''GAA Beo'' (''Live GAA'') is the principal

Gaelic games Gaelic games () are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the most popular of the s ...

programme of

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

-broadcaster

TG4 TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...

. Typically, it is shown on

on a regular basis on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, as well as midweek, all year round showing live and deferred coverage of

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

and

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

matches in the club championships, National Leagues,

Fitzgibbon Cup The Fitzgibbon Cup () is the trophy for the premier hurling championship among higher education institutions (universities, colleges and institutes of technology) in Ireland. The Fitzgibbon Cup competition is administered by Comhairle Ard Oideac ...

and

Sigerson Cup The Sigerson Cup is the trophy for the premier Gaelic football championship among Higher Education institutions (Universities, Colleges and Institutes of Technology) in Ireland. It traditionally begins in mid January and ends in late February. T ...

, as well as the provincial and All-Ireland Championships at minor, under-20 and under-21 levels.

History

Beginnings

A week after its launch on 31 October 1996,

Teilifís na Gaeilge TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...

(TnaG) broadcast its first

-themed programme. '' Ard san Aer'', a weekly studio-based programme presented by

Cynthia Ní Mhurchú Cynthia Ní Mhurchú (; born 1966) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician, barrister and former radio host with (RTÉ) who has served as a Member of the European Parliament for the South constituency since July 2024. She presented Eurovision Song ...

, featured special guests who discussed their favourite sporting memories. The programme lasted for one season. TnaG's first foray into live Gaelic games broadcasting occurred over the June Bank Holiday weekend in 1997 when the fledgling station provided five hours of coverage of the

Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta is an annual All Ireland Gaelic football competition contested by clubs from the Irish language-speaking Gaeltacht areas of Ireland. Clubs compete on a county-basis at first, in order to qualify for the tournament t ...

. ''Ard san Aer'' returned with a new format in October 1998.

Mícheál Ó Domhnaill Mícheál Ó Domhnaill (; 7 October 1951 – 7 July 2006) was an Irish singer, guitarist, composer, and producer who was a major influence on Irish traditional music in the second half of the twentieth century. He is remembered for his innovat ...

, who previously presented the

Spanish football Football is the most popular sport in Spain, with 61% of the population interested in it. Spain has some of the most influential teams in Europe (Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia, and others) as well as many playe ...

programme '' Olé, Olé'', presented the new version of the programme. Broadcast on Wednesday evenings, the programme initially featured highlights of the previous weekends' games in the club championships and National Leagues. The programme was later expanded to feature highlights of inter-county championship games during the summer months. The first live edition of ''Ard san Aer Beo'' was broadcast on 3 October 1999 and featured coverage of the

Offaly Senior Hurling Championship The Offaly Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Molloy Environmental Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition contested by top-tier Offaly GAA clubs. The Offaly County Board of the Gaelic Athlet ...

final between Birr and St. Rynagh's.

Development

''Ard san Aer Beo'' proved to be an instant success due to the fact that TG4's television rivals did not show live broadcasts of club championship or National League games. In 1999 the programme underwent a re-branding and was renamed ''GAA Beo'', however, ''Ard san Aer'' remained as the name of the mid-week highlights programme. The first edition of the newly styled ''GAA Beo'' was broadcast on TG4 on 17 September 2000 and showed live coverage of the

Meath Senior Football Championship The Meath Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association club competition between the top Gaelic football clubs in Meath, Ireland. Qualification for subsequent competitions The winners of the Meath Senior Football Champio ...

final between

Dunshaughlin Dunshaughlin ( or locally ) is a town in County Meath, Ireland. A commuter town for nearby Dublin, Dunshaughlin more than tripled in population (from 2,139 to 6,644 inhabitants) between the 1996 and 2022 censuses. The town is in a townland and ...

and

Kilmainhamwood Kilmainhamwood, historically simply Killmainham (), is a village and townland in north County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The village is built on the River Dee, County Louth, River Dee and is situated north of Whitewood Lake. The vill ...

Coverage

Games from the following competitions are regularly shown on ''GAA Beo'': *

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

Christy Ring Cup The Christy Ring Cup () is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The cup forms the third-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship is the first-tier trophy). It is ...

Nicky Rackard Cup The Nicky Rackard Cup (; often referred to as the Rackard Cup) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The cup forms the fourth-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Champi ...

Lory Meagher Cup The Lory Meagher Cup (; often referred to as the Meagher Cup) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The cup forms the fifth-tier of hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Champio ...

All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship The GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the EirGrid GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association ...

All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the oneills.com GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). ...

Leinster Under-21 Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Under-20 Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the oneills.com Leinster GAA Under-20 Hurling Championship), is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic ...

Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Munster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-c ...

All-Ireland Minor Football Championship The Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in Gaelic football played in Ireland. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it was replaced by an under ...

All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Electric Ireland GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship) is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Associ ...

All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament which began in season 1970–71. It is the top-tier competition for the senior football clubs of Ireland and London. The current champions are Cuala of D ...

Connacht Senior Club Football Championship The Connacht Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament played between senior clubs in Connacht, with one qualifying from each of the five individual county championships. The winners of the Connacht football champ ...

Leinster Senior Club Football Championship The Leinster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament played on a knockout basis between the senior club championship winners of the competing counties in Leinster. The current holders of the Leinster title are K ...

Munster Senior Club Football Championship The Munster Senior Club Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Munster GAA Football Senior Club Championship) is an annual Gaelic football competition for the champion clubs of each county. It has been organised by the ...

Ulster Senior Club Football Championship The Ulster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament organised by Ulster GAA. It is played between the Senior championship winners from each of the nine counties of Ulster. The competition was first held in 1968 an ...

All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Club Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Club Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-coun ...

Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship The Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Club Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Leinster GAA, Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Associa ...

Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship The Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Munster GAA Hurling Senior Club Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Associatio ...

* County Senior Football Championships * County Senior Hurling Championships *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:GAA Beo 1990s Irish television series 2000s Irish television series 2010s Irish television series Gaelic games on television TG4 original programming