Michael Collins’ hurley part of GAA exhibition

A hurley belonging to Michael Collins is one of the items on display as part of a multi-media exhibition that offers a new perspective on the GAA’s influence at the National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts & History, Collins Barracks.

GAA: People, Objects & Stories is the creation of Dr Siobhán Doyle, who is the NMI’s Curator of Glass, Ceramics and Asian Collections, and author of the critically acclaimed A History of the GAA in 100 Objects, which was published last year. 

The exhibition includes objects dating from the 15th century to the present day, including many which are on public display for the first time.

Among the objects on display are a hurley belonging to Corkman Michael Collins, and a panel dedicated to the Sam Maguire Cup. Sam Maguire was born in Dunmanway Co Cork.

A handwoven tweed camogie dress worn by Maeve Gilroy in the 1960s during a successful decade for Antrim camogie; a medal presented to Austin Stack the Irish nationalist politician, militant republican and political prisoner, and celebrated athlete, when he was captain of the Kerry football team who won the Croke Cup competition in 1904-05; and a yellow sliotar used in the 2020 All-Ireland senior hurling final between Limerick and Tipperary, which marked the first game in which the yellow sliotar replaced the traditional white sliotar are also some of the items on display.

While the GAA was formally established in 1884, the oldest objects on display as part of the exhibition are hurling balls made from matted cow hair with plaited horsehair dating back to the 15th century, found in bogland areas in Co Kerry, Mayo and Limerick. Also on display is a rugby football used by the prisoners to play Gaelic football in Frongoch internment camp in Wales in 1916.

From the more recent past in the exhibition, is the baseball cap worn by one of the most successful managers in the history of hurling, Brian Cody, when he was Kilkenny senior hurling manager from 1999-2022.

Visitors to the exhibition will be invited to respond to it, with their own GAA memories. These responses will be compiled and included in an exhibition archive that will preserve the stories for future generations.

Dr Siobhán Doyle, curator of GAA: People, Objects & Stories, said: “All of the objects displayed as part of GAA: People, Objects & Stories are accompanied by narratives that illustrates their significance in the history of the GAA, and in Ireland. Whether it’s the evolution of camogie uniforms for women, or the rugby ball that was used in the Frongoch internment camp, they all tell a story of the GAA’s unique influence and role in Irish history right up to the current day. 

"We are also inviting visitors to the exhibition to share their own GAA memories and images with us, so that they can be preserved for future generations.”

Admission to this temporary exhibition is free.