The Gathering Hurling Festival 2013

Gaelic Athletic Association Cumann Luthchleas Gael – The GAA The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is the largest amateur sporting organisation in the world! It is a community based, volunteer organisation promoting Gaelic Games and Culture and life-long participation. The GAA focuses is energy primarily on the promotion and delivery, of Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish games of Hurling, Gaelic Football, Handball and Rounders. There are 2,550 Affiliated GAA Clubs in existence 2,163 in Ireland, 85 in Britain and 302 “Timpeall na Cruinne”. What started as an exclusively Irish organisation is now changing to an International one and today GAA membership exceeds 1 Million Members. Since its foundation in 1884, the GAA has grown to become a major influence in Irish sporting and cultural life with an extensive reach into every community and parish in Ireland and increasingly overseas. Galway GAA Pearse Stadium Geographically, Galway is the second largest County in Ireland and is one of the few Counties with realistic aspirations of winning All-Ireland Championships in both Football and Hurling. There are 80 Affiliated GAA Clubs in Galway, fielding 1,003 Teams in all age grades and levels and there are 27,900 registered Members on the Galway GAA database. In order to facilitate annual games and cultural programmes for its members, Galway GAA has an annual turnover of €3m. The primary sources of Income are; Gate Receipts, Central Council and Provincial (Connacht) Council Grants, Sponsorship and Fundraising events. Although the GAA is a voluntary organisation, Galway GAA has 11 Full-Time Staff. (There are 5 in Administration and 6 in Coaching and Games Development). In addition there are more than 100 Members employed on a Part-Time, or Seasonal, basis throughout the year, to support and deliver the organisation’s extensive Coaching and Games Development activities and programmes.

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