In a new book entitled The Irish Soccer Split, Cormac Moore provides the most comprehensives analysis on the reasons why we have division in soccer in Ireland today unlike in sports such as rugby and cricket. Soccer in Ireland was governed for the whole island from 1880 until 1921 under the auspices of the Irish Football Association (IFA). The Leinster Football Association seceded from the parent body in 1921 and formed the Football Association of Ireland (FAI). Although politics played it...

In May 1922, James Craig described the Boundary Commission as the ‘root of all evil’ for Ulster unionists. Conversely, it ultimately bolstered the unionist cause, leaving the border unchanged and abandoning swathes of Northern nationalists who had assumed that large tracts of land would be transferred to the Free State.Offered to Sinn Féin plenipotentiaries during the 1921 Treaty negotiations, the Boundary Commission was viewed as a major concession by David Lloyd George, but the v...

The 1921 partition of Ireland had huge ramifications for almost all aspects of Irish life and was directly responsible for hundreds of deaths and injuries, with thousands displaced from their homes and many more forced from their jobs. Two new justice systems were created; the effects on the major religions were profound, with both jurisdictions adopting wholly different approaches; and major disruptions were caused in crossing the border, with invasive checks and stops becoming the norm.

On 13 November 1938, just months after his inauguration, President Douglas Hyde attended a soccer match between Ireland and Poland. In a passionate reaction, the GAA declared that by attending a 'foreign game', he had broken Rule 27 – the Ban – and they removed him as patron. One of the most controversial incidents in recent GAA history, it strained relations between the GAA and Éamon de Valera's Fianna Fáil government. It also damaged the standing of the Ban and was used extensively by op...

History on your Doorstepby Dublin City Council’s Historians in Residence;Maeve Casserly, Donal Fallon, Cormac Moore, MaryMuldowney, Bernard Kelly & Catherine ScuffilEdited by Maeve Casserly & Bernard KellyDublin City Council 2018