GAELIC FOOTBALL HAS BEEN PLAYED IN IRELAND FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS. IT IS A FIELD SPORT PLAYED IN EVERY SMALL VILLAGE, TOWN AND CITY THROUGHOUT IRELAND AND ALSO IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. IT HAS OFTEN BEEN DESCRIBED AS A HYBRID OF SOCCER, BASKETBALL AND RUGBY – AND, WHILE IT HAS ELEMENTS OF ALL THESE – GAELIC FOOTBALL IS A LOT MORE. IT IS GENERALLY PAYED ON A FIELD UP TO 145M (160 YD.) LONG AND 90M (100 YD.) WIDE – WHICH IS SHORTENED FOR YOUTH. THE GOALPOSTS ARE THE SAME SHAPE AS ON A RUGBY PITCH, WITH THE CROSSBAR LOWER THAN A RUGBY ONE AND SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN A SOCCER ONE. THE BALL USED IN GAELIC FOOTBALL IS ROUND, SLIGHTLY SMALLER THAN A SOCCER BALL. THE BALL CAN BE CARRIED IN THE HAND FOR A DISTANCE OF FOUR STEPS AND CAN BE KICKED OR “HAND-PASSED,” A STRIKING MOTION WITH THE HAND OR FIST. AFTER EVERY FOUR STEPS THE BALL MUST EITHER BE BOUNCED OR “SOLO-ED,” AN ACTION OF DROPPING THE BALL ONTO THE FOOT AND KICKING IT BACK INTO THE HAND. YOU MAY NOT BOUNCE THE BALL TWICE IN A ROW. TO SCORE, YOU PUT THE BALL OVER THE CROSSBAR BY FOOT OR HAND/FIST FOR ONE POINT, OR UNDER THE CROSSBAR AND INTO THE NET BY FOOT, OR HAND/FIST IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, FOR A GOAL – THE LATTER BEING EQUIVALENT OF 3 POINTS. EACH TEAM CONSISTS OF 15 PLAYERS, LINED OUT SIMILARLY TO SOCCER. IN YOUTH FOOTBALL, GAMES ARE ORGANIZED PRIMARILY ON A 7-ASIDE BASIS.
OF COURSE, THE SPORT IS MOST POPULAR IN IRELAND IN TERMS OF ATTENDANCE. THE FINAL OF THE ALL-IRELAND SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP, HELD ANNUALLY AT CROKE PARK, DUBLIN, DRAWS CROWDS OF MORE THAN 80,000 PEOPLE. IT IS ONE OF FOUR SPORTS (COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO AS THE "GAELIC GAMES") CONTROLLED BY THE GAELIC ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (GAA), THE LARGEST SPORTING ORGANIZATION IN IRELAND. ALONG WITH HURLING AND CAMOGIE, GAELIC FOOTBALL IS ONE OF THE FEW REMAINING STRICTLY AMATEUR SPORTS IN THE WORLD, WITH PLAYERS, COACHES, AND MANAGERS PROHIBITED FROM RECEIVING ANY FORM OF PAYMENT.
GET A TASTE OF EVERYTHING THE SPORT HAS TO OFFER BY JOINING US AT TRAININGS, EVENTS OR EVEN JUST SPECTATING GAMES. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON BECOMING A PART OF THE TEAM, SIMPLY FILL OUT THE FORM BELOW. WE'LL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE, ALONG WITH PROVIDING YOU WITH UPCOMING DATES FOR EVENTS AND PRACTICES.
