It now seems to be accepted that the GAA is facing into the new millennium with a confident bounce in its step. That is only as it should be. What many seem to forget is that it has a history which goes far beyond the playing of games.

Formed at a time which was a decade or so before the greatest political upheaval in the history of this country, the Gaelic Athletic Association has walked a tight-rope and has emerged, in recent years, as one of the most vibrant sporting organisations and certainly an association which has clung to the amateur ethic with steely determination.

For all of that it seems, from time to time, to generate quite extraordinary antagonism among people who care little for its history and its constancy in promoting the games which we know while, at the same time, modernising itself in a way which is the envy of its sporting brothers in this country. Rugby Union is going through a turbulent period when money seems to have become more important that performance.

As far as soccer is concerned we get a new spin of what is happening from week to week with rumours of stadiums being built with Government money supported by the business sector or by the business sector alone.

As things drag on, the Football Association of Ireland still hasn't got a stadium capable of catering for their international matches, which gives a somewhat hollow ring to complaints about venues at which other countries, such as Turkey, decide to play their home matches.

Other sporting associations, such as the bodies which control athletics and swimming, also have problems about where they can stage big international events, while the GAA keeps its head down and is well advanced in the reconstruction of a stadium, not far from the heart of the capital city, which, when finished, will rival anything in Europe.

What is amazing about all of this is that the GAA has had a very difficult time from its foundation in 1884 in Thurles to the present day. On several occasions it came near to extinction in its early years and disputes dogged its footsteps and a number of different factions battled for control.

The most influential figure in its formation, Michael Cusack, was sacked as secretary of the organisation only a few years after he had inspired its establishment and his successor, Dick Blake, was also removed from office.

All of the foregoing is inspired by the recent publication of an "up-dated" history of the GAA by Marcus de Burca. The original work was published in 1980 and this new edition is a very welcome addition to the amount of writing which has been engaged upon by many authors, notably Seamus O Riain, a former president of the association, and Padraig Puirseil, the late GAA correspondent of the Irish Press.

Critics of the GAA, including the present writer, have tended to concentrate on its talent for ignoring progress. Marcus de Burca has not avoided these matters either but he puts them into perspective.

He deals fairly with the three great controversies which tended to beset the GAA from its very foundation. Early in its existence its political influence was recognised and factions both within and without its own body politic sought to impose control.

These factions included the Catholic Church, the Irish Republican Brotherhood and the Parnell faction - in spite of Michael Cusack's insistence that politics was to be banned from discussions.

It was not surprising, therefore, that the "authorities" of the day took a keen interest in the activities of the GAA in an attempt to discover just where it stood on political issues.

It is ironic, therefore, to note that a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary, John Wyse Power, was present at the inaugural meeting of what to become the GAA in Thurles on November 1st, 1984.

De Burca has, quite clearly done massive research, into the history of his subject. In doing so he has served the GAA well. What is more important, however, is that he has served Irish history well.

Many people perceive the GAA as backward thinking and out of touch with modern sporting developments. What de Burca emphasises in this volume is that the GAA, like many other organisations, has a profoundly inspiring history which has allowed it to develop into what it is today.

The GAA - A History, Marcus]de Burca, Gill and McMillan.