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.

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.

Consides the relationship between sport, national identities and gender in a contemporary Irish context

'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

Routledge International Handbook of Irish Studies begins with the reversal in Irish fortunes after the 2008 global economic crash. The chapters included address not only changes in post-Celtic Tiger Ireland but also changes in disciplinary approaches to Irish Studies that the last decade of political, economic, and cultural unrest have stimulated. Since 2008, Irish Studies has been directly and indirectly influenced by the crash and its reverberations through the economy, political landscape, and social framework of Ireland and beyond. Approaching Irish pasts, presents, and futures through interdisciplinary and theoretically capacious lenses, the chapters in this volume reflect the myriad ways Irish Studies has responded to the economic precarity in the Republic, renewed instability in the North, the complex European politics of Brexit, global climate and pandemic crises, and the intense social change in Ireland catalyzed by all of these. Just as Irish society has had to dramatically reconceive its economic and global identity after the crash, Irish Studies has had to shift its theoretical modes and its objects of analysis in order to keep pace with these changes and upheavals. This book captures the dynamic ways the discipline has evolved since 2008, exploring how the age of austerity and renewal has transformed both Ireland and scholarly approaches to understanding Ireland. It will appeal to students and scholars of Irish studies, sociology, cultural studies, history, literature, economics, and political science. Chapter 3, 5 and 15 of this book is available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

How was rugby born in 1823? Why didn’t the first Rugby World Cup take place until 1987? Why are there so few «new nations» emerging in the world of rugby? How did the sport establish itself in New Zealand, South Africa, France, Ireland, Fiji, Georgia and Hong Kong? Are women’s rugby and the Olympic discipline of 7-a-side rugby opening up new frontiers? Why are the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia interested in the sport? Through 50 geopolitical and international questions, Kévin Veyssière invites rugby fans, the curious and budding geographers alike, to discover the genesis and evolution of this sport, so attached to its traditions and long kept out of the spotlight. The book’s concise, entertaining approach helps readers to better understand how rugby has become part of the global sports industry over time and across continents, and how it has become a formidable tool for understanding the political, economic and social changes taking place in the world today. Kévin Veyssière, 31, an expert and professor in the geopolitics of sport, is the founder of the Football Club Geopolitics medium, which has over 70,000 subscribers on social networks. He is already the author of two books (Football Club Geopolitics and Mondial) published by Max Milo.

Sport has changed. Traditions and territorial distinctions are dissolving as a result of new global, political, economic and cultural conditions. The team of authors examine these changes, investigating the power relations that govern the new global sport and assessing the consequences for the future of sport. The book is founded on a series of case studies, linked by a common process-sociological approach, and is divided into four sections - each dealing with an important aspect of sport and globalization: * the local-global nexus - how global sports processes are played out at the level of local communities * lived experiences - the reality of global sport for players and supporters * identity politics - the impact of global sport on national consciousness * sporting futures - the emergent political, economic and cultural forces that are shaping global sport, and their implications for its development. The text introduces new approaches to the study of sport and globalization, updating and extending Maguire's previous work, and is therefore an essential resource for all those working in this fast-changing area.