What is the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA)?
Q: What is the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA)?
A: The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is an organisation which promotes traditional Irish sports, such as hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders. It also promotes Irish music and dance, and the Irish language.
Q: How many members does the GAA have?
A: The GAA has around 800,000 members out of Ireland's population of almost 6 million.
Q: What are some of the activities promoted by the GAA?
A: The main activities promoted by the GAA are Gaelic football and Hurling.
Q: How is Gaelic football played?
A: Gaelic football combines elements from soccer, basketball and volleyball in a high-scoring game where players punch or kick the ball over a crossbar for one point or kick it into a net at the bottom for three points. It also has similarities with Australian Rules Football.
Q: How is Hurling played?
A: Hurling is a stick-and-ball game that combines skills from field hockey, lacrosse and baseball but pre-dates all three. Players can catch the ball and use a hurley to hit a sliotar between goalposts using either one or three point scoring system on an identical size field as in Gaelic football.
Q: Is Hurling similar to any other sport?
A: Yes, Hurling shares similarities with field hockey, lacrosse and baseball but predates them all. It should not be confused with shinty which is a Scottish game.
