# The alley game before the Association (-1884)

In: [Learn](https://handball.theperfectship.com/learn.md) > [History](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history.md) > [Eras](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/eras.md) > The alley game before the Association (-1884)

Era, Ireland. by 1884. Irish 60x30 (hardball and softball).

Status: Machine-reviewed. A person has not yet read this page through.

Irish handball before the GAA is, in this record, a game seen from abroad: the Irish-born professionals of New York (Casey, Dunne, Courtney, Lawlor), the 60 x 27 ft court at Oamaru and a man the Auckland Star called some years earlier the champion of the south of Ireland winning a cup in Auckland in 1882, and the 1923 guide's sentence that 'the advent of the Gaelic Association brought new rules'. The alley (a long open-backed court, 60 ft 'or as near to it as possible'), the hard sheepskin ball, 15-ace games and the 'toss' are older than any text we hold.

## The take

The Irish game is the parent of every code in this project, and this record knows it only through its emigrants. Until an Irish newspaper run or the GAA archive is read, this era is a placeholder that says so.

## Moments in order

- **by 1884** (Documented): GAA Handball's own history: handball 'played for over a thousand years', the 1527 Statute of Galway against ball games at town walls, a Ballinrobe court of 1776, alleys cataloged from the 1700s ([GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.gaahandball.ie/about/gaa-handball/history); the page's claims are not independently checked).
  Source: [GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.gaahandball.ie/about/gaa-handball/history)
- **October 1880 to November 1880** (Documented): The diaspora builds alleys: first Auckland court (Gleeson's hotel) and an Oamaru court 60 x 27 ft at the Shamrock Hotel: the Irish long court transplanted.
  Source: [North Otago Times, 17 November 1880 (Papers Past)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NOT18801117.2.6)
- **18 March 1882** (Documented): P. Hogan, whom the Auckland Star calls once the champion of the south of Ireland, wins the Gleeson handball cup in Auckland; McAuliffe of Timaru beats him in 1883, 25 a side.
  Source: [Auckland Star, 21 March 1882 (Papers Past)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS18820321.2.17). Also: [Evening Post, 31 May 1883, "Telegrams" (Papers Past)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP18830531.2.24)
- **1884** (Documented): The Gaelic Athletic Association is founded and handball is 'officially included as one of the sports to be promoted' ([GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.gaahandball.ie/about/gaa-handball/history)): the end of the unorganised game.
  Source: [GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.gaahandball.ie/about/gaa-handball/history)

## What the sources do not show

- No Irish source of any kind is held: no Irish newspaper, no GAA Official Guide, no county rule book; the National Library of Ireland and TCD catalogues were reachable but no item was read.
- The pre-1884 alley rules: the 28-rule text we hold is dated 1884-1903 ([H-13](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/open-questions/#H-13.md)); what it replaced is unknown.
- Pre-1884 Irish champions and matches: nothing beyond New Zealand and American press mentions.
- McElligott 1984 and Holland 2004 (the standard histories) are not read; the GAA history page is a rank-4 web summary.

## Threads that run through this era

- [The court shrinks: 60 x 30 in Ireland, 65 x 24 to 20 x 40 in America](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/threads/the-court-shrinks.md)
- [The Irish game abroad and at home](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/threads/the-irish-game-abroad-and-at-home.md)

## Neighboring eras in Ireland

- [The GAA's rules and the Atlantic matches (1884-1923)](https://handball.theperfectship.com/history/eras/ie-gaa-rules-and-the-atlantic-matches.md) (later, 1884-1923)

## Sources

- [Auckland Star, 21 March 1882 (Papers Past)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS18820321.2.17)
- [Evening Post, 31 May 1883, "Telegrams" (Papers Past)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP18830531.2.24)
- [GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)](https://www.gaahandball.ie/about/gaa-handball/history)
- [North Otago Times, 17 November 1880 (Papers Past)](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NOT18801117.2.6)

## Corrections

Found a mistake, or a source we missed? Email perfectshipllc@gmail.com with the subject "History correction: The alley game before the Association (-1884) (/history/eras/ie-alley-game-before-the-gaa/)". Please name the page and, if you can, the source.