The Gaelic Athletic Association was founded when a group of seven Irishmen met at 3 p.m. IST/9 a.m. CST on November 1, 1884, in Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland in the billiards room of Hayes’ Commercial Hotel. They created a plan to organize Irish athletics to better preserve and cultivate the indigenous games of Ireland. It laid the foundation for the Gaelic games we know and love today.

The seven Irishmen who forever changed the course of Irish sports history:

• Maurice Davin
• Michael Cusack
• John Wyse Power
• John McKay
• J.K. Bracken
• Thomas St. George McCarthy
• PJ Ryan

Cusack was the brains behind the meeting, but Davin presided over the meeting and was elected the first president of the GAA. Cusack, McKay and Wyse Power were chosen as secretaries. The original title for the GAA was The Gaelic Association for the Preservation and Cultivation of National Pastimes.