American Invasion Tour
The American Invasion (called the Irish Invasion in America) was an 1888 sports tour of the Northeastern United States by Irish athletes under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It raised American awareness of the GAA but failed as a fundraising venture. Planning In endorsing the 1884 founding of the GAA, its patron Michael Davitt called for a modern revival of the ancient Tailteann Games. In January 1888 the annual GAA Congress was held in an atmosphere of optimism after the successful organisation of the 1887 All-Ireland Hurling and All-Ireland Football Championships and a détente between factions for and against the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). Congress agreed in principle to organise a tour of North America, hoping to publicise Gaelic games among the Irish diaspora there and to raise funds for its Tailteann Games project. Details were arranged at April, May, and July meetings of the GAA Central Council. A cost of £1,000 was estimated, with a projected £5,000 in receipts, which proved very overoptimistic. The tour was to include exhibition matches in hurling and challenge matches in track and field athletics, a sport which the GAA organised until the 1922 foundation of the National Athletic and Cycling