Writing history for a Croke Park prize

Transition Year students are urged to take part in a new GAA essay competition which concentrates on the history of the association

THE GAELIC Athletic Association has had a profound impact on Irish culture. A new essay competition, aimed at Transition Year students, hopes to reveal the breadth and depth of the sporting organisation’s significance.

Students taking part in the competition will submit an essay from a choice of topics and the winning student will be awarded their prize during a ceremony in Croke Park on St Patrick’s Day, 2010.

The full list of topics includes: The History of Croke Park; The GAA and Irish Nationalism 1884-1921; The GAA Abroad; Bloody Sunday; The work of a General Secretary of the Association: either Luke O’Toole (1901-1929) or Padraig O’Caoimh (1930-1964); The GAA in Ulster

Students will use primary and secondary sources in researching the essay. The GAA Museum, based at the historic Croke Park, houses a substantial archive and will issue guidelines on what sources are available for each essay. Access to the archive is by appointment only, so be sure to book in advance. Essays must be on the given topics, between 1,200-1,500 words in length, and contain at least two primary or specialist secondary sources which must be clearly referenced throughout the essay. More information on sources and referencing techniques will be provided by the museum. Further details of the prize will be announced in due course.

GAA ORAL HISTORY PROJECT: What does the GAA mean to you?

This year, one of the world’s largest sporting projects is setting out to record face-to-face interviews with the many thousands of people, both in Ireland and abroad, whose lives have been touched by the GAA. Second-level students, particularly Transition Year students, will be vital for the success of this project.

Annmarie Smith of Boston College Ireland, who have been commissioned to carry out the GAA Oral History Project, explains: “This is the largest public history project in Ireland since the work of the Irish Folklore Commission in the 1930s. The project aims to record the fullest possible picture of what the GAA has meant to the Irish people, in their own words. We’re inviting as many secondary school students as possible to take part in the project, and have developed a Transition Year initiative which fits into the Community Care/Social Outreach module.”

The project wants to speak to supporters and members, current and former players, officials, managers, and anyone who has been involved in any way – whether driving a bus to Croke Park or making jerseys. Students will be encouraged to record the GAA memories and stories of older people in their community, gaining an appreciation of the value of the elderly. It will also be an opportunity to practise the hands-on approach of an historian.

All the work produced by the students will be included in the digital archive which will be publicly accessible in the GAA Museum from 2012.