Gaelic football
![]() Aidan O'Mahony of Kerry (left) and Eoin Bradley of Derry (right) in action at Croke Park during the final of the 2009 National Football League. | |
Highest governing body | Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) |
---|---|
Nicknames | Caid Football Gaelic |
First played | 1802 |
Registered players | 1887 |
Clubs | More than 2,500 |
Characteristics | |
Contact | Yes |
Team members | 15 on each team |
Mixed-sex | Single |
Type | Outdoor |
Equipment | Football |
Presence | |
Olympic | Former |
Gaelic football (Irish: Peil Ghaelach; short name Peil or Caid), commonly referred to as football or Gaelic,[1] is a sport played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score points by passing the ball through the other team's goals, a set of two upright posts separated by a crossbar 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) above the ground.
Players advance the football, a spherical leather ball, up the field with a combination of carrying, bouncing, kicking, hand-passing, and soloing (dropping the ball and then toe-kicking the ball upward into the hands). In the game, two types of scores are possible: points and goals. A point is awarded for kicking or hand-passing the ball over the crossbar, signalled by the umpire raising a white flag. A goal is awarded for kicking the ball under the crossbar into the net, signalled by the umpire raising a green flag. Positions in Gaelic football are similar to that in other football codes, and comprise one goalkeeper, six backs, two midfielders, and six forwards, with a variable number of substitutes.
The sport, a form of football derived from traditional Irish ball games, is mainly played in the country of Ireland, although associations exist in other areas such as Great Britain and North America. Gaelic football is one of four sports (collectively referred to as the "Gaelic games") controlled by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the largest sporting organisation 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.
Gaelic football is the most popular sport in Ireland in terms of attendance, with the 2011 All-Ireland Senior Championship Final, held at Croke Park, Dublin, drawing an attendance of 82,300 people. Outside of Ireland, football is mainly played amongst members of the Irish diaspora. Gaelic Park in New York City is the largest purpose-built Gaelic sports venue outside of Ireland. Three major football competitions operate throughout the year: the National Football League and the All-Ireland Senior Championship are operated on a county basis, while the All-Ireland Club Championship is contested by individual clubs. The All-Ireland Senior Championship is run as a knock-out competition, with the top two counties meeting in the All-Ireland Football Final, considered the most prestigious event in Gaelic football.
Under the auspices of the GAA, Gaelic football is a male-only sport; however, the related sport of ladies' Gaelic football is governed by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. Similarities between Gaelic football and Australian rules football have allowed the development of international rules football, a hybrid sport, and a series of Test matches has been held annually since 1998, with the exception of the cancelled 2007 edition.
Rules
Playing field
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Gaelic_football_pitch_diagram.svg/220px-Gaelic_football_pitch_diagram.svg.png)
A Gaelic pitch is similar in some respects to a rugby pitch but larger. The grass pitch is rectangular, stretching 130–145 metres long and 80–90 metres wide. There are H-shaped goalposts at each end, formed by two posts, which are usually 7 metres high, set 6.5 metres apart, and connected 2.5 metres above the ground by a crossbar. A net extending behind the goal is attached to the crossbar and lower goal posts. The same pitch is used for hurling; the GAA, which organizes both sports, decided this to facilitate dual usage. Lines are marked at distances of 13 metres, 20 metres and 45 metres from each end-line. Shorter pitches and smaller goals are used by youth teams.[2]
Duration
The majority of adult football and all minor and under-21 matches last for 60 minutes, divided into two halves of 30 minutes, with the exception of senior inter-county games which last for 70 minutes (two halves of 35 minutes). Draws are decided by replays or by playing 20 minutes of extra time (two halves of 10 minutes). The under-12s have a half of 20 minutes or 25 minutes in some cases. Half-time lasts for about 15 minutes.
Teams
Teams consist of fifteen players[3] (a goalkeeper, two corner backs, a full back, two wing backs, a centre back, two mid fielders, two wing forwards, a centre forward, two corner forwards and a full forward) plus up to fifteen substitutes, of which five may be used. Each player is numbered 1–15, starting with the goalkeeper, who must wear a jersey colour different from that of his or her teammates. Up to fifteen substitutes may be named on the team sheet, number 16 usually being the reserve goalkeeper.
Positions
Ball
The game is played with a round leather football made of 18 stitched leather panels, similar in appearance to a traditional volleyball, with a circumference of 69–74 cm (27–29 in), weighing between 370–425 g (13.1–15.0 oz) when dry. It may be kicked or hand passed. A hand pass is not a punch but rather a strike of the ball with the side of the closed fist, using the knuckle of the thumb.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Gaelic_football_ball.jpg)
Technical fouls
The following are considered technical fouls ("fouling the ball"):
- Bouncing the ball twice in a row (It may be soloed continuously)
- Changing hands: Throwing the ball from your right-hand to left or vice-versa (legal in the ladies' game)
- Going four steps without releasing, bouncing or soloing the ball (soloing involves kicking the ball into one's own hands)[4]
- Hand passing a goal. To hand pass a ball with an open palm there must be a clear striking action (the ball may be punched over the bar from up in the air, but not into the goal).
- Picking the ball directly off the ground (it must be scooped up into the hands by the foot). However in ladies' Gaelic football the ball may be picked up directly.
- Square ball is an often controversial rule: If, at the moment the ball enters the small square, there is already an attacking player inside the small rectangle, then a free out is awarded. As of 2012 square balls are only counted if the player is inside the square when the ball is kicked from a free or set piece. An opposing player is allowed in the square during open play.
- Throwing the ball (it may be "hand-passed" by striking with the fist).
Scoring
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Durham_Gaelic_football_club_player_shoots.jpg/220px-Durham_Gaelic_football_club_player_shoots.jpg)
If the ball goes over the crossbar, a point is scored and a white flag is raised by an umpire. A point can be scored by either kicking the ball over the crossbar, or by fisting it over in which case the hand must be closed whilst striking the ball. If the ball goes below the crossbar, a goal, worth three points, is scored, and a green flag is raised by an umpire. A goal can only be scored by kicking the ball into the net, not by fist passing the ball into the net. However, a player can strike the ball into the net with a closed fist if the ball was played to him by another player or came in contact with the post/crossbar/ground prior to connection. The goal is guarded by a goalkeeper. Scores are recorded in the format Goal Total-Point Total. To determine the score-line goals must be converted to points and added to the other points. For example, in a match with a final score of Team A 0–21 Team B 4–8, Team A is the winner with 21 points, as Team B scored only 20 points (4 times 3, plus 8).
Tackling
The level of tackling allowed is more robust than in association football, but less than rugby.
Shoulder to shoulder contact and slapping the ball out of an opponent's hand are permitted, but the following are all fouls:
- Blocking a shot with the foot
- Pulling an opponent's jersey
- Pushing an opponent
- Sliding tackles
- Striking an opponent
- Touching the goalkeeper when he/she is inside the small rectangle
- Tripping
- Using both hands to tackle
- Wrestling the ball from an opponent's hands
Restarting play
- A match begins with the referee throwing the ball up between the four mid fielders.
- After an attacker has put the ball wide of the goals, scored a point or a goal, the goalkeeper may take a kick out from the ground at the 13m line. All players must be beyond the 20m line.
- After a defender has put the ball wide of the goals, an attacker may take a "45" from the ground on the 45m line, level with where the ball went wide.
- After a player has put the ball over the sideline, the other team may take a sideline kick at the point where the ball left the pitch. It may be kicked from the ground or the hands. The player who is taking the sideline kick must not pass the boundary line while taking.
- After a player has committed a foul, the other team may take a free kick (usually shortened to "free" in reports/commentaries) at the point where the foul was committed. It may be kicked from the ground or the hands.
- If a player has been fouled while passing the ball, the free may be taken from the point where the ball landed.
- After a defender has committed a foul inside the large rectangle, the other team may take a penalty kick from the ground from the centre of the 11m line. Only the goalkeeper may guard the goals.
- If many players are struggling for the ball and it is not clear who was fouled first, the referee may choose to throw the ball up between two opposing players.
Officials
A football match is overseen by up to eight officials:
- The referee
- Two linesmen
- Sideline official/Standby linesman (often referred to as "fourth official"; inter-county games only)
- Four umpires (two at each goal)
The referee is responsible for starting and stopping play, recording the score, awarding frees and booking and sending off players.
Linesmen are responsible for indicating the direction of line balls to the referee.
The fourth official is responsible for overseeing substitutions, and also indicating the amount of stoppage time (signalled to him by the referee) and the players substituted using an electronic board.
The umpires are responsible for judging the scoring. They indicate to the referee whether a shot was: wide (spread both arms), a 45m kick (raise one arm), a point (wave white flag), square ball (cross arms) or a goal (wave green flag). A disallowed score is indicated by crossing the green and white flags.
Other officials are not obliged to indicate any misdemeanours to the referee; they are only permitted to inform the referee of violent conduct they have witnessed which has occurred without the referee's knowledge. A linesman/umpire is not permitted to inform the referee of technical fouls such as a "double bounce" or an illegal pick up of the ball. Such decisions can only be made at the discretion of the referee.
History
Gaelic football was first codified in 1887, although it has links to older varieties of football played in Ireland and known collectively as caid. Consequently, the name caid is used by some people to refer to present day Gaelic football.
The first record of any form of football being played in Ireland comes from 1308, when John McCrocan, a spectator at a football game at Newcastle, County Dublin was charged with accidentally stabbing a player named William Bernard.[5]
The Statute of Galway of 1527 allowed the playing of "foot balle" and archery but banned "'hokie' — the hurling of a little ball with sticks or staves" as well as other sports.
By the 17th century, the situation had changed considerably. The games had grown in popularity and were widely played.[citation needed] This was due to the patronage of the gentry.[citation needed] Now instead of opposing the games it was the gentry and the ruling class who were serving as patrons of the games. Games were organised between landlords with each team comprising 20 or more tenants. Wagers were commonplace with purses of up to 100 guineas (Prior, 1997).
The earliest record of a recognised precursor to the modern game date from a match in County Meath in 1670, in which catching and kicking the ball was permitted.[6]
However even "foot-ball" was banned[citation needed] by the severe Sunday Observance Act of 1695, which imposed a fine of one shilling (a substantial amount at the time) for those caught playing sports. It proved difficult, if not impossible, for the authorities to enforce the Act and the earliest recorded inter-county match in Ireland was one between Louth and Meath, at Slane, in 1712, about which the poet James Dall McCuairt wrote a poem of 88 verses beginning "Ba haigeanta".
A six-a-side version was played in Dublin in the early 18th century, and 100 years later there were accounts of games played between County sides (Prior, 1997).
By the early 19th century, various football games, referred to collectively as caid, were popular in Kerry, especially the Dingle Peninsula. Father W. Ferris described two forms of caid: the "field game" in which the object was to put the ball through arch-like goals, formed from the boughs of two trees, and; the epic "cross-country game" which lasted the whole of a Sunday (after mass) and was won by taking the ball across a parish boundary. "Wrestling", "holding" opposing players, and carrying the ball were all allowed.
During the 1860s and 1870s, Rugby football started to become popular in Ireland. Trinity College, Dublin was an early stronghold of Rugby, and the rules of the (English) Football Association were codified in 1863 and distributed widely. By this time, according to Gaelic football historian Jack Mahon, even in the Irish countryside, caid had begun to give way to a "rough-and-tumble game" which even allowed tripping. Association football started to take hold, especially in Ulster, in the 1880s.
Limerick was the stronghold of the native game around this time, and the Commercials Club, founded by employees of Cannock’s Drapery Store, was one of the first to impose a set of rules which was adapted by other clubs in the city. Of all the Irish pastimes the GAA set out to preserve and promote, it is fair to say that Gaelic football was in the worst shape at the time of the association’s foundation (GAA Museum, 2001).[6]
Irish forms of football were not formally arranged into an organised playing code by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) until 1887. The GAA sought to promote traditional Irish sports, such as hurling and to reject "foreign" (particularly English) imports. The first Gaelic football rules, showing the influence of hurling and a desire to differentiate from association football — for example in their lack of an offside rule — were drawn up by Maurice Davin and published in the United Ireland magazine on February 7, 1887. The rules of the aforementioned Commercials Club became the basis for these official (Gaelic Football) rules who, unsurprisingly, won the inaugural All-Ireland Senior Football Final (representing County Limerick)[7]
On Bloody Sunday in 1920, during the Anglo-Irish War, a football match at Croke Park was attacked by British forces. 14 people were killed and 65 were injured. Among the dead was Tipperary footballer Michael Hogan, for whom the Hogan Stand at Croke Park (completed in 1924) was named.
Ladies' Gaelic football has become increasingly popular with women since the 1970s[citation needed].
The relationship between Gaelic football and Australian rules football and the question of whether they have shared origins is a matter of historical controversy. Games are held between an Irish representative team and an Australian team, under compromise rules known as international rules football.
The current President of the GAA is Liam O'Neill of County Laois.[8]
Team of the Century and Team of the Millennium
The Team of the Century was nominated in 1984 by Sunday Independent readers and selected by a panel of experts including journalists and former players.[9] It was chosen as part of the Gaelic Athletic Association's centenary year celebrations. The goal was to single out the best ever 15 players who had played the game in their respective positions. Naturally many of the selections were hotly debated by fans around the country.
Goalkeeper | |||
Dan O'Keeffe (Kerry) |
|||
Right Corner Back | Full Back | Left Corner Back | |
Enda Colleran (Galway) |
Paddy O'Brien (Meath) |
Seán Flanagan (Mayo) | |
Right Half Back | Centre Back | Left Half Back | |
Sean Murphy (Kerry) |
J. J. O'Reilly (Cavan) |
Stephen White (Louth) | |
Midfield | |||
Mick O'Connell (Kerry) |
Jack O'Shea (Kerry) | ||
Right Half Forward | Centre Forward | Left Half Forward | |
Seán O'Neill (Down) |
Sean Purcell (Galway) |
Pat Spillane (Kerry) | |
Right Corner Forward | Full Forward | Left Corner Forward | |
Mikey Sheehy (Kerry) |
Tommy Langan (Mayo) |
Kevin Heffernan (Dublin) |
The Team of the Millennium was a team chosen in 1999 by a panel of GAA past presidents and journalists. The goal was to single out the best ever 15 players who had played the game in their respective positions, since the foundation of the GAA in 1884 up to the Millennium year, 2000. Naturally many of the selections were hotly debated by fans around the country.
Goalkeeper | |||
Dan O'Keeffe (Kerry) |
|||
Right Corner Back | Full Back | Left Corner Back | |
Enda Colleran (Galway) |
Joe Keohane (Kerry) |
Seán Flanagan (Mayo) | |
Right Half Back | Centre Back | Left Half Back | |
Sean Murphy (Kerry) |
J. J. O'Reilly (Cavan) |
Martin O'Connell (Meath) | |
Midfield | |||
Mick O'Connell (Kerry) |
Tommy Murphy (Laois) | ||
Right Half Forward | Centre Forward | Left Half Forward | |
Seán O'Neill (Down) |
Sean Purcell (Galway) |
Pat Spillane (Kerry) | |
Right Corner Forward | Full Forward | Left Corner Forward | |
Mikey Sheehy (Kerry) |
Tommy Langan (Mayo) |
Kevin Heffernan (Dublin) |
Leagues and team structure
All Gaelic sports are amateur; easing the strictness with which this is interpreted is advocated by the Gaelic Players Association. The basic unit of each game is organised at the club level, which is usually arranged on a parish basis, with various local clubs playing to win the County Championship at various levels:
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Children_playing_Gaelic_football_Ajax_Ontario.jpg/220px-Children_playing_Gaelic_football_Ajax_Ontario.jpg)
Name | Description |
---|---|
Senior | the better adult teams |
Intermediate | teams between Senior and Junior levels |
Junior | weaker adult teams, often from smaller communities |
Under-21 | under 21 |
Minor | under 18 |
Under-age | all ages from under-17 down to under-6 |
A club may have more than one team, for example one competing at Senior level and a 'seconds' team in a lower division.
At the national level, the GAA in Ireland is organised in 32 GAA counties most of which are identical in name and extent to the 32 administrative counties on which local government throughout the island was based until the late 20th century.[10] The term 'county' is also used for some overseas GAA areas such as London and New York. There are also clubs in other parts of the USA, Britain, Asia, Australasia, continental Europe and Canada.
Though Ireland was partitioned between two states in 1920, Gaelic sports (like most cultural organisations and religions) continue to be organised on an All-Ireland basis.
A county panel - a team of 15 players, plus a similar number of substitutes - is formed from the best players playing at club level.
Nearly all counties play against each other in a knock-out tournament known as the All Ireland Championship. These modified knock-out games start as provincial championships for the four Irish provinces of Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht.
In the past, the team winning each provincial championship would play one of the others, at a stage known as the All-Ireland semi-finals, with the winning team from each game playing each other in the All-Ireland Final.
A recent re-organisation now provides a 'back door' method of qualifying, with knocked out teams getting another chance to win back into the competition. This means that one team may defeat another team in an early stage of the championship, yet be defeated and knocked out of the tournament by the same team at a later stage.
County teams also compete in the National Football League, held every spring and grouping counties in for Divisions according to their relative strength. The League is not as prestigious as the All-Ireland, but in recent years attendances have grown, as has interest from the public and from players. This is due in part to the adoption in 2002 of the February–April timetable, in place of the former November start, and the provision of Division 2 final stages. Live matches are shown on the Irish-language TV station TG4 and on Setanta Ireland, with highlights shown on RTÉ2.
All-Ireland Final
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Croke_Park_from_the_Hill_-_2004_All-Ireland_Football_Championship_Final.jpg/280px-Croke_Park_from_the_Hill_-_2004_All-Ireland_Football_Championship_Final.jpg)
The final game of the inter-county series is the All-Ireland Final which takes place on the third Sunday of September at Croke Park.
Over the four Sundays of September, All-Ireland Finals in men's football, women's football, hurling and camogie take place in Croke Park, the national stadium of the GAA, with the men's decider regularly attracting crowds of over 80,000. Guests who attend include the President of Ireland, the Taoiseach and leading dignitaries.
Two levels of the game are played at each All-Ireland, the Senior team and the Minor team (consisting of younger players, under the age of 18, who have played their own Minor All-Ireland competition).
The winning senior county football team receives the Sam Maguire Cup. The most successful county in the history of football is Kerry, with 36 All-Ireland wins, followed by Dublin, with 23 wins. The current champions are Donegal.
See also
- All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
- All-Ireland Sevens Football
- Ladies' Gaelic football
- List of footballers (Gaelic football)
- List of Gaelic football clubs
- Sport in Ireland
References
- Jack Mahon, 2001, A History of Gaelic Football Dublin: Gill & Macmillan. (ISBN 0-7171-3279-X)
Footnotes
- ^ The sport is also sometimes referred to in Dublin as "Gah": see Kelly, Fiach (2008-06-30). "Plenty to give out about for the Dubs". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2009-09-18.; "The Biggest Traditional Irish Sports". Retrieved 2012-04-12.
- ^ "GAA pitch size". BBC News. 2005-10-11. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
- ^ GAA Official Guide – Part 2 (PDF). Gaelic Athletic Association. 2009. p. 8.
A team shall consist of fifteen players.
- ^ "All About Football". Retrieved 2009-09-18.
- ^ "Irish Gaelic Football". Accessed 19 September 2011.
- ^ a b The History of Gaelic Football and the Gaelic Athletic Association
- ^ 8 pupil SEN*
- ^ "Duffy announced as GAA's new director general | Sport | BreakingNews.ie". Breakingnews.ie. 2007-11-21. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
- ^ Corry, Eoghan (2005). The GAA Book of Lists. Hodder Headline Ireland. p. 238.
- ^ The administrative counties have been rearranged in the 20th century. Northern Ireland's original six counties are now divided into 26 local government districts, while the Republic of Ireland's 26 counties have been redrawn, leading to a modern local governmental unit total of 33. The GAA's 32 counties are mainly named for the administrative counties as they existed when the Association was formed, with some exceptions (such as Derry and Laois). While the former administrative county borders are generally respected, a GAA county may occasionally open its competitions to clubs that are wholly or partly based in neighbouring counties.