Case Study: The GAA 1884-1891

The GAA was strongly nationalist => as well as organising Gaelic games it supported the revival of the Irish language and independence from Great Britain

Rules were drawn up for hurling and gaelic football

As well as promoting gaelic games the GAA discouraged it’s members from paying ‘foreign’ sports => later ban on foreign sports

Micheal Cusack

  • Teacher

  • Secretary of GAA => fired => incompetent

  • Difficult

  • Helped establish GAA => 1884

Maurice Davin

  • Athlete => rowing

  • First president of the GAA

Patrons

Patrons lend respectibility and legitimacy to the GAA

  • Micheal Davitt => involved with the land war

  • Parnell => involved with the land war and home rule

  • Arch-Bishop of Cashell => called to Rome by Pope Leo XIII => told to stop his involvement with the GAA as it was political

Aims of the GAA

  1. Rules => Davin said hurling was dangerous

  2. Clubs => a club in every parish => sense of pride

  3. Competition => club => country => All-Ireland

  4. Preserves and revitalises Gaelic sports and athletics

Basing it’s club organisation on parish and county units, the GAA captured parochial passions drawing vast crowds to competitive hurling matches between parish clubs and counties

With the blessing of the church matches were held on a Sunday and were often preceded by Irish dancing competitions, poetry recitations, parades, speech making and pony races

Maurice Davin => aims => handbook with rules for all Irish games

Parnell was too busy to play any significant role in the GAA, his position as a patron gave respectability to the new organisation

Arch-Bishop Croke was an outspoken supporter of Parnell

Timeline of the GAA 1884-1891

11 October 1884

  • Cusack article in United Ireland Nationalist newpaper

1 November 1884

  • GAA founded in Hayes’ Hotel in Thurles Co. Tipperary by Michael Cusack and Maurice Davin

December 1884

  • Meeting in Cork => December 27 => passed a resolution that the GAA governing body was to consist of the officers already elected

    • Committee of the National League and two representatives from every athletic club in the country

  • Nationalist MP William O’Brien => offered the GAA space in his newspaper United Ireland => weekly articles

January 1885

  • Rules were drawn up to regulate Gaelic Sports => Maurice Davin

  • Decides there could only be one GAA club in each parish

  • Members of any other sporting organisation (foreign sports) were banned from joining the GAA

October 1885

  • First AGM of GAA in Hayes’ Hotel => removed ban on members of other sporting organisations

July 1886

  • Cusack => secretary of GAA => often conflict with other leaders => accused of neglecting his administrative duties => forced to resign

September 1886

  • IRB member P.T. Hoctor => elected vice presisdent

  • A ban was adopted banning members of the GAA from playing foreign sports

November 1886

  • AGM => Hayes’ Hotel => 84 clubs present

    • GAA wrote constitution (rulebook)

    • County boards establishes

    • Decision was taken to hold All-Ireland annual hurling and football championship