Gaelic footballers from Counties Kerry and Cork leave a playing field in Glen Flesk, County Kerry, following a match. Rules of the game, a cross between soccer and rugby, dictate that both players and referees speak Irish. Games have been sponsored since the late 1800s by the Gaelic Athletic Association, a organization with roots in Irish nationalism. Matches were seen as a means to preserve Irish language and culture while keeping young Irish men fit—a boon for those planning to battle English colonial rule.