Defenders of the nation? The Gaelic athletic association and Irish nationalist identity

1 January 1996

journal article
research article
Published by Taylor & Francis in Irish Political Studies

Vol. 11 (1) , 1-19
https://doi.org/10.1080/07907189608406554

Abstract

The aim of this article is to explore the history of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in order to assess how this organisation has been able to place itself at the heart of the nationalist history of Ireland. Specifically the article will address how the GAA's use of nationalist myth has enabled it to position itself as a major player in the struggle in Northern Ireland and why the organisation refused to enter the spirit of reconciliation which was so much a part of the peace process.

Keywords

This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:

Sport and a sense of Irishness
Irish Studies Review, 1994
The politics of culture and sport in Ireland: a history of the gaa ban on foreign games 1884–1971
The International Journal of the History of Sport, 1993