A province is a geographic region within

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 ...

, consisting of several

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

of 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) and originally based on the historic four

provinces of Ireland There are four provinces of Ireland: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster. The Irish language, Irish word for this territorial division, , meaning "fifth part", suggests that there were once five, and at times Kingdom of Meath, Meath has be ...

as they were set in 1610.

Provincial councils

A provincial council is responsible for the organisation of club and inter-county competitions such as the provincial championships, and the promotion of

within its region. This region consists of several

county board A county board is a common form of county legislature, particular of counties in the United States. Related forms of county government include: * Board of Supervisors — a form of county legislature in some U.S. states * County commission, ...

s. Listed below are the five existing provincial councils (four of which are on the island of Ireland). The

British GAA The British Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association () or Britain GAA is the only provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association outside the island of Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in Great Britain. The board is also r ...

is the fifth provincial council. To the right is a map showing the location of the provinces of Ireland, i.e. north, south, east, west. Another map below it indicates Britain in relation to Ireland. MODIS - Great Britain and Ireland - 2012-06-04 during heat wave

MODIS - Great Britain and Ireland - 2012-06-04 during heat wave

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

The ultimate goal of Gaelic Games Europe (the European county board) is to become a provincial council. Gaelic games in North America acts as a provincial council for clubs and the three county teams in North America.

Provincial championships

Championships

Football

Connacht Senior Football Championship The Connacht Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Connacht Championship and shortened to Connacht SFC, is an annual Gaelic football competition for the senior county teams of Connacht GAA. All of the county teams of Connacht particip ...

Leinster Senior Football Championship The Leinster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship and shortened to Leinster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster GAA, Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Asso ...

Munster Senior Football Championship The Munster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship and shortened to Munster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Associatio ...

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in April. The final is ...

Hurling

* Connacht Senior Hurling Championship * Leinster Senior Hurling Championship *

Munster Senior Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the h ...

Ulster Senior Hurling Championship The Ulster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Ulster Championship, was an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It was the highest inter-county hurl ...

A provincial championship is a competition in which counties compete against rival counties from the same province. All 4

Provinces of Ireland There are four provinces of Ireland: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster. The Irish language, Irish word for this territorial division, , meaning "fifth part", suggests that there were once five, and at times Kingdom of Meath, Meath has be ...

organise a provincial championship in both codes. However, there is variation. For instance, Antrim and

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

have competed in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship despite not being from Leinster. This is due to the strength of their teams with respect to other counties in their province. Teams representing

London GAA The London County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) or London GAA is one of the County (Gaelic games), county boards outside Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in London. The county board is also responsible for the London ...

, though based in Britain, have competed in the

and

(e.g. in 2010). List of all provincial changes (years in province) * Antrim Hurling (Leinster 2009-) * Galway Hurling (Leinster 2009-) * London Hurling (Leinster 2014-2015) * Kerry Hurling (Leinster 2016-2017) * Galway Hurling (Munster 1959-1969) * London Hurling (Ulster 1998-2010) * New York Hurling (Ulster 2000-2006) * London Football (Connacht 1975-) * New York Football (Connacht 1999-)

Setanta Sports Setanta Sports Media is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland and in Tbilisi, Georgia, broadcasting throughout select Eurasian countries, and the Philippines. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Iris ...

broadcasts live provincial championships matches in Australia.

also provides matches from the provincial championships in Asia.

Roll of honour

Football

Provincial Hurling Champions

Provincial Football Champions

References

Gaelic games culture Gaelic games terminology {{GAA-stub