Ireland’s ancient sports, with their celtic roots, Gaelic Football and Hurling are perhaps the fruit of Éire being an island nation cut off by sea from the rest of europe.

They served for a time as a symbol of cultural resistance during the long English domination of the island, perhaps much as the traditional dances Les Sardanes and "The Human Towers" els Castellers did here in our country around 1714. It was at the end of the 19th century when the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association, "Cumann Lútchleas Gael" in Irish ) was set up to regulate the rules and organisation of the games.

The occupying English forces tried in vain to suppress the sports and halt their practice in an attempt to dilute nationalistic feelings and encourage uniformity of culture in the empire. The GAA Gaelic games are amateur – they are played at all levels by non-professionals. The reward for the sports men and women is the pride they may feel having represented their local club and community and the personal enjoyment of the games. It is possible that for this reason the games have not been exported to other countries until recently.