Gaelic Athletic Association Congress
GAA Congress is an annual gathering of the Gaelic Athletic Association in which changes to the rule book, the Official Guide, may be undertaken, where the year is reviewed, and a new President of the association formally takes office. It is a democratic meeting in which delegates from GAA county boards and provincial councils have speaking and voting rights.
GAA Congress can attract much public attention depending on what issues are being voted upon. For example, the 2001 Congress was watched closely when it voted to overturn Rule 21, the ban on members of the British security forces from GAA membership. The 2005 Congress was particularly significant; it made the historic vote to relax Rule 42, allowing Croke Park to be used by the Irish rugby and association football authorities during the reconstruction of their stadium at Lansdowne Road.
