The story of how a new GAA database was developed

For years, they have heard justified complaints about the difficulty in operating predictor games for club fundraisers and the lack of a centralised database. Together they merged two into one to make a solution.

“I just said, ‘It would be great if we had a website to run predictor competitions for these clubs. I have organised them before and they are a nightmare, just the amount of effort that goes into them. They are great fun and you make good money but they are mental to run,” said Keane.

“He said straight away, ‘I can make that.’ We took it from there, a few cans later and the idea came if we are making a GAA website, why not bring in a centralised database too.” 

That is the origin story of Know The Game, with version 1.0 now live. There have been strong indications that the GAA are developing a centralised match results and player records archive. Before that, a dedicated cohort of number crunchers did the work for them. The associations have prized commodity has always been its people. 

Pioneers like Raymond Smith, Mick Dunne, Tom Ryall, Owen McCann, Eoin Culliton, Pádraig Ferguson, Leo McGough and Brian McDonnell provided this sort of valuable information. Know The Game has pulled from the same source.

Right now, they have thousands of championship games listed from 1887 on. They can be filtered by team, opposition and venue. For example, how many times have Sligo beaten Mayo away in championship? Two. Tony McEntee’s outfit will look to end a 50-year wait next April.

He set out with an Excel sheet and systematically logged each piece of information. The date, the teams, the score, the venue. Certain counties have an exhaustive database and that was a huge help. 

The Mayo GAA Blog or Terrace Talk in Kerry made those sections more manageable. Otherwise, he turned to the Irish News Archives.

Building a database from scratch isn’t easy but fellow enthusiasts kept contributing. Paul Devaney is behind the immense website that is Longford Gaelic Stats. He recently contacted Keane to inform him that the date for one particular game was a day off.

“There are over 7,000 games there. For every game, there are 10 pieces of data. You are talking 70,000 manual entered data. Even if 99.9% is accurate, there is going to be 70 things wrong. You have to be open about that. 

"If it gets exposure, it gets to the likes of Paul in Longford. Almost every county has someone like that. Someone who put in a huge shift to keep track, even if it is just in a copybook. If they get in touch, it is great.” 

There is a particular challenge in keeping track of scoring values. In 1892, the value of the goal was set at five points. Previously it had been worth more than any number of points. By 1895 it was set at three points. 

Once they have worked through such kinks, they want to continue to expand. Build a player statistics section, partner with a club championship, the possibilities are endless. The predictor game is set to launch soon, simplifying the lives of volunteers nationwide who currently organise such competitions on their own.

Time is a precious commodity. Why did Keane give his to this?

“It is culture. It is history. It is not just about the association and where it is now, 80,000 in Croke Park or whatever, that is on the back of a game that was played on Jones Road in 1910. These games go right back to the late 19th century. You can’t forget those games. They are just as important in my view regardless of if they were played on a mucky field with a sloop.

“This is the platform the association was built on. That is why we have what we have now.” 

The database is available here: Knowthegame.ie