56-894: The Sligo County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( Irish : Cumann Luthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae Shligigh ) or Sligo GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Sligo . The county board is also responsible for the Sligo county teams. The county football team plays in the Connacht Senior Football Championship but has only won three senior provincial titles, in 1928, 1975 and 2007. Sligo has never appeared in an All-Ireland final. The 1922 Championship
112-586: A District Inspector in the Royal Irish Constabulary , P. J. Ryan of Tipperary, John Wyse Power and John McKay. Maurice Davin was elected president, Cusack, Wyse-Power and McKay were elected Secretaries and it was agreed that Archbishop Croke , Charles Stewart Parnell and Michael Davitt would be asked to become Patrons. In 1922 it turned over the job of promoting athletics to the National Athletic and Cycling Association . The GAA organises
168-535: A county board formed by 2015. Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association ( GAA ; Irish : Cumann Lúthchleas Gael [ˈkʊmˠən̪ˠ ˈl̪ˠuːˌçlʲasˠ ˈɡeːlˠ] ; CLG ) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling , camogie , Gaelic football , Gaelic handball , and rounders . The association also promotes Irish music and dance , as well as
224-529: A new depth on 26 May 2013 when they were dumped out of the Connacht Championship by London in their first game. The scoreline was 1–12 to 0–14. This was London's first victory in the Connacht Championship since 1977. Lorcan Mulvey scored the vital London goal. The county Vocational Schools team reached two All-Ireland finals in 1962 and 1963, losing both to Dublin City. At present currently 6 Clubs contest
280-510: A number of GAA supporters were killed and clubhouses damaged. As the profile of Gaelic football has been raised in Ulster so too has there been an increase in the number of sectarian attacks on Gaelic clubs in Northern Ireland. Some of the protectionist rules are as follows: Rule 42 (Rule 5.1 in the 2009 rulebook) prohibits the use of GAA property for games with interests in conflict with
336-401: A number of competitions at divisional, county, inter-county , provincial, inter-provincial and national (All-Ireland) levels. A number of competitions follow a progressive format in which, for example, the winners of a club county football competition progress to a competition involving the top clubs from each county in the province, with the champions from each province progressing through
392-459: A number of initiatives aimed at making the association and Gaelic games more accessible to northern Protestants. In November 2008, the council launched a Community Development Unit , which is responsible for "Diversity and Community Outreach initiatives". The Cúchulainn Initiative is a cross-community program aimed at establishing teams consisting of Catholic and Protestant schoolchildren with no prior playing experience. Cross-community teams such as
448-569: A rule in 2007 that prohibited collective training for inter-county players for a period of two months every winter. This has proven to be controversial in that it is difficult to enforce; in the drive to stay competitive, managers have found ways to avoid it, such as organising informal 'athletic clubs' and other activities that they can use to work on the physical fitness of players without overtly appearing to be training specifically at Gaelic games. 1922 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 1922 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
504-570: A series of national finals. The association has had a long history of promoting Irish culture. Through a division of the association known as Scór (Irish for "score"), the association promotes Irish cultural activities, running competitions in music, singing, dancing and storytelling. Rule 4 of the GAA's official guide states: The Association shall actively support the Irish language , traditional Irish dancing , music , song, and other aspects of Irish culture . It shall foster an awareness and love of
560-464: Is the closest it has come, defeating Roscommon , Mayo and Galway to win the Connacht title, and beating Tipperary in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final that followed. However, "a flimsy technicality" led to a replay of the Connacht final against Galway, which Sligo lost. As of 2009, there were 26 clubs affiliated to Sligo GAA — the second smallest, ahead of Longford , which had 24. Tubbercurry
616-613: Is the most successful team in the history of the Club Championships in Sligo, with 20 senior titles to its name. The last of these was won in 2014. St Mary's is Sligo's most successful club team in the Provincial and All-Ireland club series with three Connacht Senior Club Football Championship titles to its name (1977, 1980 and 1983). The club also won the All-Ireland sevens title in 1980. St Mary's, along with Tubbercurry, dominated
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#1732852402070672-527: Is the only Sligo team to have ever won the Connacht Senior Club Football Championship , having won it three times in 1977, 1980 and 1983. Eastern Harps , Curry and Tourlestrane have all appeared in Connacht finals. Due to its much smaller population than both County Galway and County Mayo , the two dominant forces in the province of Connacht, and competition from professional League of Ireland soccer team Sligo Rovers in
728-688: The Australian Football League . The venue alternates between Ireland and Australia. In December 2006, the International series between Australia and Ireland was called off due to excessive violence in the matches, but resumed in October 2008 when Ireland won a two test series in Australia. The Irish welcomed the All Australian team at the headquarters of the GAA (Croke Park) on 21 November 2015. It
784-633: The Camogie Association of Ireland , respectively. GAA Handball , is the governing body for the sport of handball , while the other Gaelic sport, rounders, is managed by the GAA Rounders National Council ( Irish : Comhairle Cluiche Corr na hÉireann ). Since its foundation in 1884, the association has grown to become a major influence in Irish sporting and cultural life , with considerable reach into communities throughout Ireland and among
840-503: The Church of Ireland . The council has also undertaken a series of meetings with political parties and community groups who would have traditionally have had no involvement in the association. In January 2011, the then President of Ireland, Mary McAleese , announced the launch of an island-wide project called the "GAA Social Initiative". This aims to address the problem of isolation in rural areas where older people have limited engagement with
896-568: The Irish diaspora . On 1 November 1884, a group of Irishmen gathered in the Hayes' Hotel billiard room to formulate a plan and establish an organisation to foster and preserve Ireland's unique games and athletic pastimes. Arising out of the meeting, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) was founded. The architects and founding members were Michael Cusack of County Clare , Maurice Davin , Joseph K. Bracken , Thomas St George McCarthy ,
952-451: The Irish language and it also promotes environmental stewardship through its Green Clubs initiative. As of 2014, the organisation had over 500,000 members worldwide, and declared total revenues of €96.1 million in 2022. The Competitions Control Committee (CCC) of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) governing bodies organise the fixture list of Gaelic games within a GAA county or provincial councils . Gaelic football and hurling are
1008-868: The National Handball Centre , which replaced the old Croke Park Handball Centre built in the 1970s. The centre is due to be the home of GAA Handball and to play host to All-Ireland Gaelic Handball finals. The next three biggest grounds are all in Munster : Semple Stadium in Thurles , County Tipperary , with a capacity of 53,000, the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick , which holds 50,000, and Páirc Uí Chaoimh , County Cork , which can accommodate 45,000. Other grounds with capacities above 25,000 include: Research by former Fermanagh county footballer Niall Cunningham led to
1064-589: The Sligo Senior Hurling Championship . There are however a growing number of hurling clubs in the County. At present, there are 10 clubs offering hurling at underage level in Sligo with a view to extending Senior status to at least 2 of these in the coming years. Sligo does not have a notable tradition of hurling historically. Despite this, the hurlers have attained noticeably more success than their football counterparts in recent years. Sligo, under
1120-646: The Ulster Football Finals were played in Croke Park, as the anticipated attendance was likely to far exceed the capacity of the traditional venue of St Tiernach's Park , Clones . Croke Park is the association's flagship venue and is known colloquially as Croker or Headquarters , since the venue doubles as the association's base. With a capacity of 82,300, it ranks among the top five stadiums in Europe by capacity, having undergone extensive renovations for most of
1176-411: The 1990s and early 21st century. Every September, Croke Park hosts the All-Ireland inter-county Hurling and Football Finals as the conclusion to the summer championships. Croke Park holds the All-Ireland club football and hurling finals. Croke Park is named after Archbishop Thomas Croke , who was elected as a patron of the GAA during the formation of the GAA in 1884. The Croke Park campus is also home to
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#17328524020701232-730: The Belfast Cuchulainn under-16 hurling team have been established and gone on to compete at the Continental Youth Championship in the USA. Similar hurling and Gaelic football teams have since emerged in Armagh, Fermanagh, Limavady. David Hassan , from the University of Ulster, has written about the cross community work of the association and other sporting bodies in Ulster. The 'Game of three-halves' cross-community coaching initiative
1288-456: The Connacht final against Roscommon, and led for much of the match only to be blighted by a sudden string of injuries, miss a 50 while two points ahead in the final minute, and then gift soon-to-be All-Ireland finalists Roscommon a goal in what is considered "one of the great football tragedies in Connacht". In 1965, Sligo reached the Connacht final against Galway and gained a seven-point lead, only for one of their players to be "mysteriously sent to
1344-414: The Connacht title, and beating Tipperary in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final that followed. However an objection from Galway on what is described as "a flimsy technicality" led to the Connacht decider being brought to a replay, which Sligo went on to lose. Sligo met the same fate in the inaugural National Football League campaign of 1926, beating Laois to reach the final, only for Laois to object on
1400-519: The GAA is applied to the use of grounds. Clubs play at their own grounds for the early rounds of the club championship , while the latter rounds from quarter-finals to finals are usually held at a county ground, i.e. the ground where inter-county games take place or where the county board is based. The provincial championship finals are usually played at the same venue every year. However, there have been exceptions, such as in Ulster , where in 2004 and 2005
1456-655: The Intermediate Championship. The team won a number of club provincial junior titles, as both St Nathy's and Drumcliffe have won and both have reached the All-Ireland Finals. St Nathy's is the strongest club side in the county at present, followed by Geevagh and St Michael's. Sligo camogie official Nuala Kavanagh refereed the 1965 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship Final . Under Camogie's National Development Plan 2010–2015, "Our Game, Our Passion", three new camogie clubs were to be established in Sligo and
1512-614: The National Football League helped bring about an upward turn in the county's fortunes. In 2002, having narrowly lost the Connacht Senior Football Final to Galway, the defending All-Ireland champions, Sligo went on to defeat Tyrone in Croke Park , turning over a seven-point deficit in the process. A similar comeback against the eventual All-Ireland champions Armagh two weeks later led to a replay, but Sligo's run
1568-544: The Owen B. Hunt Cup during the past two decades. Other senior teams that have come close to winning the championship in the past few years include St John's and Easkey. In 2005, Coolera/Strandhill won its first senior title in 98 years, having narrowly lost the 2000 final to Bunninadden, which at that time had not won a title in 109 years. Much of the minor and underage successes within the county have seen Tubbercurry and St Mary's teams dominate this grade in recent years, with many of
1624-606: The Under-21 Championships with Tubbercurry, having both won on six occasions as of 2015. St Mary's leads the roll of honour for the Minor Championship, with 11 titles as of 2015, having won the previous five championships in succession (2011–2015). In the years since the dominance of St Mary's and Tubbercurry, there have been various winners of the county championship with Bunninadden, Coolera/Strandhill, Curry, Eastern Harps, Shamrock Gaels and Tourlestrane all claiming
1680-698: The World Handball Championships are organised by the World Handball Council. A European Tour has been set up with players from across Europe participating. 4-Wall Handball is played primarily in Ireland, the US and Canada while the 1-Wall code is played (in addition to the three mentioned) in Belgium, France, Holland, Italy, Spain and the UK. To address concerns about player burnout , the association adopted
1736-511: The Yeats' County Men in successive years. This continued success was further cemented by a Division 3B National League Title in 2020, followed by a Divisions 3A National League Title in 2021 to add to the growing national awards in the Scarden trophy cabinet. Sligo ladies' football team has won one All-Ireland Junior title in 2006, managed at the time by Paddy Henry. The team is currently competing in
Sligo GAA - Misplaced Pages Continue
1792-404: The club scene in Sligo over a fifteen-year period (1976–1991), with St Mary's claiming eight championships to Tubber's three. The pairing contested the final on eight occasions, including five in succession (1983–1987), and these finals were tense and heated encounters. In recent years Tourlestrane has dominated Sligo club football. St Mary's and Tubbercurry also jointly lead the roll of honour for
1848-645: The community. The initiative was later expanded by teaming up with the Irish Farmers Association to integrate that organisation's volunteers into the initiative. Members of the Irish diaspora have set-up clubs in a number of regions and countries outside of Ireland, and there are GAA clubs in the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada, China, continental Europe and elsewhere. The GAA World Games were first played in Abu Dhabi in 2015. The next edition
1904-447: The county's capital town. The Sligo county football team have never been able to break from the shackles inherent in the provincial championship format. They have won only three Connacht championships, with about 50 years between each win. These championships came in 1928, 1975 and 2007. Sligo have never appeared in an All-Ireland final. The 1922 Championship is the closest they have come, defeating Roscommon , Mayo and Galway to win
1960-555: The full-forward spot", causing "the entire team [to lose] momentum" and the match. Since the 2001 introduction to the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship of a qualifier system for teams eliminated from their provincial championship, Sligo, despite historically having a poor record, has enjoyed some modest, though noteworthy, success. The new format together with a prolonged period of competing in Division 1 of
2016-455: The game) sealing the victory. Sligo followed this up with a second consecutive All-Ireland title at senior level, defeating Armagh in the 2019 Nicky Rackard Cup final. The then management team consisted of Daithí Hand, Colum O'Meara and a second Galvin brother, Peter. A last minute point by substitute Kieran Prior snatched the Final from the jaws of defeat on the day, gaining another promotion for
2072-413: The grounds of a Sligo player's name being misspelled; Sligo lost the replay. This gives Sligo the unique position of having qualified for an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final and a National Football League Final, without ever having contested either. In 1954, Sligo reached the Connacht final against Galway, only for an equalising goal in the final minute to be disallowed. In 1962, Sligo reached
2128-435: The interests of the GAA referred to by some as "garrison games" or foreign sports . Current rules state that GAA property may only be used for the purpose or in connection with the playing of games controlled by the association. Sports not considered 'in conflict' with the GAA have been permitted . On 16 April 2005 the GAA's congress voted to temporarily relax Rule 42 and allow international soccer and rugby to be played in
2184-518: The mainly Catholic nationalist community, and many in the Protestant unionist population consider themselves excluded by a perceived political ethos. According to one sports historian, the GAA "is arguably the most striking example of politics shaping sport in modern history". A perception within Northern Ireland unionist circles that the GAA is a nationalist organisation is reinforced by
2240-425: The management of Croke Park has been allowed to earn revenue by renting the facility out to competing sports organisations, but local GAA units which own smaller facilities cannot. It is also said that it is questionable as to whether or not such rental deals would be damaging to the GAA's interests. The GAA has had some notable rules in the past which have since been abolished. Rule 21 , instituted in 1897 when it
2296-464: The management of Mickey Galvin, won its first All-Ireland hurling title at senior level by defeating Louth in the 2008 Nicky Rackard Cup Final . In 2018, Sligo won a senior All-Ireland title for the first time since 2008 under then Management Team of Darragh Cox and Daithí Hand. The county defeated Lancashire in the 2018 Lory Meagher Cup final, with a last-minute Kevin Gilmartin goal (his third of
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2352-452: The most popular activities promoted by the organisation, and the most popular sports in the Republic of Ireland in terms of attendance. Gaelic football is also the second most popular participation sport in Northern Ireland . The women's version of these games, ladies' Gaelic football and camogie , are organised by the independent but closely linked Ladies' Gaelic Football Association and
2408-454: The naming of some GAA grounds, clubs, competitions and trophies after prominent nationalists or republicans. Other critics point to protectionist rules such as Rule 42 which prohibits competing, chiefly British, sports (referred to by some as "garrison games" or foreign sports ) from GAA grounds. As a result, the GAA became a target for loyalist paramilitaries during the Troubles when
2464-490: The national ideals in the people of Ireland, and assist in promoting a community spirit through its clubs. The group was formally founded in 1969 and is promoted through various Association clubs throughout Ireland (as well as some clubs outside Ireland). The association has many stadiums scattered throughout Ireland and beyond. Every county and nearly all clubs have grounds, with varying capacities and utilities, where they play their home games. The hierarchical structure of
2520-447: The publication in 2016 by his website, gaapitchlocator.net, of a map of 1,748 GAA grounds in Ireland, ranging from 24 grounds in his own county to 171 in Cork. The association has, since its inception, been closely associated with Irish nationalism , and this has continued to the present, particularly in relation to Northern Ireland, where the sports are played predominantly by members of
2576-463: The rules of either Gaelic football or hurling. However, the first international match between France and Italy was played in 2014. Compromise rules have been reached with two "related sports". Hurlers play an annual fixture against a national shinty team from Scotland . International Rules Football matches have taken place between an Irish national team drawn from the ranks of Gaelic footballers, against an Australian national team drawn from
2632-634: The stadium while Lansdowne Road Football Ground was closed for redevelopment. The first soccer and rugby union games permitted in Croke Park took place in early 2007, the first such fixture being Ireland's home match in the Six Nations Rugby Union Championship against France . In addition to the opening of Croke Park to competing sports, local GAA units have sought to rent their facilities out to other sports organisations for financial reasons in violation of Rule 42. The continued existence of Rule 42 has proven to be controversial since
2688-485: The team's rapid decline back into mediocrity. On 27 June 2010, Sligo hosted Galway and led 1–8 to 0–2 at halftime but were shocked by an undeserved draw ending 1–10 each. The replay saw Sligo defeat the Tribesmen on the scoreline of 1–14 to 0–16 to advance to the Connacht Senior Football Final. Once there, after all their hard work and continued misfortune, Roscommon defeated them by 0–14 to 0–13. Sligo football descended to
2744-506: The titles being won by either of Sligo town's two main clubs in the past decade. Sligo's club football scene is not dominated by any single team; there were no back-to-back winners since the St Patrick's team of 1988 and 1989, the longest out of any county in history, until Tourlestrane did the two-in-a-row in 2016 and 2017. In club football, no Sligo team has ever appeared in an All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship final. St Mary's
2800-480: Was established in predominantly Protestant east Belfast in 2006. Organised through Knock Presbyterian Church, this scheme brings Association coaches to work alongside their soccer and rugby counterparts to involve primary school children at summer coaching camps. The Ulster Council is also establishing cross-community football and hurling teams in schools and is developing links with the Ulster-Scots Agency and
2856-512: Was expelled for attending a soccer international. Rule 27 was abolished in 1971. The association points out the role of members of minority religions in the membership throughout its history. For example, the Protestant Jack Boothman was president of the organisation from 1993 to 1997, while Sam Maguire was a Church of Ireland member. Nonetheless, to address concerns of unionists, the association's Ulster Council has embarked on
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#17328524020702912-467: Was halted when they had claims for a penalty in injury time of the second game turned down. On 8 July 2007, Sligo claimed their first Connacht title since 1975 with a one-point victory over Galway. The following year they were beaten by Mayo and ended up in the Tommy Murphy Cup , after a league campaign that had seen them relegated to Division 4. Star player Eamonn O'Hara said he was embarrassed by
2968-545: Was played in Dublin in 2016 with subsequent editions to be played in Ireland every three years. The 2019 games were awarded to Waterford , but the next edition in Derry was deferred to 2023 due to the Covid pandemic. While some units of the association outside Ireland participate in Irish competitions, the association itself does not organise regular international games played according to
3024-478: Was single one-off test match, which led the Irish to reclaim the Cormac McAnallen Cup by a score of 56–52. The international dimension of Gaelic handball includes a World Championship tournament, alongside a European Tour and US Semi-Professional Tour. The 4-Wall and 1-Wall codes of the game are played around the world [with slightly different rules depending on which country one is playing in] and
3080-619: Was suspected that Royal Irish Constabulary spies were trying to infiltrate the organization, prohibited members of the British forces from membership of the GAA. The rule was abolished after an overwhelming majority voted for its removal at a special congress convened in November 2001. Rule 27 , sometimes referred to as The Ban , dated from 1901 and banned GAA members from taking part in or watching non Gaelic games. During that time people such as Douglas Hyde , GAA patron and then President of Ireland,
3136-426: Was the 36th staging of Ireland's premier Gaelic football knock-out competition. Dublin were the winners. An objection was made and a replay ordered. Galway made an objection and a replay was ordered. By the time the semi-final was to be played, the Connacht championship was not finished, so Sligo were nominated to represent Connacht. When Galway beat Sligo in the Connacht final, they were given Sligo's place in
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