A Little Bit of Big History When Michael Cusack moved to Dublin, in 1877, to open his academy preparing Irish students for the Civil Service examinations, sport throughout Ireland was only played by those with the time and money to do so. For everyone else, life consisted of working, sleeping and working some more. (that’s when they weren’t sick or too poor or emigrating to escape sickness and poverty). Within Cusack’s academy sport was very important. Students were encouraged to try rugby, cricket, rowing and weight-throwing. These were all fine pastimes but in the early 1880’s Cusack turned his attentions to the native Irish sports. In 1882 he attended the first meeting of the Dublin Hurling Club, formed ‘for the purpose of taking steps to re-establish the national game of hurling’. The weekly games of hurling, in the Phoenix Park, became so popular that, in 1883, Cusack had enough players to found ‘Cusack’s Academy Hurling Club’ which, in turn, led to the establishment of the Metropolitan Hurling Club. On Easter Monday 1884 the Metropolitans played Killimor, in Galway. There were no yellow cards in those days and some of the play got a bit heated! This was no surprise as the two teams were playing to different rules. Imagine a team of American footballers playing a team of rugby players in a game of basketball! Helmets had yet to be invented so you can only imagine the “misunderstandings” that happened! It was this clash of styles that convinced Cusack that not only did the rules of the games need to be written down but that an organisation was needed to enforce these rules. Cusack was also a journalist and he used the newspapers of the day to promote his cause for the creation of a group to organise and rule on athletics in Ireland. On October 11 1884 an article, written by Cusack, called ‘A word about Irish Athletics’ appeared in the United Ireland and The Irishman. These were two newspapers that were widely read, they were as big as Facebook is these days. These essays were supported a week later by a letter from Maurice Davin, one of three Tipperary brothers, who had been the top athlete for over a decade and who thought a new sports organisation was a good idea too. A week later Cusack sent a signed letter (texting was too expensive) to both papers announcing that a meeting would take place in Hayes’s Commercial Hotel, in Thurles, Co. Tipperary on November 1 1884. On this historic date Cusack had the first meeting of the ‘Gaelic Athletic Association for the Preservation and Cultivation of national Pastimes’. It wasn’t a good start, only 7 people turned up! The 39a didn’t travel to Thurles, (or anywhere else), at that time. Maurice Davin was elected President, Michael Cusack, John Wyse-Power and John McKay were elected Secretaries and it was agreed that Archbishop Croke, Charles Stewart Parnell and Michael Davitt would be asked to become patrons (these were famous people at the time and would make the new organisation attractive to people). From that first small meeting grew the Association we know today. And YOU are a member! .