Paul Rouse: When Tarzan was a star of the Tailteann Games
PRIDE OF A NATION: Ireland and America compete in hurling during the 1928 Tailteann Games at Croke Park. Earlier, in 1922 the Free State government gave the GAA ÂŁ10,000 to renovate Croke Park to stage the opening and closing ceremonies of the games. Photo by Independent News And Media/Getty Images
This weekend the Tailteann Cup – the second-tier All-Ireland senior football competition – ends with a final between Cavan and Westmeath. It may not exactly be what the players grew up dreaming of, but the word has a lore within the GAA that goes back to the very founding of the Association back in 1884. Indeed, its history is an extraordinary one, tied to some of the greatest names in Irish history.
In this respect, it was a word that Michael Davitt (the founding leader of the Land League and patron of the GAA) used when he called for a “revival” of the Tailteann Games in the 1880s.
