Michael Cusack - GAA Founder. Here he is, the man himself, Michael Cusack (20 September 1847 - 27 November 1906), an Irish teacher and founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Born in Co. Clare in the worst year of the famine, 1847 and died young in 1906. Michael founded the GAA in 1884 in Haye's Hotel, Thurles, Co Tipperary. Cusack was a teacher who spent a lot of time hurling. He saw the need to preserve our native athletics and with a group of supporters, founded the GAA. He is widely considered the man who saved Irish sports. The "Cusack Stand" in Croke Park is named in his honour.