Gaelic games () are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, where they originated. They include

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 ...

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 ...

Gaelic handball Gaelic handball (known in Ireland simply as handball; ) is a sport where players hit a ball with a hand or fist against a wall in such a way as to make a shot the opposition cannot return, and that may be played with two (singles) or four player ...

and

rounders Rounders is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a wooden, plastic, or metal bat that has a cylindrical end. The players score b ...

. Football and hurling, the most popular of the sports, are both organised by the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

(GAA). Women's versions of hurling and football are also played:

camogie Camogie ( ; ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game "hurling" (which is played by men only), it is organised ...

, organised by the

Camogie Association of Ireland The Camogie Association (, formerly ) organises and promotes the sport of camogie in Ireland and around the world. The association has close ties with the Gaelic Athletic Association, but is still a separate organisation. History The Camogie A ...

, and

ladies' Gaelic football Ladies' Gaelic football () is an Irish team sport for women. It is the women's equivalent of Gaelic football. Ladies' football is organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. Two teams of 15 players kick or hand-pass a round ball toward ...

, organised by the

Ladies' Gaelic Football Association The Ladies' Gaelic Football Association () is the main governing body for ladies' Gaelic football. It organises competitions such as the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship and the Ladies' National Football League. Foundation Th ...

. While women's versions are not organised by the GAA (with the exception of handball, where men's and women's handball competitions are both organised by the

GAA Handball GAA Handball Ireland (Irish: ''Liathróid Láimhe C.L.G. na hÉireann'') is the governing body for the sport of Gaelic handball in all of its codes in Ireland. Handball is one of the four Gaelic games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association ...

organisation), they are closely associated with it but are still separate organisations. Gaelic games clubs exist all over the world. They are Ireland's most popular sports, ahead of

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

. Almost a million people (977,723) attended 45 GAA senior championships games in 2017 (up 29% in hurling and 22% in football on 2016 figures) combined with attendances at other championship and league games generating

gate receipts Gate receipts, or simply "gate", is the sum of money taken at a sporting venue for the sale of tickets. Traditionally, gate receipts were largely or entirely taken in cash. Today, many sporting venues will operate a season ticket scheme, which mean ...

of €34,391,635. Gaelic games are designated within the

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

curriculum as requiring "particular consideration." They were showcased at the

Château de Vincennes The Château de Vincennes () is a former fortress and royal residence next to the town of Vincennes, on the eastern edge of Paris, alongside the Bois de Vincennes. It was largely built between 1361 and 1369, and was a preferred residence, after ...

during the

2024 Paris Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, the first time Gaelic football and hurling had featured at an Olympics since

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

Gaelic football

Gaelic football 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, which is known as a goal (worth 3 points), or by kicking the ball over the bar, which is known as a point (worth 1 point). The team with the highest point score at the end of the match wins. The female version of the game is known as

and is similar to the men's game with a few minor rule changes. Other formats with teams of 7 to 11 players are played in Europe, Middle East, Asia, Argentina and South Africa utilising smaller soccer or rugby pitches.

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 or putting the ball over the bar and thereby scoring a point. Three points is the equivalent of a goal. 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. The female version of the game is known as

and is very similar to hurling with a few minor rule changes. Other formats with teams of 7 to 11 players are played in Europe, Middle East, Asia, Argentina and South Africa utilising smaller soccer or rugby pitches.

Gaelic handball

Gaelic handball is a game in which two players use their hands to return a ball against a wall. The game is similar to

American handball American handball, known as handball in the United States and sometimes referred to as wallball, is a sport in which players use their hands to hit a small, rubber ball against a wall such that their opponent(s) cannot do the same without the ba ...

. There are four codes of handball: Softball (also known as '60x30' or 'big alley' due to the playing court dimensions), 4-Wall (also known as '40x20' or 'small alley'), 1-Wall and Hardball (can also be known as '60x30'; played in the same court as Softball). 1-Wall handball is the most popular international version of handball, played in over 30 countries. The sport's governing body,

, oversees and promotes the game in Ireland.

Rounders

Rounders is a bat-and-ball game which is played in Ireland; a similar version is played in Britain. Rounders is organised by a subdivision of the GAA known as the Rounders Council of Ireland. It is similar to the American game

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

Other Gaelic games

Other Gaelic games such as Gaelic athletics have nearly or completely died out. When founded the GAA organised a number of Gaelic athletics competitions but passed the responsibility to the

National Athletic and Cycling Association The National Athletic and Cycling Association (NACA or N.A. and C.A.), from 1990 the National Athletic and Cycling Association of Ireland (NACAI or NACA(I)) was a federation of sports clubs in the island of Ireland practising athletics or bicyc ...

in 1922. Tailteann Games with Gaelic athletics were held until 1932.

References

External links

Official website
of the

(GAA) {{Gaels Culture of Ireland ! Traditional sports