LECTURA UD Nº 8: ORIGENS OF THE GAELIC GAMES

Jaime Orejan, PhD, Elon University

The Sport Management and Related Topics Journal Volume 2, Issue 2

Irish games and sports were the main attractions of the Tailteann games (named after a Celtic Goddess), an ancient Celtic sporting festival, which began in 1829 BC (GAA Museum, 2001). The games occurred annually during the feast of Lunagsha (August 1) for almost 4000 years until 1169 AD. In the 17th and 18th centuries the gentry landowners and noblemen organized the games of hurling, and gambling was very common. Hundreds of people would gather to watch the matches and sometimes the players would be paid for their efforts. The games became a major religious and sporting festival on the Irish calendar. At that time, many trade fairs were held where livestock and goods were bought and sold. However, this fair was more like the Olympic Games (GAA Museum, 2001).

There are historical references to a form of Irish or Gaelic football being played in Ireland as far back as the 14th century. It seems that Gaelic football games were cross-country marathons involving hundreds of players, and violent exchanges were the norm. This cross-country football was called ‘caid in County Kerry, taking its name from the ball of horsehide or oxhide which had an inflated natural bladder inside it (Healy, 1998).

The fact that Gaelic games were so popular and caused some considerable damage frightened the ruling class, and through the centuries, laws were passed to ban the games. The Statutes of Kilkenny in the 14th century banned all Gaelic games, while in 1527 the Statutes of Galway allowed only football to be played (GAA Museum, 2001). In later centuries, prohibition of the games had more to do with religious Puritanism than political control. In 1695, the Sunday observance Act banned hurling, communing and football on Sundays and imposed a 12 pence or the equivalent or 12 pennies penalty for each offense (Tierney, 1972).

By the 17th century, the situation had changed considerably. The games had grown in popularity and were widely played. This was due to the patronage of the gentry. Now instead of opposing the games it was the gentry and the ruling class who were serving as patrons of the games. Games were organized between landlords with each team comprising 20 or more tenants. Wagers were commonplace with purses of up to 100 guineas an old unit of currency (Prior, 1997).

By late 19th century, Gaelic games had once again fallen foul of circumstance. A feature of Ireland’s history was the demise and rebirth of the games at many intervals in different counties (GAA Museum, 2001). Their survival came under particular threat with the Great Irish Famine, which began to take its toll around the mid to late 1840’s. During that time the survival of the people became a more immediate concern than the survival of their games. It took the spirit out of the nation and the politically charged society of the time succeeded in nurturing militarianism, not a cultural sense of identity. It is estimated that nearly two million people died and an additional two million or more emigrated as a result of the hardship presented by the famine (Tierney, 1992).

However, there were some who saw the revival of the games and Irish culture as an effective way to display independence from England. Within a decade or so of the famine, however, a resilient people had again turned to football and Gaelic sports as pastimes. It was from this ideal that the GAA came into existence.

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