GAA Congress is an annual gathering of the Gaelic Athletic Association in which changes to the rule book, the Official Guide, may be undertaken, where the year is reviewed, and a new President of the association formally takes office. It is a democratic meeting in which delegates from GAA county boards and provincial councils have speaking and voting rights.
GAA Congress can attract much public attention depending on what issues are being voted upon. For example, the 2001 Congress was watched closely when it voted to overturn Rule 21, the ban on members of the British security forces from GAA membership. [1] The 2005 Congress was particularly significant; it made the historic vote to relax Rule 42, allowing Croke Park to be used by the Irish rugby and association football authorities during the reconstruction of their stadium at Lansdowne Road. [2]
The Gaelic Athletic Association 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.
Croke Park is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is sometimes called Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Since 1891 the site has been used by the GAA to host Gaelic sports, including the annual All-Ireland in Gaelic football and hurling.
Breffni Park, known for sponsorship reasons as Kingspan Breffni, is a GAA stadium in Cavan, Ireland. It is the home of Cavan GAA. The ground has an overall capacity of about 32,000 with a 6,000 seated capacity. Breffni is the historic name for area of Cavan/Leitrim. Cavan is often referred to as the Breffni County. Kingspan Breffni is located on Park Lane to the south of Cavan town. Breffni Park hosted the first test in the 2006 Ladies' International Rules Series between Ireland and Australia. It also hosted the first test during the 2013 International Rules Series.
Seán Kelly is an Irish politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the South constituency since July 2009. He is a member of Fine Gael, part of the European People's Party.
The Carlow County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) or Carlow GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Carlow and the Carlow county teams.
The Louth County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) or Louth GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Louth. The county board is also responsible for the Louth county teams.
Rule 21 of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) was a rule in force from 1897 to 2001 which banned members of the British security forces from membership of the GAA and thus from playing Gaelic games. The affected organisations included the British Armed Forces and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), and prior to partition the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and Dublin Metropolitan Police. As well as the RUC in Northern Ireland, it also applied to police forces in Great Britain, which affected London GAA and the other British GAA affiliates. Rule 21 stated:
The history of the Gaelic Athletic Association is much shorter than the history of Gaelic games themselves. Hurling and caid were recorded in early Irish history and they pre-date recorded history. The Gaelic Athletic Association itself was founded in 1884.
The Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in Gaelic football played in Ireland. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it were replaced by an under 17 championship following a vote at the GAA congress on 26 February 2016.
The Structure of the Gaelic Athletic Association is a voluntary, democratic association consisting of various boards, councils, and committees organised in a structured hierarchy. The individual club is the basic unit of the association, and the world headquarters are at Croke Park. All of the Gaelic Athletic Association's activities are governed by a book called the Official Guide.
Maurice Davin was an Irish farmer who became co-founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association. He was also the first President of the GAA and the only man ever to serve two terms as president.
Seán McCague served as the 33rd president of the Gaelic Athletic Association (2000–2003). McCague was born in Scotstown, County Monaghan and became the first Monaghan man to hold that office.
John Henry "Jack" Boothman was the 31st president of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) between 1994 and 1997. He was an active member of his local Blessington GAA club in County Wicklow.
Christy Cooney is a Gaelic games administrator, who served as the 36th president of the Gaelic Athletic Association. He was elected president at the annual GAA Congress on 12 April 2008 and succeeded Nickey Brennan in the post in 2009 - becoming the 36th President of the GAA.
Liam Mulvihill is an Irish retired Gaelic games administrator. He served as Director-General of the Gaelic Athletic Association from 1979 until 2008.
Rule 42 is a rule of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) which in practice prohibits the playing of non-Gaelic games in GAA stadiums. The rule is often mistakenly believed to prohibit foreign sports at GAA owned stadiums. However, non-Gaelic games such as boxing and American football did take place in Croke Park before Rule 42 was modified.
Pat Fanning was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Mount Sion and was a member of the Waterford senior inter-county team in the 1940s and 1950s. He won the county championship on seven occasions. Fanning also served as the 23rd President of the Gaelic Athletic Association from 1970 until 1973, and was honorary life president of Waterford's county board.
A comparison of Gaelic football and rugby union is possible because of certain similarities between the codes, as well as the numerous dissimilarities.
Police Service of Northern Ireland GAA, also known as PSNI GAA, is a Gaelic Games club based in Northern Ireland. The club was set up in 2002 for members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, with the intent to allow serving police officers to play Gaelic games following the abolition of Rule 21, which had prohibited them from doing so. They are based at Newforge Lane in Belfast alongside other teams affiliated with the RUC Athletic Association. They are affiliated with Antrim GAA and play in their Inter-Firms League. On 18 October 2019 they capped off their most successful year with a win of the Tom langan trophy for the first time in their history.
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