GAA Handball
| Formation | 1 November 1884 |
|---|---|
| Type | Sports organisation |
| Purpose | Primarily the managing and promotion of Gaelic handball |
| Headquarters | Croke Park, Dublin |
Region served | Ireland |
Official language | Irish language |
| Leader | Walter O' Connor |
Parent organization | The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) |
Staff | Limited full time staff |
| Website | http://www.gaahandball.ie |
GAA Handball Ireland (Irish: Liathróid Láimhe C.L.G. na hÉireann)is the Irish governing body for the sport of Handball. Its headquarters are located in Croke Park and its current president is Walter O' Connor. Handball is one of the four Gaelic games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association.
History of Irish Handball
During the 60's, 70's and 80's, handball was very popular among the Irish republic, It was cheap, fun and easy to play but as years went by, handball lost it's popularity to other GAA sports such as football and hurling and of course to "foreign" sports such as soccer and rugby. In recent times however there has been a surge in popularity of the sport. This is due to the rebranding of the sport as GAA Handball and the ongoing promotion of the sport and especially One Wall handball by the organisation. In 2012 Ireland will host the World Handball Championships in venues yet to be officially announced. Due to the huge popularity of One Wall handball it is hoped it will become an Olympic sport soon.
Television coverage
In late 2010, GAA Handball announced that it was to launch a new tv show on TG4 featuring highlights of the biggest competitions that were held over the last couple of months. In mid to late December of that year, TG4 premiered the first ever edition of the GAA Handball show and it was followed by a six part series that was broadcast in January, 2011. It was a huge success and following the broadcast of the six episodes, GAA Handball announced that TG4 would broadcast a second series of the show later on in the year.