The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) was founded on the 1st of November 1884 at a meeting in Thurles, County Tipperary by a group of Irishmen who realised the importance of keeping their their homelands traditional sports alive. The GAA are regarded as one of the greatest amateur sporting associations around the world, and all 4 of the GAA games, hurling, Gaelic football, rounders, and handball, are a truly recognisable factor of Ireland. Following the GAA, the Camogie Association was founded in 1904, and the Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) in 1974, and both represent the female played Gaelic sports, Camogie and Ladies Gaelic football, respectively.

Gaelic football has been played in Ireland since at least the 1500s and is currently the most popular sport in Ireland, in terms of attendance and support. The sport is typically played at 3 levels, minor (under 7s until under 15s age groups, minor/under 17s), Under 21's, and adult (divided into the leagues Junior, Intermediate and Senior) with all groups being played at an amateur level, meaning you don't get paid, the same as other GAA sports, Camogie, and Ladies Gaelic football

Ladies football is often thought to be the female sport equivalent to Gaelic football played by men, but they are both different sports, despite some similarities. Some of the rule differences in Ladies football and Gaelic football would be how they pick up the ball, where the women can pick it up straight off the ground while the men have to flick the ball up by putting their toe under it. Also, kick outs can be taken from the hand for women, but is taken from the ground or on a cone by men. Another difference would be that deliberate body contact is "forbidden", but this depends on the referee to decide on whether the play is getting too rough. Ladies football, as well as the previous 3 sports, is played at 15 a side from under 14s. This team is made up of 1 goalie, 6 backs (3 on the half line and 3 on the full line), 2 mid fielders and 6 forwards (3 in the half line and 3 in the full line). 

Gaelic handball, known more commonly as Handball, is a ball and hand strike game played in either singles or doubles, with no mixed-sex teams played after juvenile grades. Handball can be played either indoors or outdoors on a court called an alley, with the original alley being 60x30 feet with a 30-foot wall for the ball to hit against, but the modern standard size for the alley would be 40x20 feet with a 20-foot wall, which was introduced in 1969. One of the sports most notable players would be Michael "Ducksy" Walsh who has won many All-Ireland and World Handball Championships.