Formation 1898 | Type Sports Organisation | |
Headquarters Páirc na hÉireann
Catherine De Barnes Lane
Solihull
West Midlands
United Kingdom
B92 0DB
Emerald GAA Grounds
West End Road
South Ruislip
HA4 6QX
London Membership Assorted governing bodies and
clubs Website | ||
The British Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael na Breataine) or British GAA is the only provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association outside Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in Great Britain. The board is also responsible for the British Gaelic football, hurling, camogie and ladies' Gaelic football inter-county teams.
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London compete in the National Hurling League in hurling, and in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (as part of Connacht) and National Football League in Gaelic football. Since the reorganisation of the hurling championships into 3 tiers, London now play in the tier 2 Christy Ring Cup while Warwickshire and Lancashire play in the tier 4 Lory Meagher Cup.
The British Council is responsible for the seven GAA counties of Britain: Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Lancashire, London, Scotland, Warwickshire and Yorkshire. The GAA counties cover wider areas than their names suggest; the Hertfordshire County Board, for example, oversees clubs in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire; Gloucestershire GAA reaches into South Wales, Warwickshire GAA includes Staffordshire and Birmingham, and so on. The most popular sport is Gaelic football and some clubs are dedicated only to that sport.
History
The history of the London branch of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) dates back to the 19th century. Sam Maguire started his career here.
The old Wembley Stadium has played host to a number of Gaelic football and hurling games, the first taking place in 1958.
Facilities
Whilst many weekday and Sunday league games are played on rugby pitches or improvised parks, there are special gaelic grounds in England for cup finals and important inter-provincial games. The two main grounds are the Emerald GAA Grounds, in Ruislip, London, and Páirc na hÉireann, in Solihull, near Birmingham.