Our History. Your Story.

The GAA Oral History Project, based in Boston College-Ireland, has been commissioned by the GAA as part of its 125th Anniversary celebrations. The project aims to record the fullest possible picture of what the GAA has meant to the Irish people, in their own words.

The project will record face-to-face interviews with thousands of people in Ireland and internationally, including GAA members and supporters and anyone who has ever had any contact or involvement with the GAA.

The history of the GAA is a people’s history. In an organisation of volunteers, the thoughts of ordinary members and supporters should be recorded along with those of champions and high-level officials. We have alive in Ireland today a group of people who can tell us exactly what it was like to play hurling with Christy Ring, or cycle to Croke Park from Kerry for the All-Ireland final.

Ann-Marie Smith of the Oral History Project believes that it is the older people in our society who can provide the most cherished of memories: “it is the older people in our society who can recall cycling to matches for miles on end and using branches as hurleys when they first attempted to play the games. If we do not record these stories, they will be lost forever.”
The Project wants to hear the opinions and stories of everyone, not just Irish people at home, but Irish people abroad and also people of different nationalities who have lived in Ireland or come in contact with the GAA at some point.

In addition to carrying out interviews and questionnaires, the Project is also building a collection of documents, photographs and recordings relating to the social side of the GAA from 1884 to the present. Samples of the collected material will be made available to the public on www.gaahistory.com, through a range of books and through a number of radio and TV documentaries.

The Project is the biggest public history project undertaken in the state. In 2012, the entire digital archive will be handed over to the GAA Museum and Archive and will leave a remarkable legacy for future generations.

How to Become Involved

The GAA Oral History Project aims to record the fullest possible picture of what the GAA has meant to the Irish people, in their own words. They want to hear your stories. The Project will gather people’s stories in the following ways:

Face-to-Face Interviews

The project will record face-to-face interviews with thousands of people in Ireland and internationally, including GAA members and supporters, current and former players, managers, officials, administrators and anyone who has had any contact with or involvement in the GAA. If you would like to be interviewed please contact the Project at the details given below.

Do you know of someone else who should be interviewed? If so, please contact the Project at the details given below and explain why.

Questionnaires:

There are two questionnaires available on www.gaahistory.com
They are appealing to as many people as possible to complete the longer version of the questionnaire in order to gain the broadest possible amount of information on the GAA in people’s lives. For those of you with less time, you may fill in the shorter version. The questionnaires can be completed and returned electronically or printed out, completed by hand and returned by post.

Letters:

For those of you who would like to take part in the GAA Oral History Project but do not wish to fill out a questionnaire, why not write a letter to the project.
This letter might simply recount your views of the GAA, or recount your own involvement in the association, special memories or favourite stories. Alternatively, your letter could be based on some of the themes which are covered in the questionnaire. It does not matter what length the letter is, the project will be delighted to receive your contribution.

Donate Material:

The project is also building up a collection of documents, photographs and recordings relating to the social life of the GAA from 1884 to the present. No item is too recent! For further information on donating material, please go to the ‘Send Us Material’ link on www.gaahistory.com or contact the project directly.

Details:

Please send interview details, completed questionnaires, letters and queries about donating material to:
GAA Oral History Project,
Boston College,
42 St. Stephen’s Green,
Dublin 2.
Phone: +353 (0)1 662 5055
Email: info@gaahistory.com
Website: www.gaahistory.com