Kilkenny

Kilkenny

Author: Eoin Swithin Walsh

Publisher: Merrion Press

Published: 2018-08-13

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 1785371991

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Veteran IRA leader Ernie O’Malley criticised County Kilkenny as being ‘slack’ during the War of Independence, but this fascinating new study of the period, by historian Eoin Swithin Walsh, challenges that view and reveals that Kilkenny was truly at the forefront of the struggle for Irish freedom. No Kilkenny citizen escaped the revolutionary era untouched, especially during the turmoil that followed the Easter Rising of 1916, the upheaval of the War of Independence and the tumultuous Civil War. Key personalities, revolutionary organisations and dramatic events in Kilkenny illuminate the country-wide struggle. Not to be forgotten, the lives of the ‘ordinary’ men and women of the county are explored, emphasising a life beyond politics and conflict. The listing of Kilkenny fatalities during the War of Independence is examined and, for the first time, combatants and civilians who died during the Truce and the Civil War are recorded, revealing an even more deadly conflict than previously believed. Presenting a complete history of the county in the opening decades of the twentieth century – including the use of previously unseen archival material – Kilkenny: In Times of Revolution, 1900–1923 is an indispensable contribution to the literature on the turbulent birth of the Irish nation.


The Changing Face of Cricket

The Changing Face of Cricket

Author: Dominic Malcolm

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-10-18

Total Pages: 471

ISBN-13: 1317969316

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For cricket enthusiasts there is nothing to match the meaningful contests and excitement generated by the game’s subtle shifts in play. Conversely, huge swathes of the world’s population find cricket the most obscure and bafflingly impenetrable of sports. The Changing Face of Cricket attempts to account for this paradox. The Changing Face of Cricket provides an overview of the various ways in which social scientists have analyzed the game’s cultural impact. The book’s international analysis encompasses Australia, the Caribbean, England, India, Ireland, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Its interdisciplinary approach allies anthropology, history, literary criticism, political studies and sociology with contributions from cricket administrators and journalists. The collection addresses historical and contemporary issues such as gender equality, global sports development, the impact of cricket mega-events, and the growing influence of commercial and television interests culminating in the Twenty20 revolution. Whether one loves or hates the game, understands what turns square legs into fine legs, or how mid-offs become silly, The Changing Face of Cricket will enlighten the reader on the game’s cultural contours and social impact and prove to be the essential reader in cricket studies. This book was published as a special issue of Sport in Society.


The Hurlers

The Hurlers

Author: Paul Rouse

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2018-09-06

Total Pages: 309

ISBN-13: 1844884406

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In 1882, a letter was published in the Irish Times, lamenting the decline of hurling. The game was now played only in a few isolated rural pockets, and according to no fixed set of rules. It would have been absurd to imagine that, within five years, an all-Ireland hurling championship would be underway, under the auspices of a powerful national organization. The Hurlers is a superbly readable account of that dramatic turn of events, of the colourful men who made it happen, and of the political intrigues and violent rows that marked the early years of the GAA. From the very start, republican and ecclesiastical interests jockeyed for control, along with a small core of enthusiasts who were just in it for the sport. In this authoritative and seriously entertaning book, Paul Rouse shows how sport, culture and politics swirled together in a heady, often chaotic mix. 'Fascinating ... a brilliantly researched book on hurling in the early years of the GAA' Martin Breheny, Irish Independent 'I heartily recommend it. Great picture of the emergence of modern Ireland amidst sport, nationalism, priests and assorted crazy hotheads ... Brilliant stuff' Dara Ó Briain 'A story of pioneerism, passion, intrigue, skulduggery and commitment ... a must read for the many sports, and particularly hurling, supporters and admirers in today's version of Ireland' Irish Times 'Terrific' Kieran Shannon, Irish Examiner 'Brilliantly entertaining ... not just the gripping account of that first championship, but also of how the game of hurling itself was saved in the 1880s from what seemed certain extinction' Sunday Independent 'A brilliant piece of work' Matt Cooper 'Both a sports and a history book, full of wonderful stories from a different time, with tales of passion, skullduggery and controversy, played out against the backdrop of what could be described as a civil war within the GAA and a land war that threatened to rip the country apart' RTÉ Culture 'Fascinating' Frank McNally, Irish Times 'A page turner that continues to deliver chapter after chapter ... The Hurlers is a must read' Limerick Leader 'A superbly readable account ... an authoritative and seriously entertaining book' Ireland's Own 'The perfect read for a brilliant hurling year' Caitriona Lally, Irish Independent Top Books of 2018 'A vital look into the early years of the GAA and a perfect gift for both sport and history lovers' Mark Gallagher, Mail on Sunday Books of 2018 'Marries forensic historical research of the cultural and political contexts for the emergence of modern hurling with a polished style and storytelling ability that is rare among historians' Diarmaid Ferriter, Irish Times Books of 2018 'Flows along far more merrily and lightly than any history book has a right to and is especially enlightening when it comes to drawing the founding fathers Michael Cusack and Maurice Davin' Malachy Clerkin, Irish Times, Sports Books of 2018 'Marvellous ... the definitive account of this remarkable period when hurling came to life' Clonmel Nationalist 'Brilliant' Kenny Archer, Irish News


A Social and Cultural History of Sport in Ireland

A Social and Cultural History of Sport in Ireland

Author: David Hassan

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-02-02

Total Pages: 346

ISBN-13: 1317326474

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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.


Globalizing Cricket

Globalizing Cricket

Author: Dominic Malcolm

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 1849665591

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This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Globalizing Cricket examines the global role of the sport - how it developed and spread around the world. The book explores the origins of cricket in the eighteenth century, its establishment as England's national game in the nineteenth, the successful (Caribbean) and unsuccessful (American) diffusion of cricket as part of the development of the British Empire and its role in structuring contemporary identities amongst and between the English, the British and postcolonial communities. Whilst empirically focused on the sport itself, the book addresses broader issues such as social development, imperialism, race, diaspora and national identities. Tracing the beginnings of cricket as a 'folk game' through to the present, it draws together these different strands to examine the meaning and social significance of the modern game. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the role of sport in both colonial and post-colonial periods; the history and peculiarities of English national identity; or simply intrigued by the game and its history.


Sport and Ireland

Sport and Ireland

Author: Paul Rouse

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2015-10-08

Total Pages: 374

ISBN-13: 0191063037

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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.


Ulster Since 1600

Ulster Since 1600

Author: Liam Kennedy

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2012-11-22

Total Pages: 374

ISBN-13: 0191636908

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Ulster Since 1600 surveys the history of the province from plantation to partition, and onwards from the formation of the Northern Ireland state to the 'Troubles' of recent decades. It synthesises existing historical knowledge and also brings new insights to bear on the political, social, and economic evolution of the province and its peoples. The word 'Ulster' conjures up images of communal conflict, sectarianism, and peace processes of indefinite duration but, as this volume shows, there is much more to the history of Ulster and its peoples. From the Plantation of Ulster in the early seventeenth century, the province has been home to three major ethnic and religious groups. It was this radically reconstituted society that produced a precociously early emigration to North America, that celebrated the outbreak of the French Revolution, and that in the Victorian era hosted Ireland's first industrial city. Its rural poor suffered destruction and death during the Great Famine of the 1840s, along with their counterparts in the south of Ireland. Its urban working classes had much in common with the industrial classes of England and Scotland, in terms of religiosity, popular entertainment, labour movements, gender, and family relationships. This multi-authored volume is a major contribution to the history of Ireland and to Ireland's contested place in the British and the wider world.


Hell for Leather

Hell for Leather

Author: Ronnie Bellew

Publisher: Hachette Books Ireland

Published: 2014-11-06

Total Pages: 478

ISBN-13: 1444789929

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Hurling's appeal has never been stronger. Redefined in the past decade by a great Kilkenny team, rejuvenated by Clare's 2013 All-Ireland coup and re-energised by Dublin's grassroots' revolution, the game exerts an obsessive grip on players and followers alike. The achievements of modern teams and players are constantly weighed against those of old, and Hell for Leather chronicles hurling's evolution from the fragile beginnings of the 1880s through to the current era. It takes a new look at the epic teams that saw Tipperary, Cork and Kilkenny become 'the big three', and also traces the emergence of Wexford, Limerick, Laois, Clare, Dublin, Galway, Waterford and Offaly as contenders. It highlights the matches that made legends of the great players and analyses how the swashbuckling hurling of old has given way into a tactically nuanced game that commands global respect for its showpiece occasions. Hell for Leather is an unforgettable journey to the heart of a sport that, at its finest, can truly claim to be the greatest game on the planet.


Sport and Society in Victorian Ireland

Sport and Society in Victorian Ireland

Author: Tom Hunt

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13:

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This book examines the development of sports in Victorian Ireland using the example of Westmeath as a case study. It explores the development of hunting, racing, commercial sports (golf, cycling and tennis), cricket, hurling and football, soccer, and rugby. It also examines the importance of spectator sports and a variety of ancillary attractions. It examines the importance of the club as a vehicle for facilitating sporting involvement, the financing of sports and recreation, the commercialization of sports and the importance of codification. It also constructs a social profile of individuals active in the various sports. The role of sports in providing recreational opportunities for women is examined as is the importance of the military to sports promotion and the importance of sports to the military. The book illustrates the importance of sport in creating a social life for participants at all levels of society. The crucial importance of post-1900 developments in cultural nationalism and their impact on recreational activities and in particular the re-emergence of the GAA are also investigated. The information is placed in a comparative context and links Westmeath to the Irish sporting world and places the developments in Westmeath within the sporting revolution of the wider Victorian world. The book demolishes various established ideas of the Victorian sporting world in rural Ireland and enhances our understanding of what games people were playing and why they played them. The range of sports examined contributes to the production of an inclusive and comprehensive study that enhances our understanding of the social history of several groups in society.