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The Tailteann Games

From Ancient Ireland to Kells Priory

For over a thousand years, the Tailteann Games stood at the heart of Ireland's cultural life. More than sport, they were ritual assemblies where laws were proclaimed, alliances forged, and identity renewed. In 2025, they return.

Irish sources describe the Tailteann Games as standing at the heart of cultural and political life for over a millennium. These were not merely sporting contests, but ritual assemblies where laws were proclaimed, alliances made, and communal memory renewed.

According to the Lebor Gabála Érenn (Book of Invasions), the games were first held by the god Lugh Lámhfhada in honour of his foster-mother Tailtiu, who, the story tells us, died from exhaustion after clearing the plains of Ireland for agriculture. Her name lives on in Teltown, County Meath, where surviving earthworks suggest long ceremonial use.

Medieval sources—compiled centuries later but drawing on earlier traditions—such as the Annals of the Four Masters and the Dindshenchas describe the Áenach Tailteann as a threefold gathering: to honour the dead, to proclaim new laws, and to host games that tested strength, skill, and honour. Convened by the High King and traditionally held in late July through Lughnasa, it was a foundational fixture in the early Irish calendar. Later folklore associated legendary figures such as Fionn MacCumhaill with these gatherings, imagining the Fianna recruiting warriors at assemblies like Tailteann.

The games were not limited to feats of strength. Storytellers, poets, musicians, metalworkers, and craftspeople all competed for recognition. Fidcheall, an early board game of strategy, was played alongside athletic challenges.

References to the assemblies continue in sources until the twelfth century. The Annals of the Four Masters record the fair's decline following the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1171, which disrupted native institutions across the island.

In the modern era, the Tailteann Games were reimagined as a symbol of national revival. Land reformer Michael Davitt proposed the idea in the 1880s, envisioning "a national festival not only of athletics but also of music and poetry involving the Celtic Race throughout the world." After the Civil War, the Second Dáil approved the plan, and J.J. Walsh—a 1916 veteran and former GAA chair—was appointed director.

The 1924 Games, strategically timed after the Paris Olympics, attracted nearly 5,000 competitors and 250,000 spectators, making it one of the largest sporting events in the world that year. Twenty-four Olympic medallists competed in Croke Park. The opening ceremony featured warriors in medieval dress, Irish wolfhounds, and a figure representing Queen Tailtiu—blending myth and spectacle in service of cultural nation-building.

Events included athletics, rowing, wrestling, boxing, camogie, rounders, chess, swimming, and various Gaelic games, alongside competitions in dancing, music, visual arts, crafts, and storytelling. Participation was restricted to those of Irish birth or descent, and the GAA's cultural policies excluded sports such as rugby and soccer, reflecting the desire to assert Irish distinctiveness.

The 1928 Games expanded further, drawing participants from England, Scotland, Wales, Canada, the United States, South Africa, and Australia. But by 1932, the revival faltered. Fianna Fáil's new government cut funding, the Los Angeles Olympics drew away elite athletes, and the Dublin Eucharistic Congress diverted public attention. Economic hardship and the Anglo-Irish trade war deepened the challenge. The games were reduced to a single week and quietly discontinued.
Yet the legacy endured. The Rás Tailteann cycling race was launched in 1953. Athletics Ireland continues to use the name in schools programmes. And in 2022, the GAA inaugurated the Tailteann Cup, reviving the spirit of cultural competition for the 21st century.

On 20 September 2025, that tradition takes root once more. At Kells Priory in County Kilkenny—beneath medieval walls that have stood for centuries—we gather again. Not to revive something lost, but to continue something enduring. Like the ancient Tailtiu fairs, this is a meeting of strength, story, and community.

This isn't folklore frozen in time. It's living heritage—and every contest, conversation, and celebration at Kells helps carry it forward with care, curiosity, and pride.

Book Tickets Here. 

📅 Event Schedule (20 September 2025)

Location: Kells Priory, Co. Kilkenny

• 2:00pm – Opening Ceremony

• 2:30pm – Sporting Demonstrations & Public Participation
   Wild Hurling • Stick Fighting • Stone Lifting • Rounders • Tug of War

• 6:00pm – Traditional Feasting

• 8:00pm – Music and Poetry with David Keenan & Friends

• 10:00pm – Closing Gathering

Full schedule and accessibility info available here.