Traditional Sports and Games of Ireland

1. Traditional Sports and Games of Ireland

2. Sport in Ireland • As in many Nations, sport plays an integral role in Irish society with TV radio and newspapers providing a constant stream of sports coverage. • The most popular of which are, Gaelic Football, Hurling, Soccer, Rugby, golf, horse racing and boxing.

3. Some of our internationally acclaimed sports stars. • Tony McCoy (most successful jump jockey of all time) • Roy Keane, Dennis Irwin (formerly of Manchester united) • Robbie Keane (Currently of LA Galaxy and Formerly of Liverpool) • BriainO’Driscoll (Ireland rugby legend)

4. Some of our internationally acclaimed sports stars. • Katie Taylor (current European, World and Olympic 60kg boxing champion) • SetantaO’Hailpín (Former Cork hurler and footballer currently playing with Greater Western Sydney AFL team) • Rory McIlroy (Former PGA world number one) • Stephen Roche (Tour de France Champion 1987)

5. Gaelic Games • Although people in Ireland are fans of a wide variety of sports. By far the most popular sports in Ireland are our native Gaelic Games which are governed by the Gaelic Athletic Association (the GAA)

6. Gaelic Games • The GAA governs 4 of our native games, which in order of participant and spectator popularity are; • Gaelic Football • Hurling • Handball • Rounders • All of the above mentioned games are derived from traditional Celtic games.

7. Gaelic Football (more commonly known as football) • This is the most popular sport in Ireland, accounting for 34% of total sports attendances in 2013.

8. Football • Played between 2 teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective is to score points by scoring into the other teams goals (3 points) or through a set of 2 upright posts separated by a crossbar (1 point). • Each team is made up of 1 goalkeeper, 6 defenders, 2 midfielders and 6 forwards. • The games are refereed by an independent referee.

9. Football • Players can pass the ball by either kicking the ball from their hands or on the ground or by striking the ball from their hand with the fist (throwing is not permitted). • This is known as a fist pass.

10. Football • Players advance the spherical leather ball up the field with a combination of bouncing, kick passing, hand passing and soloing (dropping the ball and then toe tapping the ball back to the hands). • When carrying the ball a player must bounce or solo the ball at least every 4 steps however 2 bounces in a row are not allowed.

11. Lifting the ball • Players may not lift the ball directly from the ground and must use their foot to kick the ball up into their hands.

12. The basic skills in Gaelic Football • Games at senior inter-county level are split into two 35 minute halves and players must be physically fit to play at such a fast pace for this period of time. • Follow the link below to see some of the skills involved in Gaelic Football. • http://www.schooltube.com/video/fd0331416bc5d2734512/Gaelic%20Football%20-%20The%20Original%20Beautiful%20Game

13. Gaelic Football - a physical game • Some physical contact is permitted in football. • Players may tackle the ball with one hand at a time. • Players may tackle the opposition using a shoulder to shoulder challenge, provided they are in contention for the ball. • Players may not however push their opponent or drag them to the ground.

14. Competition Structure • Ireland is divided into 32 counties each of which have their own representative, male and female football teams as well as Hurling and Camogie teams. • In each county there are many clubs, for all ages. These clubs play against each other on a weekly basis to gain the title of County champions and in turn represent their club in the All Ireland club championship and be crowned the best club team in Ireland.

15. Competition Structure • Though Ireland is partitioned by two parliaments the organisation of Gaelic Games, like many other sports continues on an All-Ireland basis. • Some of the most successful teams of the last decade, at both club and county level have been from the six counties. • Tyrone all Ireland county champions 2003, 2005 and 2008 • Crossmaglen Rangers (All Ireland club champions 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 20010, 20011 and 2012)

16. GAA All-stars • Each year an AllStar team is selected, for Football (Ladies and Men’s), for Hurling and Camogie, comprising of the best player in each field position for that season. • Fooball and hurling All-stars 2013

17. Gaelic Football in our school • At primary school level we focus on building upon the children’s skill level in kicking, hand passing, catching and tackling with less emphasis on the physical element of the game.

18. Coaching in our school • In our school we are privileged to be coached by Tyrone player Joe McMahon, who is currently one of the best intercounty Football players in Ireland. • Here are some of our pupils taking part in a coaching activity with Joe.

19. GAA and AFL • Australian Rules football is said to be a derivation of Gaelic Football (taken by Irish settlers to Australia) and both games hold some similarities. • Each year the GAA select an international team from the intercounty teams to play against the Australian professionals in a game of using a compromise of rules from both Gaelic and AFL. • Ireland are current champions

20. GAA and AFL • Follow the link below to view a clip from a compromise Rules game Ireland V Australia. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnGBxh8yd3w

21. Hurling (Iomáint) • Hurling is the oldest of the Gaelic sports and is mentioned in legends dating back to Celtic and pre-Christian Ireland.

22. CúChulainn • One of the most famous Irish legends tells the story of Setanta, an Irish warrior who slew the hound (cú) of Culainn (a noble man) by hitting his hurling ball (sliotar) into the animal’s throat. As a result Setanta replaced the hound as Culainn’s guardian and therefore became known as Cúchulainn.

23. Hurling Equipment • Camán (Hurl/ Hurley) – a wooden stick made from ash (in recent days people have been permitted to use camán made from fiberglass. • Sliotar – A solid cork core covered by 2 pieces of leather stitched together. • Hemet – A plastic helmet with a metal faceguard.

24. The Rules of Hurling • Hurling is played on the same field as Gaelic Football and uses the same scoring system. • Both hurling and football matches last equal lengths of time and use largely the same basic rules.

25. The Rules of Hurling • As in football players must take only four steps while carrying the ball in their hand before they have to pass it on or shoot for a score. • If players wish to carry the ball for longer than this they must solo the ball by balancing it on their hurl (camán) while they run. This requires a high level of co-ordination and skill. • Players may only touch the ball with their hand twice after which they must play the ball off their camán or they can bounce the ball on their camán(a difficult skill).

26. How to tackle in Hurling • Players tackle their opponent by hitting the ball off their camán. They must strike the ball from the hurl of the opposition and may not purposely chop down on their opponent’s hurl in order to knock the ball off.

27. Blocking or hooking • To prevent their opponent from striking the ball effectively players can block the ball using their camán or they can hook their opponents camán from behind. • This involves both skill and bravery as players put their bodies and heads on the line.

28. Broken Hurleys • Hurleys are often broken when blocking opponents from striking.

29. Protecting your head From the 1st January 2010 the wearing of helmets with faceguards became compulsory for hurlers at all levels in an effort to reduce the number of head injuries when playing hurling. Previously, helmets were only compulsory at junior level and many senior players chose not to wear them.

30. The fastest field sport in the world Hurling is renowned as being the fastest game on grass. To view some of the skills involved in Hurling follow the link below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmzivRetelE

31. Freestyle Hurling Hurling today has evolved into an even more skillful game as can be seen in the clip linked below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcGZ8_1ua0I

32. Hurling and ShintyCeltic Connections There are similarities between Hurling and the Scottish game of Shinty. As a result a compromise rules competitions is held each year where an Irish and Scottish team play each other in a game comprising of rules from both games.

33. Hurling and ShintyCeltic Connections In this game of compromise rules the Scottish team use their style of Camán and the Irish use their Irish Camán. Players may not touch the ball with their hand in this game.

34. Hurling and ShintyCeltic Connections There is also a competition each year where Gaelic speaking Hurling teams from Ireland play Gadhelic speaking Shinty teams from Scotland in a celebration of native sport, language and culture.

35. Gaelic Football and Hurling Physical games. • At senior level (over 18) players must be physically prepared to give and take some hard hits. • Follow the link below to see some of the hardest hits of last season in both Football and Hurling. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBiDK5NHsIo

36. Hurling in Our school Children in our school take part in hurling activities on a weekly basis when official GAA coaches teach the basic skills of the game. Most of the focus at junior level is on improving children’s skills when playing on the ground.

37. Hurling in our school Here we are taking part in some coaching activities in our school.

38. Hurling in our school Our school teams take part in competitions where Hurling is played both inside (on the ground only) and outside (where the ball may be played in the air).

39. Amateur Sports • Gaelic Games are played and followed by the vast majority or Irish people and only the most prestigious of players are selected to represent their county. • As a result they must dedicate a huge amount of time to the sport. • Gaelic games are amateur sports however and although the games attract tens of thousands of fans as well as widespread media attention, players do not get paid and play only for their love of their native game.

40. The History of the GAA The Gaelic Athletic Association was established in 1884 with the primary aims of conserving and promoting Gaelic sports as well as the Gaelic Language and heritage. It is now a 32 county sporting and cultural organisation that has a presence on all five continents.

41. The GAA in tough times Under British rule several attempts were made to hinder the development of Gaelic Games. In 1918 British Law stated that no Gaelic Games would be permitted unless a permit was obtained from the British Authorities. The GAA ignored this Law in defiance and Gaelic Games continued to be played.

42. The GAA in tough times On November 1st 1920 the Dublin and Tipperary football teams were playing a game, in front of a crowd in Croke Park Stadium in Dublin, when British Military entered the stadium and opened fire on both players and spectators. 14 Civilians were killed and this became known as Bloody Sunday and may be recognised from a U2 song of the same name.

43. The GAA in Tough Times Bloody Sunday gained much support for the rules that no sports other than Gaelic Games be permitted in Croke Park that no members of the British security forces be permitted to be members of the GAA These rules have since been abolished however and Croke park has hosted soccer and rugby internationals and the Police Service of Northern Ireland now compete in GAA competitions.

44. The GAA Today The GAA is today the largest Amateur Sports Organisations in the world with over 1 million members world wide and assets in excess of 2.6Billion Euro. The GAA also oversees competitions around the world with clubs in countries across all five continents.

45. The GAA Today The map below shows the location of GAA clubs around the world today.

46. Largest Amateur Sports Organisation in the world Each GAA club is governed by a committee of volunteers who carry out duties in; Coaching Public Relations Administration Youth work Cultural activities The passion and dedication shown by GAA members is something which we are very proud of.

47. Employment in the Gaelic Athletic Association Although the GAA is an amateur organisation it employs a great number of people as; Administrators Development officers Facility managers Coaches

48. Where we Play our sports Almost every village and town in Ireland is home to a GAA club with a club house and at least one training field, as in the image below. Áras Mhic Eiteagáin clubhouse in Gweedore, County Donegal. These grounds resemble the typical clubhouses to be found in rural areas all over Ireland.

49. Where we Play our sports Each of the 32 counties in Ireland has a Stadium at which their inter-county teams play. These stadiums have seen many improvements in recent years and many of them hold up to 40,000 spectators and have excellent flood light grass pitches. To the right is an image of Healy Park in Omagh County Tyrone which is where our Inter-county team play their home games.

50. Croke Park The most famous GAA stadium is Croke Park (Páirc an Crocaigh), in Dublin; our capital city. It is the largest of all the GAA stadiums, with a capacity of 82,300. Croke park is also home to the head office of the GAA and is where many of the GAA employees work. Croke Park is also home to the famous GAA museum.