Ireland 43- England 13 or Class, Nationalism and Sport in Ireland

1.Gaelic Games The Gaelic Athletic Association, founded in 1884 is a nationalist sporting organisation. Its main games are football and hurling. (Setanta slays the hound with his hurley and ball)

The GAA tends to be very strong in rural areas, but is also important in cities. It has an impressive volunteer ethos and is strongly embedded in local communities. On (the first) Bloody Sunday in 1920, British security forces killed fourteen in Croke Park. In the past, it had controversial rules to separate it from “foreign games” and British security forces. Ban on playing and watching foreign sports (until 1971): In 1938 the GAA expelled the President of Ireland for attending an international soccer match against Poland.

Ban on British security forces playing Gaelic games (until 2001). Ban on other games on GAA grounds (until 2007). GAA Guard of Honour at the funeral of Police Service of Northern Ireland constable Ronan Kerr.

2. Soccer Association Football began in Belfast in 1878 By 1921, it was the only major sport not administered from Dublin. Irish soccer split in 1921, precipitated by a dispute between a Dublin and Belfast team as to which city was most dangerous. The IFA (old Northern) and FAI (newer Southern) have maintained semi-professional leagues and separate international teams since. After World War II both attracted large crowds.

Irish soccer is now a sideshow to the Scottish and English leagues, which Irish people follow avidly, and to which the best players go. Soccer is the world’s most popular sport and is very widely played informally. Organised soccer is especially important in towns and in the less privileged areas of the cities.

Giovanni Trapattoni, manager of the Republic of Ireland In 1995, Ireland and England played in Dublin. Irish fans drowned out the English national anthem with boos. English fans started a riot after Ireland scored the first goal.

3. Rugby Rugby is strongly associated with a small number of socially exclusive schools, except in Limerick. The Irish Rugby team represents the whole island. It avoided a split in the 1950s by discontinuing international matches in Belfast. In 1972, Scottish and Welsh teams refused to play in Dublin. The next year the English team ignored threats and came to play in Ireland. Professionalisation has coincided with a golden age for Irish rugby over the last decade.

Rugby and soccer share a stadium in Lansdowne Road, which has been rebuilt recently.

5. Croke Park 2007 Ireland met England for an international rugby match. 80,000 listened respectfully to “God Save the Queen”.