Cumann Lúthchleas Gael can confirm that as part of the Association’s 1916 commemorations, the final of An Bhreatain’s inter-county shield competition will be played in Frongoch, Wales on Saturday next June 18 at 4.00pm.

This game commemorates the fact that Gaelic football matches were organised and played by Irish internees in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising. While held in the Frongoch internment camp, the internees organised inter-hut and inter-county competitions which were all played on a football field the internees named Croke Park.

Locals in Frongoch still refer to this field as ‘Croke Park’ and it is on this very pitch that the inter-county shield final will be played.  This unique game will be contested by Hertfordshire v Yorkshire and will be attended by GAA President Aogán Ó Fearghail.

The GAA President said: “As part of the GAA’s plans to commemorate and celebrate our ties with the 1916 Rising and the revolutionary period as a whole, I believe it is fitting that a game should once again be staged in Frongoch.

“Football was very much to the fore with a large number of those held there and could be viewed as an expression of their cultural identity in addition to a vehicle in keeping the men fit and active.

“I would like to acknowledge the British Provincial Council in making Saturday’s fixture possible and I hope the players involved will look back fondly on the game in years to come.”

The winning team will be presented with the Wolfe Tone Cup, a specially commissioned trophy to commemorate the ‘Wolfe Tone Final’.

This final was played in early July 1916 and ended in a one-point win for Kerry over Louth in what was the principal feature of a Gaelic football and athletic carnival.

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