Early GAA on Television

If you visit the excellent GAA Museum at Croke Park you will see their current exhibition 'Wireless to Wifi' which tells the story of how the media has covered the GAA games since it became the first field sport to be broadcast on radio on 2RN in 1926.

The exhibition lauds the fact that when television arrived in Ireland in 1962, the fledgling RTE covered Gaelic games on television but the history of Gaelic Games on television stretches back further into the early days of television.


In September 1950, the BBC in the midlands of England had cameras and crew on had at Robin Hood stadium to cover the British Hurling Championship game between the local John Mitchels club and the ultimately victorious London's St. Mary's on a scoreline of 4-4 to 2-3. In the newspaper it was described as 'hockey with inhibition' and commentary was provided by RTE's voice of the GAA, Michael O'Hehir. Highlights of the game with shown on a sports round up show the following night.

In New York following the success of the 1947 All Ireland Final won by GAA, the local GAA committee and the authorities in Croke Park attempted to expand the games on the far side of the Atlantic. This included exhibition games similar to the more recent All Star tours and in the early 1950's the National League Final was payed between the winners of the 'Home' final and New York. These games gained widespread coverage amongst the Irish media in New York but also on television when a local brewer provided the sponsorship to have the game televisied. 

In 1948, The Munster Express reported that Waterford played Kilkenny in New York with highlights of the game shown on TV. 

From the Irish Independent July 22nd 1950