So first things first, if you are wondering what in the name of goodness the Gaelic Athletic Association is, then scroll down a bit and you'll find a link to the opening post of this series which highlights what the Association is and why it was formed in 1884. Let me whet your appetite. It involves a pub, a bishop, a downtrodden people and a love for sport, tradition and cultural value preservation. Knowing the history of these sports makes me proud to have played them and now my sons are also starting to play them.
The subject of the GAA is so broad that I always shyed away from covering it in a post before. To write to long a post would put many people off reading it and to write too short a post would fail to do justice to a fantastic organisation and its unique sports. In the end, I decided to break it up into four separate parts I through IV as shown below allowing me to write detailed posts on the history and each of the three sports that fall under the umbrella of the GAA. This week's post is about the most popular GAA sport in terms of participation, which is played by teams in every one of Ireland's 32 counties, as well as London and New York.
PART III - Gaelic Football
PART IV - Handball
What is Gaelic Football?
Gaelic Football is the most popular of the Gaelic games and is played on a rectangular grass pitch with H-shaped goals at each end. It is a high energy game that combines precision, accuracy and intensity. It is played with a round ball and both hands and feet are used to control and pass the ball. There are 15 players on each team, 1 referee, 2 linesmen and 4 umpires. One umpire stands at either side of the H shaped goals to officiate on whether the ball went between the posts for a point (1 point) or outside for a wide (0 points) A goal is signalled by raising a green flag, placed to the left of the goal. A point is signalled by raising a white flag, placed to the right of goal.
The primary objective is to score by kicking or hand passing the ball over the bar for 1 point or kicking it into the goal for 3 points. The team with the highest score at the end of the match wins. Draws are also possible and in championship games, a draw will mean either a replay or extra time. The ball used in Gaelic Football is round, slightly smaller than a soccer ball.
The ball can be carried in your hands for four steps or less after which it must be kicked, bounced, soloed or "hand-passed", a striking motion with the hand or fist. The solo is an action of dropping the ball onto the foot and kicking it back into the hand and regarding the bounce, you may not bounce the ball twice in a row. Players may contest for the ball by playing it with the hand or by shoulder charging an opponent side-to-side which you'll see in some of the videos below.
Gaelic Football Rules
TEAMS
A game of Gaelic Football is played by two teams. Each team is comprised of up to 15 players maximum.
The player breakdown is as follows:
1 Goalkeeper
6 Defensive Players
2 Mid-Field Players
6 Offensive Players
GAME PLAY
A match usually consists of two halves of 25-35 minutes depending on age, with senior matches typically being 35 minutes per half. The ball cannot be picked up from the ground directly with the hands. Instead it needs to be chipped into the hands, usually done by crouching down, though some more skillful players can do it standing up with a deft chipping action. The ball may be caught while in the air or bouncing along the ground. The ball cannot be thrown, and must be hand passed instead.
FOULS
Touching the ball directly with a hand while it is on the ground is a foul. Giving cheek to the ref is also deemed foul play and can result in a free against you being moved closer to your goal.
Physically challenging a player while the ball is not present (off the ball challenge) or by playing in an aggressive and illegal manner is also foul play.
Gaelic football is a very physical game and a certain amount of contact is permitted, provided it is in attempting to gain possession of the ball fairly. This included fair shoulder charges which must be shoulder to shoulder. Shoulder to chest is deemed a foul and will often result in a yellow card as it is dangerous play.
Gaelic Football Levels
There's loads of different levels when it comes to Gaelic Football from Under 6s all the way up to Senior, as well Junior B, Inter County and everything else in between.
Every town, village, suburb and cross roads on the island of Ireland, North and South has a local local GAA club to which they are affiliated. From the age of four or five kids tog out for training and from Under 6s/7s up they start competing in matches called go games. The go games are all about participation and ensuring everybody feels included and has a chance to express themselves on the field of play. As time goes by it naturally starts to get more competitive as U10s, U12s, U14s come along. The beauty of the set up of this amateur sport is that you tend to play for one club for your entire career and more times than not it is your home town or village's team. This means that you will be playing alongside your school friends and the lads you grew up with and if you ask people which was sweeter a club all Ireland title or an inter County title, those lucky enough to have both will often point to the club title won with life long friends and colleagues.
Then we have the inter County setup which is basically the best players from the clubs in each county. Ireland is made up of 32 counties and each had its team, along with London and New York who also have teams.
Gaelic Football Competitions
There are dozens if not 100s of competitions across the country for club, provincal, all Ireland and various age brackets but easily the most sought after and famous is the Sam Maguire cup.
The Sam Maguire Cup
This is the cup that they all dream of lifting aloft in Croke Park in September. Walking up the steps of the hogan stand, acknowledging the president before hoisting Sam above their head. The championship takes place throughout the summer months, commencing in April or May and finishing up in September when the two best teams in the country battle it out for the All Ireland title and the coveted Sam Maguire cup.
The championship is broken up into four provincial titles in the North, South, East and West of the country and is played throughout the summer months when the weather is good and the pitches tend to be in decent condition.
One thing you've got to remember is that Gaelic Football and Hurling are amateur sports, meaning that players and coaches are paid nothing for their efforts, well that's the official line at least. It's definitely fair to say though that the vast majority get paid nothing and do it for the love of the game. These guys are training 4 nights a week and are literally pouring their lives into playing the sport, often sacrificing family, friends, nights out, takeaways etc, so hats off to them.
I'll leave you with a few videos of the game of Gaelic Football which is probably the best way to understand what it's all about. Enjoy my friends.
That's it for this part III, join me again soon for part IV when I tell you all about another Irish sport called Handball. Until then, mind yourselves, take it easy, and if ya get it, take it twice.
The photos used throughout this post are not my own and were sourced here:
https://www.businessinsider.com/irish-gaelic-football-nfl-2015-9?amp
http://wolfetonesgaa.ie/underage/juvenile-gaelic-football/
https://rochester.kidsoutandabout.com/content/irish-hurling-skills-class-perinton
https://punditarena.com/gaa/mcorry/gaelic-football-hardman-select-3/?amp
