GAELIC ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION. Cavan Senior and Minor Football Teams Visit to St James’s Gate Brewery, Dublin, 27th September 1937 (Signed by both teams)

Oblong 16mo printed Guinness souvenir card, folding, with decorative harp device and St James’s Gate Brewery imprint; text printed to interior advertising buffet refreshments and Guinness products. Heavily signed throughout in ink by members of the Cavan G.A.A. Senior and Minor teams, with additional inscriptions. Some wear, light soiling and creasing consistent with use, but a highly evocative survival.

The minor team were crowned Ulster champions the previous year and the senior team clinched the title the following year.

A rare and charming piece of G.A.A. ephemera recording a visit by the Cavan Senior and Minor football teams to the Guinness Brewery at St James’s Gate in Dublin in September 1937. The printed card—likely issued as a hospitality or commemorative menu—has been extensively signed by players and officials present, including team captain Tom O’Reilly and numerous teammates.

Such pieces offer a vivid glimpse into the social and cultural life surrounding Gaelic games, where county teams were hosted at major Irish institutions such as Guinness, reflecting both the prominence of the G.A.A. and its close association with national identity in the early decades of the State. The presence of multiple contemporary signatures greatly enhances the historical and collector appeal, transforming a modest printed item into a unique record of a specific team gathering.

Ephemeral G.A.A. items of this nature—particularly those tied to identifiable teams and dates—are increasingly scarce, and examples with extensive autograph content are seldom encountered on the market.

A unique and highly evocative survival linking Gaelic games, Guinness, and Irish social history.

[WR GAA folder]