County (Gaelic games)


A county is a geographic region within Gaelic games, controlled by a county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association and originally based on the 32 counties of Ireland as they were in 1884. While the administrative geography of Ireland has since changed, with several new counties created and the six that make up Northern Ireland superseded by 11 local government districts, the counties in Gaelic games have remained largely unchanged.
However, the county as used in Gaelic games does not always and everywhere cover precisely the same territory as the traditional county. Particularly in the first 50 years of the Association but also in more recent times, there are many examples of clubs based in one of the administrative counties being allowed to participate in the leagues or championships of a neighbouring county. There are also instances where the official county boundary does not coincide precisely with the county as used in Gaelic games, for example where a club is based on a parish that crosses the county border. While in most cases the name of the county as used in Gaelic games is the same as that of the current or former administrative county, there have been exceptions: Derry has never used the official county name of Londonderry, and the board of the county then officially known as Queen's County changed its name in 1907 to Leix and Ossary, later becoming Laois. Each county board is responsible for organising GAA club fixtures within the county, and for the promotion and development of Gaelic games and the other objectives of the Association.
The county can also refer to the inter-county teams fielded by each county board. While in general any county, and only a county, is eligible to compete in the provincial and national championships and leagues, and almost all do so, again there can be anomalies: in the National Hurling League, for example, a team representing Fingal — a sub-region of the GAA county of Dublin, corresponding to the modern administrative county of Fingal — previously competed against other counties.
Since the inception of the county system, there have been changes to the respective regions of control of the overseas units. In Ireland the concept of the county is very strong and changing the county boundary is extremely controversial. In 2002 a proposal to divide Dublin in two was quickly and strongly opposed.

List of every county board

The following is a list of the 32 county boards in Ireland and the 14 county boards outside of Ireland.
Listed below are the 32 county boards based in Ireland and the provincial council to which each is affiliated to. Connacht have five affiliated county boards, Leinster have twelve, Munster have six and Ulster have nine. Also provided is a map showing the location of the province, i.e. north, south, east, west.
BoardIrish nameProvince
AntrimAontroim
Ulster
ArmaghArd Mhacha
Ulster
CarlowCeatharlach
Leinster
CavanAn Cabhán
Ulster
ClareAn Clár
Munster
CorkCorcaigh
Munster
DerryDoire
Ulster
DonegalDún na nGall
Ulster
DownAn Dún
Ulster
DublinÁth Cliath
Leinster
FermanaghFear Manach
Ulster
GalwayGaillimh
Connacht
KerryCiarraí
Munster
KildareCill Dara
Leinster
KilkennyCill Chainnigh
Leinster
LaoisLaois
Leinster
LeitrimLiatroim
Connacht
LimerickLuimneach
Munster
LongfordAn Longfort
Leinster
LouthLú
Leinster
MayoMaigh Eo
Connacht
MeathAn Mhí
Leinster
MonaghanMuineachán
Ulster
OffalyUíbh Fhailí
Leinster
RoscommonRos Comáin
Connacht
SligoSligeach
Connacht
TipperaryTiobraid Árann
Munster
TyroneTír Eoghain
Ulster
WaterfordPort Láirge
Munster
WestmeathAn Iarmhí
Leinster
WexfordLoch Garman
Leinster
WicklowCill Mhantáin
Leinster

County boards outside of Ireland

Listed below are the 14 county boards outside of Ireland and the provincial council to which each is affiliated to. Seven county boards are affiliated to Britain and three county boards are affiliated to North America. The remaining four county boards are not affiliated to any.
BoardIrish nameProvince
AsiaAn Áise
AustralasiaAn Astráil
CanadaCeanada
North America
EuropeEoraip
GloucestershireChontae GloucesterBritain
HertfordshireBritain
LancashireLancasírBritain
LondonLondain
Britain
Middle EastAn Meánoirthear
New YorkNua Eabhrac
North America
ScotlandAlbain
Britain
United StatesStáit Aontaithe Mhéiriceá
North America
WarwickshireBritain
YorkshireSír EabhracBritain

County teams

40 of the 46 national and overseas county teams currently compete in the Hurling and Football Championships.
GAA countyProvinceDominant sportHurling ChampionshipFootball Championship
AntrimUlsterHurlingLiam MacCarthy CupTailteann Cup
ArmaghUlsterFootballNicky Rackard CupSam Maguire Cup
CarlowLeinsterHurlingJoe McDonagh CupTailteann Cup
CavanUlsterFootballLory Meagher CupTailteann Cup
ClareMunsterHurlingLiam MacCarthy CupSam Maguire Cup
CorkMunsterDualLiam MacCarthy CupSam Maguire Cup
DerryUlsterFootballChristy Ring CupSam Maguire Cup
DonegalUlsterFootballNicky Rackard CupSam Maguire Cup
DownUlsterDualJoe McDonagh CupTailteann Cup
DublinLeinsterDualLiam MacCarthy CupSam Maguire Cup
FermanaghUlsterFootballNicky Rackard CupTailteann Cup
GalwayConnachtDualLiam MacCarthy CupSam Maguire Cup
GloucestershireBritainFootballDo not competeAll-Ireland JFC
HertfordshireBritainFootballDo not competeAll-Ireland JFC
KerryMunsterFootballJoe McDonagh CupSam Maguire Cup
KildareLeinsterFootballJoe McDonagh CupSam Maguire Cup
KilkennyLeinsterHurlingLiam MacCarthy CupAll-Ireland JFC
LaoisLeinsterDualJoe McDonagh CupTailteann Cup
LancashireBritainHurlingLory Meagher CupAll-Ireland JFC
LeitrimConnachtFootballLory Meagher CupTailteann Cup
LimerickMunsterHurlingLiam MacCarthy CupTailteann Cup
LondonBritainDualChristy Ring CupTailteann Cup
LongfordLeinsterFootballLory Meagher CupTailteann Cup
LouthLeinsterFootballNicky Rackard CupSam Maguire Cup
MayoConnachtFootballChristy Ring CupSam Maguire Cup
MeathLeinsterFootballChristy Ring CupTailteann Cup
MonaghanUlsterFootballLory Meagher CupSam Maguire Cup
New YorkNorth AmericaFootballDo not competeTailteann Cup
OffalyLeinsterDualJoe McDonagh CupTailteann Cup
RoscommonConnachtFootballNicky Rackard CupSam Maguire Cup
ScotlandBritainFootballDo not competeAll-Ireland JFC
SligoConnachtDualChristy Ring CupSam Maguire Cup
TipperaryMunsterHurlingLiam MacCarthy CupTailteann Cup
TyroneUlsterFootballChristy Ring CupSam Maguire Cup
WarwickshireBritainHurlingLory Meagher CupAll-Ireland JFC
WaterfordMunsterHurlingLiam MacCarthy CupTailteann Cup
WestmeathLeinsterDualLiam MacCarthy CupSam Maguire Cup
WexfordLeinsterHurlingLiam MacCarthy CupTailteann Cup
WicklowLeinsterDualNicky Rackard CupTailteann Cup
YorkshireBritainFootballDo not competeAll-Ireland JFC