This book looks at the experiences and achievement levels of Irish-born football migrants to Britain and further afield. In particular, it draws on interviews with twenty-four Irish-born footballers, each of whom has played league football in England or Scotland in the 1945-2010 period. This is the first book to utilise these migrants as a quantitative source, and to illustrate their experiences within the context of the Irish diaspora. It builds on a comprehensive range of databases to ex...

This book is the first major examination of the history of physical education in Irish primary and second level schools in the twentieth century. Set within the context of major international developments in the subject, it examines its state in these schools prior to the partition of Ireland in 1921. It assesses the reasons why physical drill’s status was reduced in the Irish Free State’s primary schools in the mid-1920s and accounts for the failure to fully implement the Sokol system in ...

«In this excellent, readable and important study,　Curran reveals a rich vein of migrants who went to ply their trade as soccer players in the USA. This textured study illustrates the human side of the story enlivened by rich interviews of both female and male players. It is a must for students of the diaspora and sports studies. A major contribution».(Professor Donald MacRaild, London Metropolitan University).«This is a fascinating and timely contribution to debates on spor...

2021 saw the centenary of the formation of the League of Ireland, the Republic of Ireland’s primary professional association football league. This new collection draws on the work of a number of leading historians of Irish soccer and seeks to examine a number of previously under-researched aspects relating to the league. The book examines the initial growth of clubs in Dublin and the Free State League’s early turbulent history, while the impact of Irish players and administrators on the de...

This book assesses association football’s history and development in Ireland from the late 1870s until the early twenty-first century. It focuses on four key themes—soccer’s early development before and after partition, the post-Emergency years, coaching and developing the game, and supporters and governance. In particular, it examines key topics such as the Troubles, Anglo-Irish football relations, the failure of a professional structure in the Republic and Northern Ireland, national and ...