Sport and the Irish: Histories, Identities, Issues - Softcover

"As a non-specialist but keen reader of work being done on Irish sport and its vexed relationship with identity politics, I can easily recommend Sport and the Irish. For more knowledgeable readers ... this volume likely represents a major achievement bringing together diverse perspectives and methodologies." Canadian Journal of Irish Studies Fall 2004 "the reader starts his journey in the late nineteenth century and, having travelled through the turbulent years of both the Republic and the North, emerges at a point where those concerned with the sociological aspects of sport seek to sue their expertise to help others." Emigrant Online Jan 2005

This book brings together the work of a numbers of scholars who have an interest in the historical, social and political significance of sport in Ireland. It contributes not only to wider debates about Irish history, society and politics and but also to the steadily growing body of work devoted to understanding the role of sport in the shaping of modern societies. In terms of history, the book takes the reader from the late nineteenth century and the origins of modern sport, through the formation of the Irish Free State to the divisions that have so adversely affected Northern Ireland since the late 1960s. The book also allows readers to consider the relationship between sport, national identities and gender in a contemporary Irish context together with the role that sport can play in terms of conflict and conflict resolution.