New Book on the Early History of the GAA

[thehermit]

Hi everyone,
I'm just bringing to your attention the publication of my first book, which is a history of the early GAA between 1884 and 1934. My name is Richard McElligott and I am a sports historian working in the School of History in UCD and I'm also Chairman of the Sport History Ireland Society.

My book is the first examination of the establishment and development of the GAA on a county level. I look at my native Kerry to explore the GAA's profound impact on the political, social and culture history of Ireland during its first fifty years.   
It is entitled: Forging A Kingdom: The GAA in Kerry, 1884-1934 and is being published by the Collins Press and its retailing at €17.99 in all good bookshops.

For more information please visit:

http://www.collinspress.ie/forging-a-kingdom-by-richard-mcelligott.html

The book examines the reasons behind the formation of the GAA both nationally and locally in in county Kerry. It explores what sport in Ireland was like before the GAA arrived. It assesses the reasons for the GAA's initial popularity among Irish people both in terms of politics, culture and economics. It details the problems involved in the formation of the first clubs in Kerry, their adoption to the GAA's rules and the hard struggle in forming a County Board and trying to run and administer the GAA's organisation in such a large and physically challenging county. It looks at the problems surrounding early county championships and also national competitions. The book deals with clashes between the GAA and the Church and the attempts of Fenian and revolutionary movements to gain control and corrupt the GAA and its membership, both nationally, and in Kerry. It also looks in detail at the role of the GAA in the Gaelic Revival and the influence of Irish political nationalism on the Association at large. Likewise, links with cultural and revolutionary movements such as the Gaelic League, the IRB and Sinn Féin are all examined. The work also explores the emergence of Kerry's unique footballing tradition and examines why hurling fell by the wayside and never gained equal recognition. How the rise of Kerry as a footballing power was fundamental to the GAA itself becoming the most popular and widely supported sports body in Ireland is highlighted. Yet the book also looks at the increasingly desperate attempts to make hurling as much a part of the emerging Kerry tradition, a process which ultimately failed.

The book explores the GAA's relationship with other sports like rugby in Kerry and how the conflict between both sports there was actually the catalyst for Listowel man, Thomas F. O'Sullivan, to force through the infamous 'Foreign Games Ban' in 1905. The role of the  GAA members nationally and locally in events such as the 1916 Rising, the War of Independence, and Civil War, and the effects of political violence on the GAA are outlined. After the Civil War, the senior Kerry side emerged politically divided yet united, the symbol Irish society craved in its search for unity. The work explores this teams origins and its immense impact on the history of Gaelic football at the time. Yet their story is not as simple as it has previously been told and the book also details how Kerry and other counties remained a political hotbed for Republicanism and how this continually manifested itself among the hierarchy of the GAA in the years up until 1934 and beyond.

As such the work is not solely a local history of the Kerry GAA. Rather it is an examination of the entire history of the Association which takes Kerry as its case study. As such, I believe it has the potential to be one of the most important works ever produced on the history of our great Association and a template for all those who wish to write about the development of the GAA in their own counties.

I hope it will be of interest to you all.

[armaghniac]

Great to see someone documenting these issues. Well done.

[Syferus]

Great to see someone documenting these issues. Well done.

Typical Ulsterite, Kerry is an 'issue' to be solved.

Actually, I agree with you. Split them. In four.

[armaghniac]

Typical Ulsterite, Kerry is an 'issue' to be solved.
Actually, I agree with you. Split them. In four.

Syferus, while you sometimes make good points sometimes you should just go to bed and stop spouting nonsense.

[Rossfan]

Typical Ulsterite, Kerry is an 'issue' to be solved.
Actually, I agree with you. Split them. In four.

Syferus, while you sometimes seldom make good points sometimes you should just go to bed permanently and stop spouting nonsense.

Amended that for you 

[Syferus]

Typical Ulsterite, Kerry is an 'issue' to be solved.
Actually, I agree with you. Split them. In four.

Syferus, while you sometimes seldom make good points sometimes you should just go to bed permanently and stop spouting nonsense.

Amended that for you 

Are you threatening to put me in a coma, you big tube ya? I've got connections, like. Ballagh boys are rough feckers to be messing with.

Anyways.

The book looks interesting and should make a good read. There's so many little stories from those early years that a proper history focused on the formation of the GAA is always welcome.

[Farrandeelin]

Even though it is Kerry-centric, it'll be on my Christmas list.

[thehermit]

Thanks everyone,

Yes it focuses on Kerry but its designed to be a book that will hopefully give everyone an new way of looking at the National history of the Association, by seeing how one county reacted to things and how Kerry fits in with the general national story. And on the Kerry/Ulster thing that someone mentioned, there is actually a lot about the early matches between Kerry and Ulster teams because they were no less controversial than they have been in the past ten years. Of course the irony is, that back then it was Kerry being denounced as the overly physical and cynical team.

I actually had an article on it in the Examiner a month ago if you want to get a taste for some of the things in the book:

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/cynical-play-kerry-are-old-hands-at-it-241488.html?fb_action_ids=10151922965266754&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_ref=.UiBsopWULhM.like&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582 

[highorlow]

They had awful big ears back then, probably something to do with the refs not having whistles?

[CD]

I'll add that one to my Christmas list Richard. All the very best - I hope it goes well for you.