| From its earliest days, association football was seen not just as a contest between individuals and teams, but also between nations and peoples. The Irish national team was among the first in the world to participate in international competition in the early 1880s, but not everyone accepted it as a truly national entity. Sport in Ireland was disputed in a manner that was not the case elsewhere – even the term ‘football’ was contested.
This book provides a unique window into the fascinating history of Irish association football, with keen insights into the making of national, regional, sectarian, class and gender identities that crystallised around the game on both sides of the border. Taking the story from the 1870s up to the present, No Foreign Game carefully weaves together political, social, cultural and sporting history to tell a richly detailed story not just of division and conflict, but of solidarity and celebration, and in doing so breaks new ground in the history of Irish sport.
Paperback • €19.99 | £17.99 • 388 pages • 234 mm x 156 mm • 9781785374739 |
