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 | Conor "The Cegster" Egan |
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 Conor Egan. 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. This would showcase the talents of our president Conor Egan. His renowned backhand serve has been said to cause natural disasters such as earthquakes with the raw power and abilty of this young "warrior".
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 made up of 12 episodes during 2011
National & International Competitions
Irish Competitions There are many handball competitions that are run in Ireland. In 40x20, the main competitions are County, Province, and All-Ireland Championships plus the 40x20 Irish Nationals. In 60x30 Softball and Hardball, the main competitions are County, Province, and All-Ireland Championships. In 2011 GAA Handball Ireland launched the 60x30 Nationals and this competition will was held in July. In One-Wall handball, the main competition in Ireland is the Irish One-Wall Nationals, and this is now held in Breaffy House, Castlebar. There are also many competitions during the year held by various handball clubs around the country. International Competitions