus De Búrca, have used similar logic to postulate that hurling (which
4428-491: The game from that motive [i.e. emulating Irish games]; it was rather a case of particular needs being met… O'Dwyer's argument relies heavily on the presence of Irish immigrants on the Victorian goldfields during the Victorian gold rushes of the 1850s, and a comparison of the two modern games. There is no archival evidence to prove a direct influence of caid on Australian football. Irish sources in Australia in 1889 state that
4510-432: 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
4592-548: 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 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
4674-491: The hand and hand passing as well as rules requiring the ball is bounced by a player running in possession, both have a differentiated scoring system, with higher and lower points values for different scoring shots, both have no offside rule, and both allow more physical contact and players on the field than other football codes - 15 in gaelic football, 18 in Australian Rules. Although there are also many differences,
4756-457: The late 19th century was likely influenced by traditional Irish hurling (rather than Irish football) and points out that this sharing of codes across sports is a natural byproduct of globalisation. Bill Mandle notes that although it lacks evidence that Gaelic Football's come into being in 1880s is a possible indication of Irish Australian influence back home. Arguments were as follows: Aaron Dunne, an Irish sports writer and historian, raises
4838-628: 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
4920-467: 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
5002-436: 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
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#17327871522385084-632: 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 :
5166-489: The professional Australian Football League (AFL) clubs and have had lengthy careers with them. Aside from game-play, a social difference between the codes is that Gaelic football is strictly amateur, whereas Australian football offers professional ( Australian Football League ), ( AFL Women’s ) and semi-professional ( VFL , SANFL , WAFL , etc.) levels of competition, providing a strong financial lure for Irish players to switch to Australian football . The earliest record of
5248-432: The professional and semi-professional leagues go for closer to 30 minutes, making the actual game length usually 105 to 120 minutes long). Senior Gaelic football matches go for 70 minutes consisting of two halves. In both games, players must dispose of the ball correctly, by hand or by foot and the ball must not be thrown. Gaelic football deems the open hand tap to be legitimate disposal, whereas Australian rules enforces
5330-526: The published Victorian rules have been found in the rules of the founding gaelic football club in Ireland, the Commercial Club of Limerick from the 1870s indicating a strong possibility that Australian football found its way to Ireland even earlier than this, perhaps in a similar fashion to the way it was introduced to the colonies of New South Wales , Queensland and New Zealand . In 1967, following approaches from Australian rules authorities, there
5412-405: 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
5494-776: The rules of Gaelic football to differ from rugby union , which was making headway in Ireland at the time. Australian rules football was codified in 1859 by members of the Melbourne Football Club . The first rules were devised by the Australian-born Tom Wills , who was educated at Rugby School ; Englishmen William Hammersley and J. B. Thompson , fellow students at Cambridge 's Trinity College ; and Irish Australian Thomas H. Smith , who played rugby football at Dublin University . Their knowledge of English public school football games , and
5576-513: 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
5658-473: The similarities have allowed a hybrid game to be played, with a regular International rules football series between top Australian AFL players and Irish GAA players. It was a popular assumption from the 1930s to the late 1980s that Irish football is the basis for Australian football, based primarily on the premise that Ireland is older than Australia and the two games look similar. The correlation between Gaelic football and Australian rules football also led to
5740-418: The similarity between the 1885 GAA rules and the 1866 Victorian ones arguing that it is obvious that the GAA used the Victorian rules as a template for Gaelic Football. The similarities included the length and width of the field, the number of players per team (20 vs 21) the distance between the posts, goals and behinds used in the scoring system, the requirement not to throw the ball and the requirement to bounce
5822-402: 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
5904-515: The style of play which Gaelic and Australian football share today was visible in Australia long before it was visible in Ireland. By that line of reasoning Gaelic football must have been the imitator. The present evidence, however, suggests that Gaelic football made its own way … which happened to be—in the style rather than the formalities of play—in the Australian direction. Irish historian Garnham, citing R.M. Peter's Irish Football Annual of 1880, argued that Gaelic Football did not actually exist before
5986-430: 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
6068-470: 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
6150-533: 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
6232-499: Was a series of games between an Irish representative team and an Australian team, under various sets of hybrid, compromise rules. In 1984, the first official representative matches of International rules football were played, and the Ireland international rules football team now plays the Australian team annually each October. Since the 1980s, some Gaelic players, such as Jim Stynes and Tadhg Kennelly , have been recruited by
6314-628: 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
6396-600: Was documented in Australia) was the influence, however modern hurling was not codified until 1879. Some historians claim that the similarities are largely coincidental, that there is only circumstantial evidence for a relationship between the two codes, and any resemblances are the result of something akin to parallel or convergent evolution . Most contemporary historians emphasise the influence of English public school football games . More recent evidence primarily from Irish and English researchers including Tony Collins , Joe Lennon , Geoffrey Blainey and Aaron Dunne point to
6478-456: 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
6560-518: 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
6642-404: Was in the direction of the relatively new game [i.e. rugby] … adapted and shaped within the perimeters of the ancient Irish game of hurling … [These rules] later became embedded in Gaelic football. Their presence in Victorian football may be accounted for in terms of a formative influence being exerted by men familiar with and no doubt playing the Irish game. It is not that they were introduced into
6724-464: 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
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