#OTD in 1884 – Founding of the Gaelic Athletic Association in the Hayes’s Hotel in Thurles, Co Tipperary.

01/11/2023.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Michael Cusack convenes the first meeting of the ‘Gaelic Athletic Association for the Preservation and Cultivation of national Pastimes’ in Hayes’ Hotel, Thurles, Co Tipperary. Cusack could never have envisioned that the GAA would develop into the largest amateur sports organisation in the world. His legacy can be viewed every August/September when more than 80,000 […]

#OTD in 1847 – Birth of teacher and founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association, Michael Cusack, in Co Clare.

20/09/2023.Reading time 7 minutes.

Michael Cusack was born in the parish of Carron on the eastern fringe of the Burren in north Clare. He lived in a small cottage with his parents, four brothers and one sister. The Cusack homestead still stands today. Little is know of his childhood. On Sundays after Mass, Cusack and the other boys in […]

The Legend of Cú Chulainn

30/03/2023.Reading time 34 minutes.

There are a number of versions of the story of Cú Chulainn’s birth. In the earliest version of Compert C(h)on Culainn (The Conception of Cú Chulainn), his mother Deichtine is the daughter and charioteer of Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster, and accompanies him as he and the nobles of Ulster hunt a flock of […]

#OTD in 1979 – Death of hurler Christy Ring, one of the greatest hurlers of all time.

02/03/2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

Cork hurling great and one of the greatest hurlers of all time, Christy Ring went to the great hurling stadium in the sky. Born in Cloyne, Co Cork, the hurling legend won eight All-Ireland hurling championships in a twenty-five year career with the rebel county. His first All-Ireland success was in 1941, the first of […]