In Ireland's Call BBC journalist Stephen Walker charts the fascinating stories of 40 Irishmen who swapped the sports field for the battlefield - household names who gave up their blossoming careers to volunteer for the Great War. Using rare archive letters, memoirs and newspaper reports, this compelling book features the stories of sportsmen whose lives were tragically cut short in the mud of the Somme, the despair of Ypres and the heat of Gallipoli. It chronicles the remarkable achievements of Irish international footballers and rugby players, athletes, GAA stars, cricketers, hockey players and a record-breaking Irish champion golfer. A century on, their sacrifices and those of a generation of Irish sporting heroes, are finally and faithfully recorded in this unique and evocative account.
'A genuine presence on the field, Owen refereed with the perfect balance of respect and authority' Keith Wood 'Owen Doyle contributed hugely to the world of rugby refereeing, both on and off the field' Nigel Owens With a foreword by Donal Lenihan. Owen Doyle is an Irish Times columnist and former Irish rugby test match referee. Here in his frank, revealing and often humorous memoir, he gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the high-pressured world of international rugby. From the processes involved in becoming a referee, to officiating in the Five Nations, internationals and a World Cup, Doyle takes us through the most memorable matches of his career and how, following his retirement, he became instrumental in coaching the most successful generation of referees in the IRFU's history. Covering over forty years of rugby, and written in his own inimitable style, Doyle looks at the challenges facing modern rugby, particularly the issues of concussion and dementia, to give a fascinating insight into the great game, told from a unique perspective. 'Owen Doyle was a highly respected referee who officiated matches with passion, commitment, knowledge and, occasionally, some great humour' Will Carling
Irish rugby's most hilarious and outrageous moments 101 Funny Irish Rugby Moments is a collection of priceless anecdotes from the field, with interviews from Moss Keane, Mick Galwey, Peter Clohessy and plenty more, plus a foreword by the legendary Tony Ward. From Lansdowne Road to Thomond Park, from Connacht to Ulster and Leeside to the Lions, these are some of the most unexpected tales of Irish rugby legends, like when . . . - BRIAN O'DRISCOLL HOSTED A BOND GIRL - PAUL O'CONNELL MET PRINCE WILLIAM - RORY BEST TURNED INTO SLEEPING BEAUTY - AND JAMES LOWE MADE A STRANGE REQUEST OF THE GARDAÍ This book offers a unique glimpse into the funniest moments that have happened on and off the pitch with some of rugby's greatest characters.
Growing up during The Troubles, I was determined that I was not going to be forced into Irish unity by terrorist violence or the threat of it. At the time, there was no space to think about a different future. But since then, we have had peace, however imperfect it may be, and we now have the opportunity to freely decide our fate. Why will everyone living on the island of Ireland benefit from Irish unity? How will the referendum be won? Do we need to start preparing now? What will happen when Ireland is reunified? Disillusioned with the state of pro-union politics in Britain and Northern Ireland, scarred by what he and many others see as a detrimental vote for Brexit and determined to heal the wounds inflicted by partition, Ben Collins sets out a multitude of political, social and economic benefits of removing the border on the island of Ireland, once and for all. Written from the viewpoint of an East Belfast-born former UUP campaigner, Irish Unity: Time to Prepare addresses the concerns of unionists in Northern Ireland and sceptics in the Republic and urges everyone on the island of Ireland to escape the crumbling United Kingdom so that we can build a peaceful and prosperous future together, for ourselves and our children.
Contributions by Nilanjana Bhattacharjya, Benjamin Burkhart, Ivy Chevers, Martha I. Chew Sánchez, Athena Elafros, William García-Medina, Sara Goek, David Henderson, Eyvind Kang, Junko Oba, Juan David Rubio Restrepo, and Gareth Dylan Smith In Scattered Musics, editors Martha I. Chew Sánchez and David Henderson, along with a range of authors from a variety of scholarly backgrounds, consider the musics that diaspora and migrant populations are inspired to create, how musics and musicians travel, and how they change in transit. The authors cover a lot of ground: cumbia in Mexico, música sertaneja in Japan, hip-hop in Canada, Irish music in the US and the UK, reggae and dancehall in Germany, and more. Diasporic groups transform the musical expressions of their home countries as well as those in their host communities. The studies collected here show how these transformations are ways of grappling with ever-changing patterns of movement. Different diasporas hold their homelands in different regards. Some communities try to re-create home away from home in musical performances, while others use music to critique and redefine their senses of home. Through music, people seek to reconstruct and refine collective memory and a collective sense of place. The essays in this volume—by sociologists, historians, ethnomusicologists, and others—explore these questions in ways that are theoretically sophisticated yet readable, making evident the complexities of musical and social phenomena in diaspora and migrant populations. As the opening paragraph of the introduction to the volume observes, “What remains when people have been scattered apart is a strong urge to gather together, to collect.” At few times in our lives has that ever been more apparent than right now.
In this dazzling collection of papers, leading international sport studies scholars chart the patterns, policies and personal experiences of labour migration within and around sport, and in doing so cast important new light both on the forces shaping modern sport and on the role that sport plays in shaping the world economy and global society. Contains a broad range of case studies focussing on such diverse areas as European and African soccer, Japanese baseball and rugby union in New Zealand.
Sportsmanship is a broad concept: ethics, fairness, honor and self-control. Some people find it difficult to define what makes a "good sport," but state "I know one when I see one." This collection of new essays brings together the work of more than two dozen contributors from around the world who teach sportsmanship in a range of academic disciplines including sociology, psychology, economics, education, kinesiology and applied athletics. Topics include the moral ambiguities of cheating; recreation in prison; ethics and character formation; coaching perspectives; gender; race; and the portrayal of sportsmanship in film. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
As player, manager, and pundit, Donal Lenihan has seen it all in the world of rugby - and done much of it too. A victorious captain of Munster Junior and Senior Schools, he went on to skipper the Ireland team at the inaugural Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in 1987 and was a fixture in the second row for over a decade, winning two Triple Crowns and three Five Nations championships. Selected for three British & Irish Lions tours, he was famous for skippering the unbeaten side nicknamed 'Donal's Doughnuts', before taking charge of both Ireland and the Lions as manager. From such a stellar position at the heart of the rugby world, Donal Lenihan has a wealth of stories to tell from both on and off the pitch, from raucous antics on tour to the sometimes difficult fellowship of players in a time of Troubles. He delves deeply into Cork and Munster culture and the influence on his career of his family. And as a much-respected analyst, Donal is also not short on voicing his opinion on the rights and wrongs of the modern game, and how the transition from the amateur to the professional era has affected the heart and soul of rugby. Full of wit, insight and emotional sincerity, this is a rugby book for the ages by a sporting great.
