Gaelic Football can be described as a mixture of soccer and rugby, although it predates both of those games. It is a field game which has developed as a distinct game similar to the progression of Australian Rules. Indeed it is thought that Australian Rules evolved from Gaelic Football through the many thousands who were either deported or emigrated to Australia from the middle of the nineteenth century. Players advance the ball up the field with a combination of carrying, kicking, and hand-passing to their team-mates. Some plays include a ducking and weaving movement where the player in possession will run towards an opponent, and at the last minute change direction after wrong-footing the defender. Passing takes place to players on the run, so rather than passing directly to a team-mate, players will pass the ball into mid-air just ahead of the receiving player so that he can run into it. The scoring system adds another dimension to the game. If a team has a two-point deficit in the dying minutes of a match, they will start to try to get in closer to the goal and create a goal-scoring opportunity. As well as the high speed and frequent scoring, it is the unpredictable nature of the game, in that there are so many different ways to deliver the ball, that appeals to fans.
The Game
The pitch is of grass and rectangular, stretching 150 meters long and 80–90 meters wide. There are H-shaped goal posts at each end with a net on the bottom section. The same pitch is used for hurling; the GAA, which organises both sports, decided this to facilitate dual usage. The goal posts are the same shape as on a rugby pitch, with the crossbar lower than a rugby one and slightly higher than a soccer one.
The ball used in Gaelic Football is round, slightly smaller than a soccer ball. It can be carried in the hand for a distance of four steps and can be kicked or "hand-passed", a striking motion with the hand or fist - it may be kicked or punched, but not thrown. After every four steps the ball must be either bounced or "solo-ed", an action of dropping the ball onto the foot and kicking it back into the hand. You may not bounce the ball twice in a row.
The level of tackling allowed is more robust than in soccer, but less than rugby: shoulder-charging is permitted, grappling is not. The rule has attracted criticism as being too vague, producing inconsistent interpretations between different referees.
Each team consists of fifteen players, lining out as follows: One goalkeeper, three full-backs, three half-backs, two midfielders, three half-forwards and three full-forwards. The actual line out on the playing field is as follows:
[img_assist|fid=16|thumb=0|alt=Pitch Positions|caption=A game is played over two halves of 30 minutes (at club level) or 35 minutes (at inter-county level).]
Scoring
To score, you put the ball over the crossbar by foot or hand / fist for one point or under the crossbar and into the net by foot or hand / fist in certain circumstances for a goal, the latter being the equivalent of three points.
A goal is signalled by raising a green flag, placed to the left of the goal. A point is signalled by raising a white flag, placed to the right of goal. A '45'/'65' is signalled by the umpire raising his/her outside arm. A 'square ball', when a player scores having arrived in the 'square' prior to receiving the ball, is signalled by pointing at the small parallelogram.
The Players
Teams consist of fifteen players plus up to fifteen substitutes, of which six may be used. Each player is numbered 1-15, starting with the goalkeeper.
Players wear a jersey with their team colours and number on the back. Both teams must have different colour jerseys. The goalkeepers' jerseys must not be similar to the jersey of any other player. Referees normally tog out in black jerseys, socks and togs.
Goalkeepers may not be physically challenged whilst inside their own small parallelogram, but players may harass them into playing a bad pass, or block an attempted pass.
Players may switch positions on the field of play as much as they wish but this is usually on the instructions of team officials.
Officials for a game comprise of a referee, two linesmen (to indicate when the ball leaves the field of play at the side and to mark '45'' free kicks and 4 umpires (to signal scores, assist the referee in controlling the games, and to assist linesmen in positioning '45' frees).
A goal is signalled by raising a green flag, placed to the left of the goal. A point is signalled by raising a white flag, placed to the right of goal. A '45'/'65' is signalled by the umpire raising his/her outside arm. A 'square ball', when a player scores having arrived in the 'square' prior to receiving the ball, is signalled by pointing at the small parallelogram.
A bit of History
The first reference to any code of football in Ireland occurs in the Statute of Galway of 1527, which allowed the playing of football and archery but banned "hokie' — the hurling of a little ball with sticks or staves" as well as other sports. The earliest recorded football match in Ireland was one between Louth and Meath, at Slane, in 1712.
However Gaelic football was not formally arranged into an organised playing code by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) until 1887. The GAA sought to promote traditional Irish sports, such as hurling and to reject "foreign" (particularly English) imports. The first Gaelic football rules, showing the influence of hurling and a desire to differentiate from association football — for example in their lack of an offside rule — were drawn up by Maurice Davan and published in the United Ireland magazine on February 7, 1887.
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