GAA has been in the United States as long as Irish people have, but today the sport offers a welcoming community for any and everyone.
The earliest Gaelic football games were played in San Francisco in the 1850s with the GAA itself only founded in 1884.
In 2024, football is played in around 50 cities across the US, with 130 adult and youth clubs registered with US GAA.
However, while it was brought by Irish immigrants, in recent years, recent figures show more than 51% of registered adult players were born in the United States.
'It's not a closed shop'
Newstalk’s Sean O’Regan spoke to Ronan Kelly, a Kildare native and chairperson of GAA team Washington DC Gaels.
“We have 124 members playing with us right now [and] 70% of those are American-born,” he said.
“It's all about building off of the local players here – you can't really rely on just the Irish community to keep the club thriving in the area.
Mr Kelly noted that Washington DC is a “transient community”, and communities like GAA can bring people of all backgrounds together.
“No Irish ancestry is required – it's not a closed shop,” he said.
“We want to make sure that we're welcoming as many new players as possible you can see... that excitement in them and you can see that kind of joy.”
View this post on Instagram
The Gaels chairperson also noted many new players have never picked up a hurley or kicked a football before, making their first GAA season a “developmental” one.
“They’re just getting a grasp and playing the first game, just enjoying themselves more than anything else,” he said.
For anyone heading to the US, Mr Kelly said a local GAA club is a great place to get situated.
“You get that connection going,” he said. “We've seen it time and again, there's many friendships that are made here.
“When I was on the job hunt myself last year, a lot of clubmates would let me know what was available in their own companies.”
You can keep up to date with the Washington DC Gaels here.
