A new initiative from the GAA Library and Archive sees the publication of details from the GAA’s Central Council Minute Books of 1986 which have just been released under a thirty-year rule.
1986 marked the first time an Irish national GAA team traveled to Australia to play the Compromise Rules International Series.
Ireland v Australia match programme 1986
Image: GAA
The series itself consisted of three games, played in Perth (11 October), Melbourne (19 October) and Adelaide (24 October). While the hoe side won the first test by 64 points to 57, the Irish team were victorious in the second (62 points to 46) and third (55 points to 32) tests, and won the series 2-1.
Oddly, poor discipline was witnessed throughout the series.
The council minutes also include a review of both the football and hurling championships and a political campaign to have certain taxes in relation to the GAA withdrawn.
Image: GAA
According to the documents: "The Lord Mayor of Cork, Jerry O’Sullivan, watched the hurling final from a packed Hill 16 as the GAA had suspended its normal practice of inviting politicians and political dignitaries to attend the finals in the Ard Chomhairle section of Croke Park.
"This was done in an escalation of the GAA’s campaign to have the related issues of rates (on GAA properties), VAT (on hurleys) and DIRT (on money set aside for development purposes) deferred for the purposes of the GAA.
"This action meant many high-profile TDs and Ministers had to purchase their own tickets and while many politicians were left ‘fuming’ at the decision, a spokesman for An Taoiseach Garrett Fitzgerald told the press that Taoiseach Fitzgerald was happy to have a day off as he only attended matches out of a sense of duty and protocol."
Images provided from 1986 show the All Stars team poster detailing the teams on both sides, which was a lsightly less glamorous affair than it is nowadays.
Image: GAA
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