[6] On 1 November 1884, a group of Irishmen gathered in the Hayes' Hotel billiard room to formulate a plan and establish an organisation to foster and preserve Ireland's unique games and athletic pastimes.

The architects and founding members were Michael Cusack of County Clare, Maurice Davin, Joseph K. Bracken, Thomas St George McCarthy, a District Inspector in the Royal Irish Constabulary, P. J. Ryan of Tipperary, John Wyse Power and John McKay.

[8] The GAA organises a number of competitions at divisional, county, inter-county, provincial, inter-provincial and national (All-Ireland) levels.

It shall foster an awareness and love of the national ideals in the people of Ireland, and assist in promoting a community spirit through its clubs.

Every September, Croke Park hosts the All-Ireland inter-county Hurling and Football Finals as the conclusion to the summer championships.

[12][13] The association has, since its inception, been closely associated with Irish nationalism,[14][15] and this has continued to the present, particularly in relation to Northern Ireland,[16] where the sports are played predominantly by members of the mainly Catholic nationalist community, and many in the Protestant unionist population consider themselves excluded by a perceived political ethos.

Current rules state that GAA property may only be used for the purpose or in connection with the playing of games controlled by the association.

On 16 April 2005 the GAA's congress voted to temporarily relax Rule 42 and allow international soccer and rugby to be played in the stadium while Lansdowne Road Football Ground was closed for redevelopment.

Rule 21, instituted in 1897 when it was suspected that Royal Irish Constabulary spies were trying to infiltrate the organization, prohibited members of the British forces from membership of the GAA.

During that time people such as Douglas Hyde, GAA patron and then President of Ireland, was expelled for attending a soccer international.

[42] The Cúchulainn Initiative is a cross-community program aimed at establishing teams consisting of Catholic and Protestant schoolchildren with no prior playing experience.

[citation needed] The 'Game of three-halves' cross-community coaching initiative was established in predominantly Protestant east Belfast in 2006.

[45][46] The Ulster Council is also establishing cross-community football and hurling teams in schools and is developing links with the Ulster-Scots Agency and the Church of Ireland.

[46] The council has also undertaken a series of meetings with political parties and community groups who would have traditionally have had no involvement in the association.

[46] In January 2011, the then President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, announced the launch of an island-wide project called the "GAA Social Initiative".

This aims to address the problem of isolation in rural areas where older people have limited engagement with the community.

It was single one-off test match, which led the Irish to reclaim the Cormac McAnallen Cup by a score of 56–52.

[61] This has proven to be controversial in that it is difficult to enforce; in the drive to stay competitive, managers have found ways to avoid it, such as organising informal 'athletic clubs' and other activities that they can use to work on the physical fitness of players without overtly appearing to be training specifically at Gaelic games.