Ireland's national
sports of hurling and football will be showcased at the LFN Arena and
an unique Tug o' War competition will be held.
The gaa games are
sponsored
by LFN Group and supported by the
London County GAA Board and London Carlow Association.
The
LFN Group sponsored Sports Arena will host the first ever
Ladies
Gaelic Football
match to be played in Sussex: another festival first!
The
winning team will be awarded the
London
Carlow Association Cup and at the FDL Stage.
GAA matches include:
Cup:
Senior Ladies Football
Senior
Mens Hurling
Junior
Mixed Football
The
Tug o' War competition was always popular at the Crawley Irish Festival
but has taken a break over the last couple of years but this year, its
back!
Sponsored by the McCabe Group, we hope to organise a number of events
throughout the day.
Big Screen GAA Action
The
biggest game of the All-Ireland gaelic football weekend will be
televised
via the big screen at the festival as Ireland's counties battle to
become All-Ireland champions.
The big match will be televised adajent to
the main bar via a Setanta Sports live satellite feed.
Did you know?
In 2002, the Crawley Irish Festival hosted West Sussex's first recorded
Hurling match as two London based teams battled it out for the
London Carlow Association Cup: the
tradition goes on with this years ladies football.
Get involved
You too will have the opportunity to raise a Hurl and the kids will
be able to kick a ball about with guidance from the professionals - or
at least from regular players!
About Gaelic Games
The origins of Gaelic games predate recorded history. Bardic sources
provide an insight into the character of the pre-GAA games. Hurling
predominates, but there are also references to football. Fragments of
the ancient Brehon (Gaelic) Laws show that hurling was regulated from
at least the eighth century. After the Norman invasion of the 12th
century, the English Crown proscribed hurling. It's modern day
governing body is the Gaelic Athletic Association, or GAA, born during
the Gaelic Revival during Ireland's 18th century.
Hurling gave rise to the modern game of Hockey and [Gaelic] Football
preceeded the formation of the Australian Football League (or Aussie
Rules) where many traits of the game remain similar. Ireland and
Australia compete in an "International Rules" football competition,
regularly.
