The GAA: A People's History [Hardcover]

'Beautifully-compiled anniversary ode [...] a great showcase for The Collins Press' --The Irish Times

'Standing high above the pack [of books commemorating the GAA]' --Irish Independent

'Wonderfully nostalgic pictures' --Irish Daily Mail

'Book is excellent and the photographs superb; and very well used. Great design' --John Bowman, RTE journalist

'Fabulously presented [...] this book should be read by all those within the association [and also] makes a good companion for those outside the association who wish to gain an understanding of how the GAA has evolved' --Evening Echo

Ireland without the GAA would be unimaginable. As it moves past its 125th anniversary, this is the story of how it carved for itself a unique place at the heart of Irish life. Here is a people s history, commissioned by the GAA, outlining how Gaelic games and the social world around them shaped the lives of generations of Irish people at home and abroad. The Association has impinged on all aspects of life in Ireland and this influence is explored through thirteen broad chapters. From how and where Gaelic games were played and watched to their impact on and interaction with Irish communities, the Irish abroad, politics, women in the GAA, music and much more, this history sets the GAA experience against that of a changing Irish society. Lavishly illustrated with previously unseen photographs and original historical documents, this is a book to dip into or read through, with absorbing insights into a world that is both uniquely Irish and global. In short, this book is about how generations of Irish people have spent their time in the hours between work and sleep, in thrall to their games and the association which organises them.

Mike Cronin, academic director of Boston College Ireland, has written widely on Ireland s history. His books include The Blueshirts and Irish Politics (1997), Sport and Nationalism in Ireland (1999), and Irish History for Dummies (2006). He contributes to radio and television on Irish and sporting history. Mark Duncan is a Research Consultant and Exhibition Co-ordinator. Central in establishing the GAA Museum at Croke Park and a regular current-affairs researcher with RTE, he has worked on research projects in Ireland for public and corporate bodies. Paul Rouse, formerly of Prime Time in RTE, has written extensively on the history of Irish sport and the GAA. He teaches history at UCD. All are directors of the GAA Oral History Project based at Boston College - Ireland.