Sport has played a central role in modern Ireland’s history. Perhaps nowhere else has sport so infused the political, social and cultural development and identity of a nation. During this so-called ‘Decade of Centenaries’ in Ireland (2014 to 2024) recently there has been an exponential growth in interest and academic research on Ireland’s sporting heritage. This collection of chapters, contributed by some of Ireland’s most preeminent sport and social historians, showcases the richness and complexity of Ireland’s sporting legacy. Articles on topics as diverse as the role of native Gaelic games in emphasising the emerging cultural nationalism of pre-Revolutionary Ireland, the contribution of Irish rugby to the broader British war effort in World War 1, the emergence of Irish soccer on the international stage, and the long running battle to gain official recognition within international athletics for an independent Irish state, are presented. This work’s intention is to illustrate some of the latest and most vibrant research being conducted on Irish sports history. This book was published as a special issue of Sport in Society.

This is the first history of sport in Ireland, locating the history of sport within Irish political, social, and cultural history, and within the global history of sport. Sport and Ireland demonstrates that there are aspects of Ireland's sporting history that are uniquely Irish and are defined by the peculiarities of life on a small island on the edge of Europe. What is equally apparent, though, is that the Irish sporting world is unique only in part; much of the history of Irish sport is a shared history with that of other societies. Drawing on an unparalleled range of sources - government archives, sporting institutions, private collections, and more than sixty local, national, and international newspapers - this volume offers a unique insight into the history of the British Empire in Ireland and examines the impact that political partition has had on the organization of sport there. Paul Rouse assesses the relationship between sport and national identity, how sport influences policy-making in modern states, and the ways in which sport has been colonized by the media and has colonized it in turn. Each chapter of Sport and Ireland contains new research on the place of sport in Irish life: the playing of hurling matches in London in the eighteenth century, the growth of cricket to become the most important sport in early Victorian Ireland, and the enlistment of thousands of members of the Gaelic Athletic Association as soldiers in the British Army during the Great War. Rouse draws out the significance of animals to the Irish sporting tradition, from the role of horse and dogs in racing and hunting, to the cocks, bulls, and bears that were involved in fighting and baiting.

Sport has played a central role in modern Ireland's history. This collection of chapters, contributed by some of Ireland's most preeminent historians, showcases the richness and complexity of Ireland's sporting heritage. This book was published as a special issue of Sport in Society.

Covering the period from the game's origins in Ireland in the 1870s through to the onset of professional rugby in the twenty-first century, this book seeks to examine Munster rugby within the context of broader social, cultural and political trends in Irish society. As well as providing a thorough chronological survey of the game's development, key themes such as violence, masculinity, class and politics are subject to more detailed treatment. Since the turn of the twenty-first century rugby football in Munster has seen extraordinary growth in terms of popularity and cultural significance. The Munster rugby team in particular has become a hugely important provincial institution through which regional identity has been expressed on the international stage. This book will detail and analyse the game's evolution in Munster from its origins in the 1870s through to the dawn of the professional era in the 2000s. Focusing mainly on the game's two centres of popularity in Limerick and Cork cities, this book will display how contrary to popular myth, rugby football rarely expressed any kind of unitary, coherent identity throughout the province. The game was centred on clubs and was highly adaptable to local conditions throughout its history. In addition, the often fractious internal politics of the game within the province, reflecting the game's contrasting social development in Limerick and Cork, will also be discussed. Drawing on the unpublished records of the game's provincial and national administrative bodies and a comprehensive survey of the provincial press, this book will show how one sport served multifarious roles in terms of class, culture and politics in Munster.

Prés. de l'éd.: This book looks at the experiences and achievement levels of Irish-born football migrants to Britain and further afield. In particular, it draws on interviews with twenty-four Irish-born footballers, each of whom has played league football in England or Scotland in the 1945-2010 period. This is the first book to utilise these migrants as a quantitative source, and to illustrate their experiences within the context of the Irish diaspora. It builds on a comprehensive range of databases to examine players' career movements and is illustrated throughout with tables and pictures. It is the first full-length examination of the migration of Irish born footballers to Britain in the period from 1888 until 2010. It uses interviews with twenty-four Irish born footballers, each of whom have played league football in England or Scotland, utilising players from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland on a decade by decade basis in the period from 1945 until 2010 as well as an extensive range of archival and other sources. It is the first book to locate the study of Irish football migrants within the study of the Irish diaspora. An examination of the birthplaces of players is offered along with the reasons for their geographical diversity. As well as providing an assessment of the development of schoolboy coaching structures in Ireland and the social challenges which many young players have faced, particularly in rural areas, it discusses key childhood influences and the development of scouting networks. It assesses the recruitment process and identifies the Irish clubs which have produced the most players who have migrated and played first team league football in Britain, and in turn, it establishes the clubs in Britain which have given first team league football to the most Irish-born players. The impact of the Troubles on the migration of Northern Ireland born players is also discussed. An assessment of players' working conditions and the culture of professional football in Britain is given, particularly in light of the cultural adaption required, while the book also examines the changing nature of the post-playing careers of these footballers. The decline of Irish-born players within top flight English league football is discussed along with a number of difficulties facing future Irish football migrants. In locating the study of Irish football migrants within the study of Irish migration to Britain, Europe and the United States of America, and in comparing the experiences of Irish born footballers with those from other nations, this book is the first of its kind.

Sports are as varied as the people who play them. We run, jump, and swim. We kick, hit, and shoot balls. We ride sleds in the snow and surf in the sea. From the Olympians of ancient Greece to today's professional athletes, from adult pickup soccer games to children's gymnastics classes, people at all levels of ability at all times and in all places have engaged in sport. What drives this phenomenon? In Sport, the neuroscientist Jay Schulkin argues that biology and culture do more than coexist when we play sports—they blend together seamlessly, propelling each other toward greater physical and intellectual achievement. To support this claim, Schulkin discusses history, literature, and art—and engages philosophical inquiry and recent behavioral research. He connects sport's basic neural requirements, including spatial and temporal awareness, inference, memory, agency, direction, competitive spirit, and endurance, to the demands of other human activities. He affirms sport's natural role as a creative evolutionary catalyst, turning the external play of sports inward and bringing insight to the diversion that defines our species. Sport, we learn, is a fundamental part of human life.

In the early 1900s, the Olympic Games track and field throwing events were dominated by a group of Irish-born weight throwers representing the United States. Of immense size and with a larger-than-life presence, these athletes came to be known as the “Irish Whales.” In The Irish Whales: Olympians of Old New York, Kevin Martin shares the untold story of these Irish American athletes who competed with unparalleled distinction for the United States. James Mitchell, John Flanagan, Martin Sheridan, Pat McDonald, Paddy Ryan, and Con Walsh won a total of eighteen medals in the Olympic Games between 1900 and 1924 and completely dominated the world stage in their chosen athletic disciplines. They were lionized in the American and Irish press and became folk heroes among Irish-American immigrant communities. Almost all of these men were further distinguished by their membership in the fabled Irish American Athletic Club of New York and careers with the New York Police Department. The story of the Irish Whales is the very embodiment of the American Dream and exemplifies the triumph of many Irish emigrants in the New World. Featuring a wonderful collection of original photographs, The Irish Whales tells the dramatic stories of these international athletes and their extraordinary sporting successes.

This book is the first to deal with physical culture in an Irish context, covering educational, martial and recreational histories. Deemed by many to be a precursor to the modern interest in health and gym cultures, physical culture was a late nineteenth and early twentieth century interest in personal health which spanned national and transnational histories. It encompassed gymnasiums, homes, classrooms, depots and military barracks. Prior to this work, physical culture’s emergence in Ireland has not received thorough academic attention. Addressing issues of gender, childhood, nationalism, and commerce, this book is unique within an Irish context in studying an Irish manifestation of a global phenomenon. Tracing four decades of Irish history, the work also examines the influence of foreign fitness entrepreneurs in Ireland and contrasts them with their Irish counterparts.

Sport is big business; international in nature and the focus of much media and cultural attention. In thisVery Short Introduction, Mike Cronin charts the history of sport, from its traditional origins in folk football and cock fighting to its position as a global phenomenon today. Looking at a variety of sports from team games such as rugby, cricket, and football to games for individuals such as golf, tennis, and skiing, he considers how these first emerged and captivated the interest of ordinary people, and how sport has been transformed within our daily lives. Exploring the relationship between sport and class, gender, commerce, identity, and ethics, Cronin considers some of the central issues in sport today, including the high pay of professional footballers and the glamour of women in sports, as well as fair play standards. Charting sport through the ages and around the world, this is a short guide to the history, development, and place of sport in contemporary global society. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Sport occupies a central position in Irish social and cultural life, yet has been relatively marginal within the academy. Significant research has been undertaken by individual scholars, and various important books have been published recently - for example Paul Rouse's Sport and Ireland; Mike Cronin et al.'s The GAA: A People's History; and Conor Curran's Irish Soccer Migrants. However, there are currently no collections or monographs devoted to the interrelationships between sport and media in an Irish context. This collection of essays redresses this gap. Drawing together scholars from across the humanities and social sciences, it argues that sport and sport media offer an invaluable lens through which to examine social and cultural change and continuity in Ireland. Chapters vary in focus from debates about sports broadcasting rights and the futures and interrelationships of national organisations like the GAA and RTÉ; to academic and journalist perspectives on women, media and sport in Ireland; to sport's representation in television and advertising. Chapters focusing on 'northern' emigrant footballers George Best, James McClean and Charlie O'Hagan, 'second generation' Irish fans of Irish sport media in Britain, and Irish fans of British based sport media highlight the roles of sport in the complexities of 'Irish' identity and its interplay with 'British' identity. In addition to examining the current 'state of play' of sports research in Ireland, our intention is that this book will become a key resource for future scholarship.