Celtic Football Club has a huge support in Ireland, many of whom regularly travel to watch their team in Glasgow or follow them on TV. Now, "Celtic FC - The Ireland Connection" explores the deep-rooted links between Celtic Football Club, Ireland and the 90 million supporters of Irish descent throughout the world - links which include the club's founder Brother Walfrid from Sligo; the first sod of turf on Celtic Park in 1892 from Donegal; why the Irish flag flies over the stadium; Celtic's ...

Have you ever wondered what happened to all of those players that you have seen come and go over the years? The heroes and villains, the saints and sinners, the stars that you talked about for years after they retired and those who you instantly forgot? WHERE ARE THEY NOW?The old belief was that ex-footballers became publicans or TV pundits. However, we hope that you will be interested, and in some cases amused, to find out that this is no longer the case.The characters fea...

Rugby union has undergone immense change in the past two decades - introducing a World Cup, accepting professionalism and creating a global market in players - yet no authoritative English-language general history of the game has been published in that time. Until now.A Game for Hooligans brings the game's colourful story up to date to include the 2007 World Cup. It covers all of the great matches, teams and players but also explores the social, political and economic chan...

The best chants, the funniest nicknames, the greatest headlines and enough little-known facts to keep the average football supporter entertained - and entertaining - for several seasons. This is the story of the greatest game on earth, from 'abandoned matches' to 'Yeovil Town', via celebrity fans, mascots, punditry and superstitions, written from the fan's point of view and with a separate entry for every club in the English and Scottish leagues.Who cares why, if Torquay United's s...

Celtic: A Biography in Nine Lives, takes its structure from nine key individuals associated with the club since its inception, and touches on aspects of that person's life to explore key themes in the club's history. From John Glass, their tenacious first President and Willie Maley, who played in Celtic's first match against Rangers in 1888, to the legendary Jock Stein, who led the club to European glory in 1967 and Martin O'Neill, the most popular and successful ...

The rise of Celtic's Bobby Murdoch mirrored his club's emergence in the Sixties. With Murdoch in midfield, the Hoops became one of the most formidable teams in British football history - winning an unprecedented 9 Scottish titles in a row, 5 Scottish Cups, 5 Scottish League Cups to add to their immortal triumph in Lisbon in 1967.

Called ‘the greatest game of all’ by its supporters but often overlooked by the cultural mainstream, no sport is more identified with England’s northern working class than rugby league.This book traces the story of the sport from the Northern Union of the 1900s to the formation of the Super League in the 1990s, through war, depression, boom and deindustrialisation, into a new economic and social age.Using a range of previously unexplored archival sources, this extremely rea...

Founded in 1884 to promote Irish identity and revive the traditional sports of hurling, football and handball, the GAA enjoyed an intimate relationship with the nationalist movement from the turn of the twentieth century onwards. In 1914, the Irish Volunteers drilled with hurley sticks in the absence of rifles; after the 1916 Rising many of those interned by the British were GAA members; and on 21 November 1920, a Gaelic football match between Dublin and Tipperary at Croke Park was interru...

All you have ever wanted to know about Rugby League and Rugby Union but have never dared to ask until now (as the answers are in the back of the book!) Will you get stung by a Wasp or charge through the 1,200 questions and mow down the opposition like a Rhino? You will have to cast your minds back over the last two centuries to recall facts about the game's origins, great players, cup competitions, clubs, stadiums, kit colours, nicknames, nationalities, field positions and much more if you...

Urban neighbours Celtic and Rangers are known throughout British football as The Old Firm, but for Ipswich Town and Norwich City its more a case of The Old Farm. Separated by 40 miles of arable fields and woodland, the Canaries and the Tractor Boys have been doing battle for more than 100 years, just like their counterparts in Glasgow. Eastern England may be a footballing outpost, but its derby games arouse massive local interest. The first East Anglian derby game was in 1902 and by 2010 t...

Neil Jenkins is the most prolific goal-kicker in the history of British international rugby. A match-winner with Pontypridd and Wales, a veteran of the Lions Tours – including the 2001 Tour of Australia – his crowning moment came with the Lions in South Africa in 1997 when his unerring accuracy with the boot earned the tourists only their second series victory against the Springboks.Capped by Wales when he was just 19, Jenkins helped to turn Pontypridd from the Cinderellas of Welsh...

The Extraordinary Book of South African Rugby will hook any rugby fanatic. Packed with facts, stats, quotes and anecdotes, from the comical to the controversial, this collection celebrates the rich history of South African rugby. This extraordinary book will run fans through the most enthralling stories to come out of South African rugby, including: How Manie Reyneke was late for his wedding reception after playing a club semi-final; the 90-metre penalty by Oostelikes; how the fir...