Michael Cusack : Short Biography

Michael Cusack was born just outside Carran in the Burren County Clare on the 20th of September 1847. 

He trained as a teacher and was a keen sportsman from a young age, but he is best known for his involvement in the foundation of the Gaelic Athletics Association. Dissatisfied with the lack of merit given to traditional Irish games, Cusack, along with Maurice Davin, set up the first meeting of the GAA in 1884. They enlisted the patronage of Archbishop Croke after whom Croke Park is named. Soon GAA Clubs were springing up in every corner of Ireland. The GAA has since gone from strength to strength and today the All Ireland Finals are attended by huge crowds and watched online by diaspora all over the world. Local clubs are also integral parts of their communities and are found in every parish in the country.

Cusack died on the 27th of November 1906 at the age of 59. He is buried in Dublin's famous Glasnevin cemetery. The house where he grew up in Carran is now open to the public as a heritage centre.