The GAA ― A People's History

Ireland without the GAA is unimaginable. As the Association moves past its 125th anniversary, this is the story of how it has carved for itself a unique place at the heart of Irish life. Commissioned by the GAA, this is a people's history. It outlines how Gaelic games and the social world which revolves around the Association, has shaped the lives of generations of Irish people at home and abroad. From parades and ballads to epic journeys across land and sea, this history of the GAA is as much about what happened off the field as what happened on it.

Lavishly illustrated with previously unseen photographs and original historical documents, this is a book with absorbing insights into a world that is uniquely Irish, yet has a global reach. It sets the GAA experience in the context of an island in the midst of significant change. Political revolution, social upheaval and a shifting cultural landscape are all reflected in the story of the GAA. It documents the successes and failures, the controversies, the diversity, the passion and the sheer fascination of life with the GAA.

In short, this book is about how generations of Irish people have spent their time in the hours between work and sleep, in thrall to their games and the Association that organises them.

Mike Cronin, academic director of Boston College-Ireland, has written widely on Ireland's history. His books include The Blueshirts and Irish Politics (1997), Sport and Nationalism in Ireland (1999), and IRish History for Dummies (2006). He contributes to radio and television on Irish and sporting history.
Mark Duncan, a director of the InQuest research group, has worked extensively with RTE Current Affairs and various academic institutions. Central in establishing the GAA Museum at Croke Park in the mid-1990s, he has written widely on the GAA and its history.
Paul Rouse, formerly an award-winning journalist with Prime Time in RTE, has written extensively on the history of Irish sport and on the GAA. He is a lecturer at the School of History and Archives in University College Duablin and is a director of the InQuest research group.

The three authors are directors of the GAA Oral History Project based at Boston College-Ireland. The researachers of the project, Arlene Crampsie, Regina Fitzpatrick and Ann-Marie Smith, assisted in the preparation of this book.