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Over The Bar

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Over The Bar is a brand-new Gaelic Games history podcast hosted by Michael Foley and Ciaran O’Hara. Every week we tackle one big question about the history of Gaelic Games — from the origins of the Association, to the moments, people, and controversies that shaped our national games.

Each free weekly episode dives deep into a major story, bringing the past to life for fans in Ireland and abroad. Whether you’re steeped in tradition or just curious about the history behind the games, Over The Bar is your weekly dose of heritage, passion, and insight.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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42 episodes
a few times a week
Avg 33 min
English

Episodes 42

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S1 · E12
Yesterday · 17 min
Week That Was - Oct 26th to Nov 1st
A long wait finally comes to an end, and a meeting in a Thurles hotel changes Irish sport forever. This week on Week That Was, Michael Foley and Ciarán O’Hara revisit the 1917 All-Ireland Hurling Final, when Dublin ended a 28-year wait for the title, and travel back to Hayes Hotel in Thurles in 1884, where a small gathering laid the foundations for the Gaelic Athletic Association. For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E117
Wednesday · 33 min
Where Did Down's Jersey Come From?
The red and black of Down is one of the most recognisable jerseys in Gaelic football. But where did those famous colours come from, and how did they become synonymous with one of the game's great footballing counties? In this episode of Over The Bar, Michael Foley and Ciarán O'Hara trace the origins of Down's distinctive jersey, exploring the history, personalities and circumstances behind its adoption, and how a simple combination of colours became an enduring symbol of pride, identity and footballing success. For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E11
October 23 · 14 min
Week That Was - Oct 19th to 25th
A teenage sensation announces himself on the biggest stage, while a Mayo club celebrates a breakthrough that would live long in local memory. This week on Over The Bar, Michael Foley and Ciarán O’Hara revisit the remarkable impact of a young Christy Ring on his senior debut for Cork, and travel west to Garrymore to discover how a community celebrated its first Mayo Senior Football Championship title. For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E115
October 20 · 54 min
How Did Páidí Ó Sé's Reign As Kerry Manager End?
Few figures in Kerry football history commanded as much respect, loyalty and controversy as Páidí Ó Sé. Two All-Ireland titles as manager had cemented his legendary status, but by 2003, his relationship with the Kerry public and county board was coming under increasing strain. From his infamous remarks about Kerry supporters to a turbulent championship campaign and a bitter parting of ways, we examine how one of Gaelic football’s most successful managerial reigns came to such an extraordinary end. For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E10
October 16 · 15 min
Week That Was - Oct 12th to 18th
One of Cork hurling’s great rivalries and an All-Ireland Final from the early days of the GAA feature in this week's journey through the archives. We revisit the fierce city rivalry between Glen Rovers and St Finbarr’s, a pairing that has produced some of the most memorable occasions in Cork Senior Hurling Championship history. Then we travel back to 1914, when Clare and Laois met in an All-Ireland Hurling Final with a remarkable story of its own. For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E113
October 13 · 58 min
Why Did Tipperary Go 16 Years Without Winning A Munster Title? Part 2
Sixteen years of frustration, near misses and fading glory. By 1986, Tipperary's Munster hurling famine seemed endless. But change was coming. A new generation, fresh belief and two extraordinary summers would finally bring Tipp back to the summit of Munster hurling. How did Tipperary turn sixteen years of failure into one of the county's most celebrated triumphs? For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E9
October 9 · 13 min
Week That Was - Oct 5th to 11th
Three decades, three memorable encounters, and three very different chapters in GAA history. This week, Michael Foley and Ciarán O’Hara revisit a dramatic October when All-Ireland glory was still up for grabs, a new chapter in Ireland's sporting rivalry with Australia was unfolding, and another football championship required a second day to settle the destination of Sam Maguire. For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E111
October 6 · 1 hr 1 min
Why Did Tipperary Go 16 Years Without Winning A Munster Title? Part 1
In 1971, Tipperary were Munster and All Ireland Champions. Few could have imagined that it would be sixteen years before they would rule the province again. In Part One of this two-part mini-series, Michael Foley and Ciarán O’Hara trace Tipperary’s extraordinary decline from the heights of 1971 through to 1985. As Cork reasserted their dominance and a new force emerged in Limerick, Tipp endured a succession of disappointments, false dawns and changing fortunes. How did one of hurling’s great powers go from All-Ireland champions to spending more than a decade looking on as their Munster rivals collected the silverware? For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E8
October 2 · 12 min
Week That Was - Sept 28th to Oct 4th
This week on Week That Was, we revisit three All-Ireland Finals separated by almost a century — but each with a story that has lived long beyond the final whistle. There’s the September afternoon that helped launch one of Gaelic football’s defining rivalries, a replay that produced one of the most remarkable individual performances ever seen on All-Ireland Final day, and a journey back to 1928, when two counties met for Sam Maguire in a very different GAA world. For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E109
September 29 · 56 min
Why Was The GPA Formed?
By the end of the 1990s, the demands being placed on inter-county players had changed dramatically. Training commitments were increasing, the GAA was becoming more commercial, and yet the players themselves had no independent organisation to represent their interests. In 1999, that changed with the formation of the Gaelic Players Association. In this episode of Over The Bar Michael Foley and Ciarán O’Hara look back at the origins of the GPA, the players and personalities behind its creation, the issues that drove them to organise, and the often difficult relationship between the new body and the GAA establishment. For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E7
September 25 · 11 min
Week That Was - Sept 21st to 27th
This week on The Week That Was, Michael Foley and Ciarán O’Hara travel back through the GAA history made between September 21st and 27th. We revisit 1986, when Kerry’s latest All-Ireland triumph saw some of the Kingdom’s greatest names rewrite the record books; go back 30 years to 1956, when a polio outbreak disrupted the championship and forced the postponement of the All-Ireland finals; and remember 1971, when Offaly finally broke through to claim their first ever senior All-Ireland title. For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E107
September 22 · 53 min
What Happened Between Christy Ring And Galway In The 1953 All Ireland Final?
The 1953 All-Ireland Hurling Final brought Cork and Galway together in Croke Park, with Christy Ring chasing yet another chapter in an extraordinary career. But this was no ordinary final. A fiercely contested game produced incidents that would be debated for decades, with Ring at the centre of a controversy that didn't end when the final whistle sounded. Michael Foley and Ciarán O’Hara go back to the contemporary accounts to ask: what really happened between Christy Ring and Galway in that final and it's aftermath. For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E6
September 18 · 13 min
Week That Was - Sept 14th to 20th
In this edition of Week That Was, we head back through the GAA history books to three very different moments associated with the middle of September. We return to the extraordinary 1982 All-Ireland Football Final between Kerry and Offaly and look at the unlikely part played in the drama by the Lowry family — a story that goes beyond one of the most famous finishes in Championship history. Then we travel much further back to mark the breakthrough of the first Connacht team to bring an All-Ireland title west across the Shannon, at a time when the established order in Hurling looked very different. And finally, why did the third Sunday in September become synonymous with All-Ireland Football Final day? We trace the origins of one of the great dates in the GAA calendar and discover when the tradition really began. For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E105
September 15 · 35 min
Why Do Mayo Wear The Green Above The Red?
Few county jerseys are as instantly recognisable — or as closely tied to a place — as Mayo’s. Where did the colours come from, and how did the jersey evolve into the one generations of Mayo supporters know today? Michael Foley and Ciarán O’Hara dig into the archives to trace the story of the Mayo jersey, separating tradition from fact and uncovering how the green above the red became one of Gaelic football’s most enduring identities. For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E5
September 11 · 18 min
Week That Was - Sept 7th to 13th
In this edition of Week That Was, we turn the clock back to three remarkable chapters from GAA history. We revisit the 1947 All-Ireland Hurling Final, when Kilkenny and Cork renewed one of hurling’s great rivalries. Then it’s back to 1926 and the Munster Hurling Final — a championship encounter with a story that didn’t end when the final whistle sounded. And finally, we head to 1955, when the All-Ireland Football Championship reached the semi-final stage and neither game could separate the teams. Two semi-finals, two draws, two replays — and a remarkable route to the biggest day of the year. For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E103
September 8 · 55 min
How Did A Championship Game Lead To A Murder Charge?
How did a Championship match end with a Garda Sergeant standing in the dock on a charge of murder? In 1929, what should have been another summer afternoon of Gaelic football instead set in motion an extraordinary chain of events involving players, supporters, the Gardaí and, ultimately, the courts. In this episode of Over The Bar, Michael Foley and Ciarán O’Hara go back almost a century to reconstruct a remarkable story from the Championship: the match itself, the trouble that followed, the death that transformed the affair into something far more serious, and the sensational murder charge that followed. For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E4
September 4 · 13 min
Week That Was - Aug 31st To Sept 6th
This week on The Week That Was, we head back through the GAA history books to revisit three memorable moments from the opening days of September. We look at the first All-Ireland final ever played on the first Sunday of September – a date that would eventually become synonymous with the biggest day in the Hurling calendar.We also revisit the unusual year when the footballers took over that slot. And we tell the story of the afternoon when one of Tipperary’s greatest characters lit up Croke Park. With his boots discarded and Croke Park at his feet, Babs Keating became the Barefoot Wonder. For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E101
September 1 · 1 hr 2 min
When Did Muhammad Ali Fight In Croke Park?
On 19 July 1972, the most famous sportsman on the planet stepped into a boxing ring in the middle of Croke Park. Muhammad Ali’s fight against Al ‘Blue’ Lewis has become one of the most remarkable nights in the history of the stadium — a world heavyweight superstar fighting at the headquarters of the GAA in a bout that almost seems impossible in hindsight. But how did Muhammad Ali end up fighting in Croke Park? Who brought him to Dublin? What was Ireland like during Ali’s visit, and what actually happened on the night itself? We’re joined by Dave Hannigan, author of The Big Fight: When Ali Conquered Ireland, to tell the extraordinary story of the people who made the fight happen, Ali’s time in Ireland and the night Croke Park swapped Gaelic Games for big time boxing. For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E3
August 28 · 19 min
Week That Was - Aug 24th to 30th
In the latest edition of Week That Was we're casting our eyes back to an All Ireland Semi Final on Leeside, an All Munster Semi Final in the the last four of the football championship and establishing why only one Provincial final was played in 1921. For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E99
August 25 · 36 min
When Was The First Live GAA Broadcast?
Radio was still in its infancy in Ireland when, in August 1926, the GAA took its first tentative step into the world of live broadcasting. In this episode we tell the story of the first live broadcast from a GAA match. Done with a primitive microphone, a makeshift commentary position and equipment powered by ship's batteries, it was a world away from the sports broadcasting operation we know today. We look at how the historic experiment came about, what listeners actually heard, the technology required to get Croke Park on the air and how quickly live GAA broadcasting developed afterwards. For those who want more Gaelic Games History, you can join our Cairde Club for less than the price of a match programme for month - where you'll get exclusive episodes, bonus content, ad free and early release versions of the main podcast. Just visit www.overthebar.club today to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Showing 1–20 of 42 episodes