The following article provides a list of Gaelic games governing bodies, county boards and associations around the world. The principal governing body is the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA).
The two dominant sports of the Gaelic games are traditionally played in separate regions of Ireland. Hurling is traditionally played mainly in the provinces of Munster and Leinster, whereas football is played in every county and is dominant in Ulster and Connacht and certain parts of the other provinces.
Rank | Continent | No. of Clubs | Provincial boards | County boards |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Europe | >2400 | 5 | 40 |
2 | North America | 192 | 0 | 3 |
3 | Oceania | 52 | 0 | 1 |
4 | Asia | 39 | 0 | 2 |
5 | South America | 5 | 0 | 0 |
6 | Africa | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Rank | Country / territory | No. of Clubs |
---|---|---|
1 | Republic of Ireland | 2,200 |
2 | United States | 144 |
3 | England | 78 |
4 | Australia | 70 |
5 | Canada | 28 |
6 | France | 25 |
7 | Spain | 24 |
8 | Germany | 11 |
New Zealand | 11 | |
10 | United Arab Emirates | 9 |
11 | China | 7 |
12 | Netherlands | 6 |
Scotland | 6 | |
14 | Argentina | 5 |
Sweden | 5 | |
16 | Italy | 4 |
Switzerland | 4 | |
18 | Belgium | 3 |
Russia | 3 | |
South Korea | 3 | |
21 | Austria | 2 |
Czech Republic | 2 | |
Denmark | 2 | |
Finland | 2 | |
Malaysia | 2 | |
South Africa | 2 | |
27 | Bahrain | 1 |
Cambodia | 1 | |
Croatia | 1 | |
Estonia | 1 | |
Gibraltar | 1 | |
Guernsey | 1 | |
Hungary | 1 | |
Indonesia | 1 | |
Japan | 1 | |
Jersey | 1 | |
Kuwait | 1 | |
Luxembourg | 1 | |
Myanmar | 1 | |
Norway | 1 | |
Oman | 1 | |
Poland | 1 | |
Portugal | 1 | |
Qatar | 1 | |
Saudi Arabia | 1 | |
Singapore | 1 | |
Slovakia | 1 | |
Taiwan | 1 | |
Thailand | 1 | |
Uganda | 1 | |
Vietnam | 1 |
Rank | Province | Clubs | Counties |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Leinster | 685 | 12 |
2 | Munster | 645 | 6 |
3 | Ulster | 584 | 9 |
4 | Connacht | 212 | 5 |
5 | North America (unofficial province) | 192 | 3 |
6 | Europe (unofficial province) | 108 | 1 |
7 | Britain | 84 | 7 |
8 | Oceania (unofficial province) | 52 | 1 |
9 | Asia (unofficial province) | 39 | 2 |
Rank | County | Clubs | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Cork | 259 | Highest ranked Munster county |
2 | Dublin | 134 | Highest ranked Leinster county |
3 | United States | 123 | Highest ranked county outside Ireland |
4 | Antrim | 108 | Highest ranked Ulster county |
Europe | 108 | ||
6 | Limerick | 101 | |
7 | Wexford | 93 | |
8 | Clare | 84 | |
9 | Galway | 80 | Highest ranked Connacht county |
10 | Kerry | 73 | |
11 | Tipperary | 72 | |
12 | Down | 70 | |
13 | Tyrone | 68 | |
14 | Donegal | 63 | |
15 | Offaly | 61 | |
16 | Derry | 60 | |
17 | Meath | 59 | |
18 | Cavan | 59 | |
19 | Kildare | 57 | |
20 | Armagh | 56 | |
Waterford | 56 | Lowest ranked Munster county | |
22 | Australasia | 52 | |
23 | Mayo | 50 | |
Fermanagh | 23 | Lowest ranked Ulster counties | |
Monaghan | 50 | ||
26 | Westmeath | 47 | |
27 | Laois | 46 | |
28 | Wicklow | 45 | |
29 | Louth | 42 | |
30 | Kilkenny | 41 | |
New York | 41 | ||
32 | Carlow | 33 | |
33 | London | 32 | Highest ranked British county |
Roscommon | 32 | ||
35 | Canada | 28 | |
36 | Longford | 27 | Lowest ranked Leinster county |
37 | Sligo | 26 | |
38 | Leitrim | 24 | Lowest ranked Connacht county |
39 | Asia | 23 | |
40 | Middle East | 16 | |
41 | Warwickshire | 15 | |
42 | Hertfordshire | 9 | |
43 | Lancashire | 8 | |
44 | Yorkshire | 7 | |
Gloucestershire | 7 | ||
46 | Scotland | 6 |
County | No. | Divisions/regions | Clubs |
---|---|---|---|
Cork | 8 | Avondhu | 26 |
Beara | 6 | ||
Carbery | 27 | ||
Carrigdhoun | 11 | ||
Duhallow | 20 | ||
Imokilly | 24 | ||
Muskerry | 22 | ||
Seandun | 26 | ||
Australasia | 8 | Canterbury | |
New South Wales | 16 | ||
Queensland | 13 | ||
South Australia | |||
Tanzania | |||
Victoria | 8 | ||
Wellington | |||
Western Australia | 6 | ||
Tipperary | 4 | Mid Tipperary | |
North Tipperary | |||
South Tipperary | |||
West Tipperary | |||
Kerry | 5 | East Kerry | 14 |
Mid Kerry | 6 | ||
North Kerry | |||
South Kerry | 16 | ||
West Kerry | 5 | ||
Canada | 3 | Eastern Division | 8 |
Toronto Division | 14 | ||
Western Division | 18 |
The continent of Europe has 5 provinces and 40 county boards:
The island of Ireland has 4 provinces and 32 county boards (the historic four provinces of Ireland set in 1610):
The province of Munster has 6 county boards:
The traditional hurling-football divide in Munster runs along a line from Tubber in north County Clare through Corofin to Labasheeda. Across the Shannon in County Limerick the line divides the footballing territory in the hilly west Limerick from the hurling territory in the lush lowlands of east and central Limerick. In County Cork the line also divides east from west, starting at Mallow and extending south towards the city of Cork and on to the coast. Further west beyond the footballing west Cork is the almost entirely footballing territory in County Kerry, with only a very small hurling region north of Tralee in Ardfert, Ballyheigue and Causeway. The entire counties of Tipperary and Waterford are considered to be traditionally hurling regions. [1]
The province of Leinster has 12 county boards:
In Leinster the traditional hurling region is located in the south west of the province. The entire County Kilkenny is considered hurling territory, with very little football activity. Most of County Wexford is in the hurling region along with Counties Carlow, Laois and Offaly. The other Leinster counties are considered footballing counties.[ citation needed ]
The province of Connacht has 5 county boards:
Connacht is almost entirely Gaelic football territory, with only Galway competing in the Liam MacCarthy Cup. In County Galway the hurling-football divide follows a line from Galway City to Ballinasloe. The divide in Galway probably stands out more than in other counties. The hurling territory in Galway stands out strongly from the rest of the province; as a result, the Galway team plays in the Leinster Championship. Another very small hurling region is in eastern County Mayo around Ballyhaunis.[ citation needed ]
The province of Ulster has 9 county boards:
Ulster is also almost entirely a footballing region; the hurling region is located in the Glens of Antrim. [2] and on the Ards Peninsula in eastern County Down.
The island of Britain has 1 province and 7 county boards:
London enters a team in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship via the Connacht Senior Football Championship.
Warwickshire has had some success in hurling at a junior level.
Lancashire fielded a team in the National Hurling League for the first time in 2018.
This is the governing body in continental Europe.
German clubs formed a union in Berlin in 2015 known as the Deutscher Bund Gälischer Sportarten.
The continent of North America has 1 province and 3 county boards:
The Canadian GAA oversees Gaelic games across Canada.
The New York GAA administrates in the New York metropolitan area. A county team participates in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship via the Connacht Senior Football Championship, where it occasionally provides a challenge for opponents. Despite suffering the loss of two players to sendings off early in the second half, New York gave Galway a scare in 2010, though eventually capitulating by 2-13 to 0-12. [3] A late burst in 2016 took New York to within one point of opponents Roscommon, which had contested the National Football League Division 1 semi-finals only one month earlier. [4]
The USGAA oversees the rest of the country.
The continent of Oceania has 1 county board:
The Australasia GAA oversees Gaelic games in Australia and New Zealand. It also oversees inter-state matches in Australia.
The continent of Asia has 2 county boards:
The Asian GAA oversees Gaelic games across Asia, but also Oceania (with the exception of Australia and New Zealand, which is overseen by the Australasian GAA).
The Middle Eastern Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Middle East GAA is one of the international county boards, and is responsible for organising Gaelic games in the Middle East.
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest-tier competition for inter-county hurling in Ireland and has been contested in every year except one since 1887.
The 2005 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 119th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county hurling tournament, since its establishment in 1887. The draw for the provincial fixtures took place on 17 October 2004. The championship began on 15 May 2005 and ended on 11 September 2005.
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1997 was the 111th staging of Ireland's premier hurling competition. Clare won the championship, beating Tipperary 0-20 to 2-13 in the final at Croke Park, Dublin.
The 2001 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 114th staging of Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition. Tipperary won the championship, beating Galway 2-18 to 2-15 in the final at Croke Park, Dublin.
The 2000 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 114th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county hurling tournament. The draw for the 2000 fixtures took place on 14 November 1999. The championship began on 6 May 2000 and ended on 10 September 2000.
The 1990 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 104th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county hurling tournament. The draw for the 1990 provincial fixtures took place in November 1989. The championship began on 13 May 1990 and ended on 2 September 1990.
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition for male players under the age of 17 in Ireland and has been contested every year - except for a three-year absence during the Emergency - since 1928.
The GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition for male players between the ages of 17 and 20 in Ireland. The championship was contested as the All-Ireland Under-21 Championship between 1964 and 2018 before changing to an under-20 age category from 2019.
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1984 was the 98th series of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition. Cork won the championship, beating Offaly 3–16 to 1–12 in the centenary year final at Semple Stadium, Thurles.
A county is a geographic region within Gaelic games, controlled by a county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and originally based on the 32 counties of Ireland as they were in 1884. While the administrative geography of Ireland has since changed, with several new counties created and the six that make up Northern Ireland superseded by 11 local government districts, the counties in Gaelic games have remained largely unchanged.
A province is a geographic region within Gaelic games, consisting of several counties of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and originally based on the historic four provinces of Ireland as they were set in 1610.
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 2008 was the 122nd since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The first matches of the season were played on 25 May 2008, and the championship ended on 7 September 2008. Kilkenny went into the 2008 championship as defending champions, having won their thirtieth All-Ireland title the previous year.
The GAA Hurling Intermediate All-Ireland Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Effectively contested by the second string teams of the top inter-county hurling sides in Ireland, the tournament has taken place every year since 1997—having originally been run between 1961 and 1973.
The 1988 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 102nd staging of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county hurling tournament. The championship began on 22 May 1988 and ended on 4 September 1988.
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1901 was the 15th series of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition. London won the championship, beating Cork 1–5 to 0–4 in the final.
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1910 was the 24th series of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition. Wexford won the championship, beating Limerick 7-0 to 6-2 in the final.
The Connacht Minor Hurling Championship was an annual hurling competition organised sporadically by the Connacht Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association between 1931 and 1989 for the youngest competitors (under-18) in the province of Connacht in Ireland.
The 2016 GAA Interprovincial Championships was a senior GAA competition in which the four provinces of Ireland competed in Gaelic football and hurling. The provincial squads are made up of players from the county panels in each province.
The 2019 All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship was the 89th staging of the All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1928. The championship began on 27 April 2019 and ended on 18 August 2019.