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Gaelic Games are the traditional sports played in Ireland. The two main Gaelic Games are Gaelic football and Hurling, both of which are organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Other games organised by the association include Rounders, Gaelic handball. During the late 19th century, Gaelic Games in Ireland were dying out. This decline was stopped and reversed by the GAA and the Irish national Gaelic Revival. Today they are the most popular games in Ireland ^[1]

Gaelic Games being played from top left to bottom right Handball, Rounders,Hurling and Football with the Official GAA logo in the middle

Further information: Gaelic football

Gaelic football is the most popular of the gaelic games and is played by teams of 15 on a rectangular grass pitch with H-shaped goals at each end. The primary object is to score by driving the ball through the goals. The team with the highest score at the end of the match wins. It combines the skills of soccer and basketball in a fast-paced, high-scoring contact sport.

Further information: Hurling

Hurling is a stick and ball game played by teams of 15 on a rectangular grass pitch with H-shaped goals at each end. The primary object is to score by driving the ball through the goals. The team with the highest score at the end of the match wins. It is over three-thousand years old, and is said to be the world's fastest field game, combining skills from lacrosse, field hockey, and baseball in a hard-hitting, highly skilled game.

Further information: Rounders

Rounders is a bat and ball game which is played in Ireland; a similar version is played in England. Rounders is the least popular of the GAA gaelic games and is organised by a sub division of the GAA known as the Rounders Council of Ireland.

Further information: Gaelic handball

Gaelic Handball is a game where two players use their hands to return a ball against a wall. The game is similar to American handball; Gaelic handballers play against their US counterparts.

Other Gaelic Games such as gaelic athletics have nearly or completely died out. Pastimes such as Road bowling, a sport played in Ireland for a long time, could be considered Gaelic games.

D.P. Moran

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