Slump in numbers playing GAA

The number of people taking part in gaelic games has gradually declined over the last 40 years, new research to be released today reveals.

A study of trends in Irish sport by the ESRI and Irish Sports Council found that more people are taking part in individual sports than team games like those in the GAA.

The research – Sporting Lives: An analysis of a lifetime of Irish sport – looks at how attitudes to sport and exercise in Ireland has changed in recent decades.

The findings will be revealed in full by Sports Minister Martin Cullen later this afternoon, along with the Irish Sports Council chief executive officer John Treacy and chairman Ossie Kilkenny.

The research also outlines the impact that social disadvantage and gender have on those who play sport from a young age.