The GAA hopes to save the lives of players, spectators and members of the public by installing defibrillators at its clubs across the country.
The association says GAA clubs will be able to buy their own defibrillators for €1,200 - about €900 cheaper than the retail price. "We expect many clubs will purchase the defibrillators," said a GAA spokesman.
A defibrillator works by shocking the muscles around the heart and, if used by a trained operator within five minutes of a patient's heart attack, it has a good chance of saving a life.
The GAA will also help ensure club members are trained to use the devices. Insurance company VHI will train members of about 125 clubs, it was announced yesterday.
Dublin Fire Brigade and the Irish Heart Foundation (IHF) both welcomed the initiative.
"There is the potential for more lives to be saved by having automated external defibrillators available to be used by trained people," said a spokeswoman for the fire brigade.
"We absolutely welcome it," said Michael O'Shea, CEO of the IHF. "It is a wonderful initiative and we very much believe that lives will be saved."
He said 6,000 people each year died from heart failure, and he hoped defibrillators would also be installed in shopping malls and workplaces.
The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) said it is working on a similar scheme, while the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) says it is concentrating on training staff, administrators and players in first-aid techniques.
FAI medical director Dr Alan Byrne said it takes about four hours to train someone in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use of a defibrillator. "You can purchase a defibrillator . . . if you do not have people trained to use it, it becomes a useless piece of equipment. We've been facilitating clubs to purchase defibrillators and provide a minimum of six people per club trained to use it," he said.
The GAA initiative follows the death in 2004 of Cormac McAnallen, the 24-year-old Tyrone football captain who died in his sleep from an undetected heart condition. His death raised awareness in the GAA community about sudden arrhythmia death syndrome and the potential of defibrillators to save lives, said GAA spokesman Fergal McGill.
Without defibrillation, only 1 per cent of people who suffer heart failure outside of hospital survive, according to the IHF.
Mr McGill said the defibrillators would be available at GAA games and at its many social gatherings.