Handball

Irish Handball Council

Also printed as IHC

IE · Founded 1924

Games: American four-wall; One-wall (small and big ball); Irish 60x30 (hardball and softball); 40x20 and international four-wall

Rulebook editions

  • Official rules
  • Handball Playing Rules
  • Official Playing Rules (Handball Playing Rules)

Dated facts

  • 1920-1929: An Irish Times article of 2025 says handball was not in the GAA's first constitution and became an official part of its activities in the 1920s, when national championships gave it structure; GAA Handball's own page says it was included from 1884 Sources disagree

    Sources differ on when handball became part of the GAA's official activities: an Irish Times article says it was added in the 1920s after being left out of the 1884 constitution, while GAA Handball's own history page says it was among the sports to be promoted from the founding in 1884.

    The Irish Times Gaeilge article of 14 October 2025 says that although handball was not in the GAA's first constitution of 1884 it was added as an official part of the Association's activities in the 1920s, and that national championships were organised which gave the sport structure and authority (paraphrase; the article is research-only and has factual slips elsewhere)

    The GAA Handball history page says the opposite for 1884: when the GAA was founded handball was officially included as one of the sports to be promoted

    Detail: sources disagree. The value from the stronger source (the lower rank number) is preferred.

    Source: The Irish Times, "Traidisiún fada na liathróide láimhe" (Gaeilge section, 14 October 2025)

  • 1924: Irish handball gets a national governing body in 1924: the Irish Amateur Handball Association in one account, the Irish Handball Council in another

    Tom O'Connor's history on the USHA site says the GAA, which had taken a closer interest in handball, helped set up the Irish Amateur Handball Association in 1924; one of its first tasks was to arrange trials and competitions for that year's Tailteann Games, and its amateur rule set it against the semi-professional Irish Handball Union, though most players soon moved over to it

    The GAA Handball history page (secondary, paraphrased) says the first GAA-sponsored handball championships were held in 1923 and that the Irish Handball Council was established the following year, 1924, to organise and develop the sport nationally

    The National Library of Ireland catalogues a 70-page pamphlet 'Irish handball 1924-1974' by the Irish Handball Council, published in Dublin in 1974, which frames the Council's history as running from 1924 (fifty years)

    Source: US Handball Association, "History of Handball" (Wayback snapshot of 9 December 2016)

  • 1924: Tailteann Games 1924 include handball: a visiting American trio wins the invitational events in hardball and softball, and the Irish body affiliates internationally

    O'Connor's history says a team of Americans (named as McDonagh, O'Donnell and Meeney) arrived for the 1924 Tailteann Games and, to Irish astonishment, made a clean sweep of the invitational events in both hardball and softball; the Tailteann Games continued but the American players no longer attended

    The GAA Handball history page lists the same year differently: in 1924 the Irish Handball Council affiliated with what the page calls the International Amateur Athletic Association Handball Commission, and players from Ireland, England and Scotland took part in that year's Tailteann Games (it does not mention American players)

    Source: US Handball Association, "History of Handball" (Wayback snapshot of 9 December 2016)

  • 1925: The GAA Handball rolls of honour for the All-Ireland senior hardball and softball championships both open in 1925, two years after the GAA page's date for its first championships Sources disagree

    GAA Handball's rolls of honour begin in 1925, but its history page puts the first GAA-sponsored championships in 1923, so either the rolls omit the first two years or those events were not All-Ireland senior titles.

    The GAA Handball rolls of honour for the All-Ireland senior championships begin in 1925 in both the hardball roll and the softball roll (the earliest rows in each)

    The softball roll also begins in 1925

    The GAA Handball history page puts the first GAA-sponsored handball championships in 1923; the rolls list no champion for 1923, and list 1924 only as 'No Championship' in both codes, so either the 1923 events are missing from the rolls or they were not All-Ireland senior titles

    Detail: sources disagree. The value from the stronger source (the lower rank number) is preferred.

    Source: GAA Handball Ireland, hardball championship roll of honour (seen 28 October 2026)

  • 1929: Exhibition matches with Spanish players are listed for 1929 on the GAA Handball history page (the page does not say where)

    The GAA Handball history page lists exhibition matches with Spanish players in 1929 among the steps that widened handball's international exposure; it does not say where, who played or which game (pelota or handball) was shown

    Source: GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)

  • 1932: Irish handball players tour Liverpool in 1932

    The GAA Handball history page lists Irish tours to Liverpool in 1932 among the steps that broadened handball's international exposure (no code, players or results given)

    Source: GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)

  • 1936: The semi-professional Irish Handball Union holds national and world championships until 1936, in competition with the amateur body set up in 1924

    O'Connor's history says the amateur association's rule brought it into direct opposition with the semi-professional Irish Handball Union, which kept holding national and even world championships up to 1936, though most players moved to the new body; the new body won the support of the Army and the police and top players of the 1930s appeared on sports cards

    Source: US Handball Association, "History of Handball" (Wayback snapshot of 9 December 2016)

  • 1939-1945 (dated from the issue it appeared in): Wartime rubber scarcity stops Irish softball play and the hardball game comes back into its own

    O'Connor's history says that during the Second World War the scarcity of rubber brought a stop to softball play in Ireland and the original game of hardball came back into its own

    The processed GAA Handball softball roll of honour marks several war-period years as having no championship in one or both events, which fits O'Connor's account; the rolls are therefore not unbroken (rows not reproduced here)

    Source: US Handball Association, "History of Handball" (Wayback snapshot of 9 December 2016)

  • 1950-1969: Irish handball grows strongly in the 1950s and 1960s: provincial councils are revived (1950-66), schools and local competitions multiply, and the first American-style court follows in 1969

    The GAA Handball history page says provincial councils were revived between 1950 and 1966, strengthening the competitive structure, and that the first American-style 4-wall court followed in 1969

    The Irish Times Gaeilge article of 14 October 2025 says handball boomed in Ireland in the 1950s and 1960s, with local and school competitions adding greatly to its popularity, and that Irish players won major titles against American and Canadian competitors (paraphrase)

    O'Connor's history says the game's most momentous changes began in the 1950s, but the page ends there and gives no detail

    Source: GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)

  • 1964: The first world handball championship is held in 1964 at the New York Athletic Club, with O'Connell as chairman, and, by a 1972 reader's letter, the world championships then recur every three years, the 1970 edition in Ireland

    The USHA tribute of December 1971 lists under 1964 O'Connell as 'Chairman First World Handball Championship at New York A.C.'

    O'Connor's history says the champions of Ireland and America had not played each other after 1909 until the World Championships were inaugurated in 1964

    A letter in the August 1972 USHA magazine (from the Irish-American Handball Association of the Bronx) says the World Championships 'are now held every three years' and that a player won the 1970 World Championship in Ireland; the October 1971 issue says an Irish Handball Council chairman presided over the most recent world championships in Dublin

    Source: Handball (USHA), December 1971, PDF p. 17

  • 1969-1971 (dated from the issue it appeared in): The first American-style 40 x 20 ft four-wall court in Ireland is dated 1969 by GAA Handball, but a USHA report of autumn 1971 still calls the first 20 x 40 court a new event Sources disagree

    GAA Handball's history page dates the first 40 x 20 court in Ireland to 1969, but a USHA magazine of October 1971 reports the Dublin 20 x 40 court as newly built, so the date is given as 1969 to 1971.

    The GAA Handball history page says the first American-style four-wall (40 x 20) court was built in Ireland in 1969, ushering in modernisation of facilities

    The USHA magazine of October 1971 treats the Dublin 20 x 40 court as news: its president's column on the August 1971 Irish visit says the Irish 'have now built' a 20 x 40 court in Dublin, and its instructional outline says the head of the Irish Handball Council reports that the first 20 x 40 court has been built; the rest of Ireland's courts were 30 x 60 ft

    Date: sources disagree. The value from the stronger source (the lower rank number) is preferred.

    Detail: sources disagree. The value from the stronger source (the lower rank number) is preferred.

    • The GAA Handball history page says the first American-style four-wall (40 x 20) court was built in Ireland in 1969, ushering in modernisation of facilities preferred, source rank 4: GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)
    • The USHA magazine of October 1971 treats the Dublin 20 x 40 court as news: its president's column on the August 1971 Irish visit says the Irish 'have now built' a 20 x 40 court in Dublin, and its instructional outline says the head of the Irish Handball Council reports that the first 20 x 40 court has been built; the rest of Ireland's courts were 30 x 60 ft also given, source rank 3: Handball (USHA), October 1971

    Source: GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)

  • 1970-1972 (dated from the issue it appeared in): The Irish Handball Council opens an indoor alley with three glass walls at Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland's first, and recommends glass walls for all alleys Sources disagree

    An Irish Handball Council note of 1972 says the three-glass-wall alley opened 'a year ago', while 1971 magazine reports place the court in use in the autumn of 1970, so the date is given as 1970 to 1972.

    An item in the October 1972 USHA magazine, attributed to officials of the Irish Handball Council and ending with a glass manufacturer's sales contact, says a new handball alley with three toughened-glass walls was opened 'a year ago' at the Council's headquarters at Croke Park, Dublin, as Ireland's first indoor sports court with three glass walls; the Council's booklet of August advises alley construction and recommends glass in all alleys; a world record crowd of 2,000 watched the world championships there without interruption, against about 250 at the biggest of Ireland's 2,500 alleys

    The October 1971 issue's reports place the Croke Park court in use in the autumn of 1970 (a world title won 'in this court last October') and the first All-Ireland finals there in 1971

    Date: sources disagree. The value from the stronger source (the lower rank number) is preferred.

    Detail: sources disagree. The value from the stronger source (the lower rank number) is preferred.

    • An item in the October 1972 USHA magazine, attributed to officials of the Irish Handball Council and ending with a glass manufacturer's sales contact, says a new handball alley with three toughened-glass walls was opened 'a year ago' at the Council's headquarters at Croke Park, Dublin, as Ireland's first indoor sports court with three glass walls; the Council's booklet of August advises alley construction and recommends glass in all alleys; a world record crowd of 2,000 watched the world championships there without interruption, against about 250 at the biggest of Ireland's 2,500 alleys preferred, source rank 3: Handball (USHA), October 1972
    • The October 1971 issue's reports place the Croke Park court in use in the autumn of 1970 (a world title won 'in this court last October') and the first All-Ireland finals there in 1971 also given, source rank 3: Handball (USHA), October 1971

    Source: Handball (USHA), October 1972

  • October 1970 (dated from the issue it appeared in): The 1970 world handball championships are held in Dublin, where Pat Kirby takes the world title (the issues do not say in which code)

    The USHA magazine of October 1971 says Pat Kirby 'won the world title in this court last October' (the new ball-court at Croke Park, Dublin); the August 1972 issue says he won the 1970 World Championship in Ireland and in 1972 returned permanently to Ireland

    Source: Handball (USHA), October 1971, PDF p. 55

  • 1971 (dated from the issue it appeared in): The first series of All-Ireland finals is played in the new ball-court at Croke Park in 1971 before about 1,000, and shown on television

    The USHA's October 1971 'All-Ireland Finals Pack 'Em In' says the first series of All-Ireland handball finals was played before a packed gallery of an estimated 1,000 in the glittering new ball-court at Croke Park, Dublin; the senior singles final was won by Richie Lyng of Wexford over McEllistrim of Kerry, 21-8, 21-13, in a title long dominated by Joey Maher during the sixties; the finals were televised and re-shown the following week for 80 minutes

    Source: Handball (USHA), October 1971, PDF p. 55

  • 13 August 1971: The president of the Irish Handball Council visits the USHA's Skokie headquarters on 13 August 1971 and talk turns to a common court size

    The USHA president's column of October 1971 says the Irish Handball Council's president, with two companions, visited on Friday, Aug. 13 for a friendly match; the visitor told him that Dublin's new glass court holds 1,800 and that the championship finals sold out; the USHA president adds his own observations that the Irish game is played on 30 x 60 ft courts with a Dunlop ball he thinks suits the underhand 'Irish whip', that Irish children found balls too dear and Ireland lacked a junior programme, and asks whether Ireland could come into the American 20 x 40 'orbit' or the USHA must accept 30 x 60; he also notes the Irish president would like the USHA to send teams to the next world championship

    Source: Handball (USHA), October 1971, PDF p. 12

  • 1972: The Irish-American Handball Association of the Bronx plans in 1972 to send an American handball team to Ireland in September, a home-and-home series with Irish club players being its own plan; it says Council officials take 'a great interest'

    A letter from the Irish-American Handball Association of Broderick's Court, the Bronx, in the August 1972 magazine says the proceeds of its annual dinner-dance go to a fund to send an American team to Ireland in mid-September to promote better handball relations; its writer says an official of the Irish Handball Council in Dublin and its president have 'a great interest' in promoting a tour, and describes a home-and-home series for club players as the plan, and that world championships are now held every three years

    Source: Handball (USHA), August 1972, PDF p. 53

  • 1984: Britain enters a team in the world championships for the first time in 1984

    The GAA Handball history page says Britain's first team entry in the World Championships was in 1984, led by British handball officials; it follows this by saying London staged the 1990 All-Ireland final

    Source: GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)

  • 1984: 1984 brings two Irish handball books: T. J. McElligott's 'The Story of Handball' and the Irish Handball Council's 'Handball: fás agus forbairt'

    The National Library of Ireland catalogue's related-items lists show 'Handball: fás agus forbairt' by the Irish Handball Council (1984) and 'The story of handball: the game, the players, the history' by T. J. McElligott (1984)

    The NLI's record for the Irish handball yearbook lists McElligott's 'The Story of Handball' (1984) among related items

    Source: National Library of Ireland catalogue, "Irish handball 1924-1974" (seen 28 October 2026)

  • 1990: London hosts the All-Ireland handball final in 1990, only the second time an All-Ireland final in any GAA code is played outside Ireland

    The GAA Handball history page says London hosted the All-Ireland Handball Final in 1990, only the second time an All-Ireland final in any code was held outside Ireland, after Britain's first world-championship team in 1984

    Source: GAA Handball Ireland, "History" (seen 28 October 2026)

  • 1996: The Irish Handball Council begins an annual 'Irish Handball Yearbook' in 1996 (none in 1997), continued by 'Top Ace' from 2007

    The National Library of Ireland's record for the Irish handball yearbook shows an annual published in Dublin by the Irish Handball Council from 1996, with none published in 1997, continued by Top ace (ISSN 1649-0371)

    Source: National Library of Ireland catalogue, "Irish handball yearbook" (seen 28 October 2026)

Sources

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