Inter-county[1] isGaelic Athletic Association (GAA)terminology which refers to competitions or matches betweencounties, as used in Gaelic games (differently from legal counties). The term can also be used to describe the players on the teams.[1]
The first inter-county competitions theAll-Ireland Senior Football Championship and theAll-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship took place in 1887.[2]County teams select the best players from the clubs within the county, a practice which began in 1892.[3][4] Before 1892 the winner of each county's club championship would represent the county in the All-Ireland championships.
The inter-county season begins in January with eachprovince's warm-up competition and ends in September with the All-Ireland final. The GAA's inter county competitions are the organisation's most attended competitions and are Ireland's most attended sporting events, while the All-Ireland finals are the most watched.[5] and theAll-Ireland Football Final is the most watched event in Ireland's sporting calendar.[6]
Usually each of the 32 GAA counties in Ireland participates in the inter-countyleagues and in theAll-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship;Kilkenny does not compete in theAll-Ireland Senior Football Championship, andCavan does not currently compete in theNational Hurling League, thoughFingal (part of Dublin) recently did.London also competes in thehurling andGaelic football championships and leagues, winning the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship once in 1901,[7] Warwickshire competes in the hurling championship only, whileNew York competes in the Men's Football Championship; in the past they also competed in the Hurling Championship.
TheBritish Provincial Council organises inter-county competitions for the seven counties under its control on the island ofBritain.[8] The British Provincial Council is the only area outsideIreland to organise regular inter-county matches.
Changing clubs between counties is known as aninter-county transfer and is regulated by the Provincial council if the clubs are in the same province, or by the central council of the GAA when the transferring between clubs in different provinces. A special transfer is available for students going on aJ-1 visa, which allows a temporary transfer toCanada,New York orNorth America.[9]
At the GAA's annual congress in January of 1892 a number of important changes were enacted [..] county champions were allowed to pick players from other clubs for the All Ireland championships
Significant changes were made in 1892 of which the more important were [..] The team that won the county championship have the option of selecting players from other clubs to assist them in inter county and inter provincial games