Niamh McCoy
GAA Museum Director
Niamh hails from the Meath gold coast and is an ardent supporter of the Royal County. She has fond memories of growing up during a period when Meath were the team to beat and especially remembers Sam Maguire paying a visit to her primary school. Niamh also keeps an eye on how Armagh are progressing as her Dad is a proud Armagh man.
As director, Niamh is responsible for all the activities in the GAA Museum & Tours so she has a very busy schedule. She loves the variety of the work with no day every the same. When asked what her favourite object on display in the GAA Museum is, she chooses Pat Davin's hurley from the 1888 Invastion Tour.
“It’s over 130 years old and in really good condition,” she says.
“You can see the names of the places in the USA that Pat Davin and the teams visited etched into the hurley. The invasion tour is a fascinating story from the early years of the GAA.”
Julianne McKeigue
Events, Education & Retail Manager
A proud Offaly woman, Julianne also has a fondness for the Galway hurlers as her Dad is from Kiltormer. She’s been going to hurling matches since before she could walk and says that working in the GAA Museum is a job unlike any other because you never know what each day will bring.
“My role varies quite a bit and one week I could be running a family Halloween event before welcoming our Friends of the GAA Museum on a tour while the next I could be on the Skyline walkway for our yoga classes” she says. “I’m also responsible for the GAA Museum giftshop and I’m enjoying learning about retail and developing new products.”
Julianne’s favourite memory of working at the GAA Museum is being part of the successful Guinness World Record attempt for the World’s Largest Hurling Lesson in 2018 when 1772 children took part on the Croke Park pitch.
Ailís Corey
Office Administrator
Ailís hails from Tyrone and is from a family of GAA fanatics in a GAA mad parish. Her local club is Kildress Wolfe Tones and Ailís says it has always been a case of GAA, all the way in her life! As well as knowing everything there is know about Gaelic football, Ailís is a keen runner and in 2016 she took part in the same half marathon as Mo Farah – he won, she didn’t!
Ailís describes her job as ‘the sweeper’ of the GAA Museum and she works across our diverse events programme. She’s also preparing to launch a new programme of dementia inclusive tours of Croke Park.
Working at the GAA Museum is a ‘dream job’ for Ailís and her favourite item on display is a pair of boots which belong to Down hero Seán O’Neill. She says: “Not only are Seán’s boots fascinating to look at, as they’re so big and bulky, compared to modern, streamlined boots, but the history contained within them is incredible. What Seán and his ground-breaking Down team-mates achieved in the 1960s and the legacy that they left behind is phenomenal.”
![Eoin O'Connor]()
Eoin O'Connor
Bookings Officer
Eoin hails from Dublin and will always be a loyal supporter of Dublin GAA, however his mother comes from Kilkenny and he spent his early childhood following the Cats.
What does your day to day job involve? I’m the point of contact for any groups looking to visit the GAA Museum. I schedule the time and date of their visit and match our guides to each tour. I also liaise with other departments in Croke Park to ensure our tours don’t impact other events on in the stadium such as matches and conferences.
What is your favourite part of your job? The people we meet in the museum. We have visitors from all over the world who visit every day. Some have never been to Croke Park before, others will know more about the GAA than the staff here. Each one has a story, a reason for visiting and a shared loved of history and sport.
What is your favourite object on display in the GAA Museum and why? Christy Ring’s medal collection in the GAA Hall of Fame. The sheer volume of medals, especially his All-Ireland and Railway Cup medals, show just how successful and lengthy his career was and why he’s considered the greatest ever by many.
What is your favourite memory of working in the GAA Museum? I once had a 93-year-old woman on my Skyline Tour with her children, grand-children and great-grand-children. She had was from the local area and told me how she and her friends would play on the pitch in Croke Park after school.
Could you tell us something about Croke Park / the GAA Museum that we might not know? There are over 2,000 doors in Croke Park.
Adam Staunton
Museum Archivist
Adam was born in Kildare to two parents from Dublin but have spent most of my life in Meath so loyalty lays there. Working for the GAA Museum only takes up half of Adam's week. The other half he is based in the Russell Library in Maynooth University with their pre-1850 collections.
What does your day to day job involve? Typically, day to day I’m answering queries from the public regarding the collections, running the library and reading room, cataloguing new collections and preserving the archival collections.
What is your favourite part of your job? I love responding to the queries, hearing people’s stories and their connections to the GAA. A surprising amount come from outside Ireland, I often get questions about family members who played, or people interested in GAA history from Europe and North America which is great to see how far the sport travels.
What is your favourite object on display in the GAA Museum and why? The original 1916 Proclamation. I couldn’t believe how big it was when it first arrived. Obviously 1916 is one of the most important dates in Irish history and the fact that the GAA Museum houses such an item shows the GAA is intertwined with Irish history.
What is your favourite memory of working in the GAA Museum? The Hall of Fame last year. It was my first one since joining the team and it was great to see how the GAA celebrates the great players. I didn’t enjoy the full day it took to catalogue all of Ogie Moran’s medals for the exhibition as much though!
Could you tell us something about Croke Park / the GAA Museum that we might not know? Did you know a rodeo took place in Croke Park in 1924? When that query came in, I was sure it was a mistake, but we have photos and a programme from the event within our collections. It took place between August 18th and 24th of that year!
Cian Nolan
Senior Tour Guide
Cian is from Blackrock in Co. Dublin and is an avid Naomh Olal and Dublin GAA fan, with a soft spot for Fermanagh where his grandad is from. As a Tour Guide he has walked over 10,000 km in Croke Park (the equivalent of walking to New York City and back).
What does your day to day job involve? Conducting Tours of the Stadium for Irish and International Visitors. Also assisting in the opening and closing of the Museum.
What is your favourite part of your job? Seeing the joy on people’s faces as they walk through the Players Tunnel into Croke Park for the first time.
What is your favourite object on display in the GAA Museum and why? An over 100 year old copy of a Hurling Rulebook from the Argentina Hurling Federation. It is a completely unexpected piece of memorabilia.
What is your favourite memory of working in the GAA Museum? The night of our Hurling Training World Record is pretty special.
Could you tell us something about Croke Park / the GAA Museum that we might not know? A lot of people don’t realise that the pitch isn’t flat. It’s actually a foot higher in the middle than at the sidelines.
Ger Gregan
Tour Guide
Heralding from Clarecaste, Co. Clare, Ger is a deadhard Clare GAA supporter. One interesting thing you may not know about Ger is that he was gunged live on television one St Patrick’s Day! You'll need to ask him the details on one of his wonderful tours.
What does your day to day job involve? The day to day job involves either explaining what the GAA is and a match day experience to our visitors or when on the Skyline illustrating what the focal points around Dublin are and their significance. It’s always different depending on the visitors – sometimes you’re giving an introduction and other times you’re going really in-depth.
What is your favourite part of your job? Has to be the stories you learn from the visitors, we often get former players, people who work in sports media or backroom teams on the tours – you can learn an awful lot from them.
What is your favourite object on display in the GAA Museum and why? In the museum we have a hawthorn stick called “bás gan sagairt” (death without a priest) that belonged to Michael Cusack. It dates back from the late 19th century and it's said that Michael Cusack was rarely seen without it. It is a simple object that illustrates the personality behind the founder of the GAA!
What is your favourite memory of working in the GAA Museum? One day we were doing tours at the same time Ireland’s Fittest Family were filming their final. I was doing the tour lock-up on the Hogan stand, the pitch is clearly set up for an obstacle course – and next thing I hear a big loud claxon! I was expecting to see people running on the obstacle course on the pitch but all I could hear was Davy Fitzgerald roaring and not a person in sight. After a few seconds I look up and see that they weren’t doing the obstacle course on the pitch but having what looked like a race on the Skyline!
Could you tell us something about Croke Park / the GAA Museum that we might not know? There are 34 steps from pitchside to the podium in the Hogan Stand – it's believed the reason for that is there are 34 teams in the Championship – 32 counties and the two overseas teams – London & New York.
Annette Coyle
Tour Guide
Annette is one of our most well-known tour guides and is Kildare’s number one supporter. She’s from Kilcullen and says she was born and reared on Kildare football, however she does some Kerry and Tyrone GAA in her DNA! In Kildare when in Secondary school Annette entered a competition which was open to all 2nd level schools in the UK and Ireland to write an essay on Lifeboats and won the prize much to her amazement.
What does your day to day job involve? Guiding tours and assisting whenever deemed necessary.
What is your favourite part of your job? Meeting and conversing with people who take tours
What is your favourite object on display in the GAA Museum and why? Sam Maguire Trophy...Kildare was the first team to win it in 1928
What is your favourite memory of working in the GAA Museum? Doing the Legend’s tour with Maurice Fitzgerald .
Could you tell us something about Croke Park / the GAA Museum that we might not know? A mystery Kildare fan frequently hides a Miraculous medal in the Kildare dressing room prior to their matches.
Sean O'Sullivan
Tour Guide
From Glasnevin, Co. Dublin, his local club Na Fianna, who he has played with since he was five years old, and Dublin GAA are his true passions. Sean's father is from Kerry, so Sean would have attended most of their matches over the past 15 years also and have great admiration for many of their former and current players.
What does your day-to-day job involve? Giving tours and helping customers with any queries at the front desk.
What is your favourite part of your job? Interacting with different people on the tours. Whether it’s the 90-year-old who hasn’t missed an all-Ireland since the 1940s or people from abroad who are seeing our games for the very first time.
What is your favourite object on display in the GAA Museum and why? Muhammad Alis’ shorts and glove. He was such a global icon, arguably the greatest sportsperson of all time in 1999, he was named Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated and the Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC. No matter what corner of the globe people on the tours are from, they all recognize the name, Muhammad Ali.
What is your favourite memory of working in the GAA Museum? Getting to bring Republic of Ireland soccer internationals John Egan and Callum Robinson on a private tour of the stadium along with FAI president Gerry McAnaney. It was a very fun tour as both lads had mixed knowledge of the GAA, John obviously being the son of the 6-time All-Ireland winner, John Egan, and also playing both football and hurling for Bishopstown, could probably give the tour himself. Callum on the other hand is from Northampton, far from a hurling stronghold. However he has a great interest in the GAA and supports Monaghan in football and Clare in hurling (his favourite hurler being Tony Kelly, after his side-line cut in the 2022 Munster Final).
Could you tell us something about Croke Park/the GAA Museum that we might not know? Like any fan, getting to work in the stadium every day feels like winning the lottery. However, just before Christmas, I discovered the single greatest job within the GAA. It was the Friday before the All-Ireland club hurling semi-finals that Sunday. A gentleman came in around 10 am, he left at 2 pm (Handy 4-hour work day!). He stood on the 14-yard line at the Hill 16 end, kicking points for the afternoon. His job title….. Hawk-Eye tester! He has to put the ball over the bar, as close to the post as he can, and make sure that Hawk-Eye is giving it correctly as a Tá.
Gerry McGarry
Tour Guide
Gerry is a Monaghan man true and true. He played senior with his home county making his debut as a 17 year old!
What does your day to day job involve? Conducting tours of the Stadium and Skyline. I even, at a certain times of the year, get to dress up in a red suit and white beard..
What is your favourite part of your job? Showcasing our wonderful stadium and Association to our visitors both from Ireland and abroad.
What is your favourite object on display in the GAA Museum and why? The Proclamation. It was written by good intelligent people with a beautiful vision of the Ireland they wanted to be part of.
What is your favourite memory of working in the GAA Museum? A young lad from Tipp in Croker with his Dad for the first time. They were just killing time as his Mum and sister were at a hospital appointment in Crumlin. I brought them pitchside on the Cusack. The wee lad was so excited that he put some of the grass cuttings in his pocket to bring back to Tipp. That was a good day.
Martin Healy
Tour Guide
Martin hails from Dublin and is a quintessential Dub, a real true blue! Prior to joining Dublin Fire Brigade Martin spent a number of years working for The Commissioners Of Irish Lights maintaining The Lighthouses around the coast of Ireland, like The GAA, The Commissioners Of Irish Lights was an all Ireland body representing the whole of the island of Ireland.
What does your day to day job involve? Taking the general public, school groups, GAA clubs and various other groups on the range of tours that the GAA Museum provides as well as ensuring that all is in order, be it in the Museum or around the Stadium or up on the Skyline so that the tours can go ahead safely and without incident.
What is your favourite part of your job? Meeting people from all over the and engaging with them whilst guiding them around on the various tours.
What is your favourite object on display in the GAA Museum and why? The Bloody Sunday exhibition as I would have a great interest in Bloody Sunday and the events surrounding it.
What is your favourite memory of working in the GAA Museum? Meeting on a few occasions the great Micheal O'Muircheartaigh during his visits to the museum and doing a Legends tour with Michael Darragh MacAuley one of life’s nice guys.
Could you tell us something about Croke Park / the GAA Museum that we might not know? Since I made my debut on The Hill in 1974 as a part of Heffos Army nearly 50 years ago, The Hill that I now stand on is the 3rd Hill 16 that I have had the pleasure to watch The Dubs from over the years.
Michael Cronin
GAA Museum Assistant
Michael is a true blue from Dublin and the Dublin footballers are his passion. He fell in love with GAA and Dublin football. He also has a particular soft spot for a team who play in red and white …. Louth. Both his grandad and nana are from the Wee county.
What does your day-to-day job involve? My days are not always the same compared to the other tour guides. If I’m asked to do something in particular, I’ll do that straight away. Usually I will replace the magnets, mugs and various other items we sell in the shop. Recently, I have being tasked with tidying up the stock room in the Den. If I notice that we’re running low on particular stock, they are ordered in and I will bring them upstairs and put them in the allocated places in the stock rooms.
What is your favourite part of your job? There are multiple parts of my job that I enjoy, some more so than others, so it’s somewhat difficult to choose one. Meeting new people from different parts of the country and from across the world and the craic and banter you have with them about their country or were they're from is great. Not once since I’ve started working here, have I ever needed to look at the clock to see how long was left until I was finished or felt that didn’t want to go work, and that in itself is a testament to how the place is run and the people who work here. If I was to narrow it down, I would say the people who I work with. There’s not a single person in there that I don’t get along with, that I can’t talk to.
What is your favourite object on display in the GAA Museum and why? I have two favorite objects in the museum, the first is the proclamation, it means a lot to me as an Irish person. The signatures of the first leaders of Ireland and the willing to fight for the country brings about a huge sense of pride and acts almost as an emblem of Ireland. My other favorite object is the Alan Brogan display, I idolised Alan when I was younger and even tried to copy some of his attributes and style of his play.
What is your favourite memory of working in the GAA Museum? Similar, another tricky question to answer because there have been so many but when I was told that my contract would be extended for another two years, I could not believe what I was being told and am forever grateful for that. That may seem too simple, but I have had several jobs in the past that have only lasted six months or so and finally I found somewhere that actually recognises my abilities and what I can bring to a work place.
Could you tell us something about Croke Park / the GAA Museum that we might not know? Jack Lynch is the only man in Ireland to have played senior football for Cork, win a club Championship with Glen Rovers, to serve as Taoiseach of the country and have a tunnel named after him.