Ireland and the Paris Olympic Games (1924): a difficult journey successfully negotiated

ABSTRACT

Ireland first competed as an independent nation in the Olympic Games at Paris in 1924. The Irish presence in Paris was largely due to the work of J.J. Keane, who became the first Irish member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1922. This made it possible for Ireland to compete independently in the Olympics. As Keane lobbied for IOC membership, he also persuaded the two rival athletic controlling bodies of Irish athletics to abandon their claims and merge into a single controlling body for the sport. An Irish Olympic Council was established by Keane to manage the Irish entry for the Paris Games. Olympic recognition was achieved against a background of tumultuous political events in Ireland that included a war of independence, a civil war and partition of the island. The British Olympic Association consistently opposed demands for independent Irish Olympic representation and in 1924 attempted to limit Irish Olympic jurisdiction to the territory of the Irish Free State, an attempt that was firmly rejected and resisted by Keane on behalf of the Irish Olympic Council. This was complicated by Irish participation in the Olympic football competition.

KEYWORDS:

• Olympic Games Paris 1924
• J.J. Keane
• Gaelic Athletic Association
• International Olympic Committee
• British Olympic Association
• Tailteann Games

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. McCarthy, Gold, Silver and Green, 341.

2. Irish Times, July 9, 1924.

3. Fairlie, VIIIth Olympiad Paris, 1924, 85–7.

4. Notice of travel arrangements for athletes sent to Sean Lavan. In private possession.

5. Fanning, Fatal Path, 193–4.

6. Hopkinson, Green against Green, 6–46.

7. Ferriter, The Border, 9.

8. Statistics based on the author’s personal research.

9. Rouse, Sport and Ireland, 260.

10. Boykoff, Power Games, 39.

11. Guiney, Gold, Silver, Bronze, 78–80.

12. Unidentified newspaper cutting, May 1952. Thanks to Kevin McCarthy for alerting me to the existence of this interview.

13. New York Tribune, June 22, 1919.

14. Guiney, David. Unpublished History of the OCI, in private keeping.

15. Mitchell, “Making the Case,” 471–-4.

16. National Archives of Ireland (NAI), DE/2/71, Question of International Recognition of Ireland in Athletics, A.C. Harty to D. O’ Hegarty, June 2, 1920; O’ Hegarty to Harty, June 7, 1920.

17. Ibid., O’ Hegarty to Harty, June 12, 1920; Harty to O’ Hegarty, June 20, 1920.

18. Ibid., O’ Hegarty to Harty, July 15 22 July 1920 1920.

19. Freeman’s Journal, August 19, 1920.

20. McCarthy, Gold, Silver and Green, 299.

21. See note 19 above.

22. Lyberg, Sessions, 75; and Mallon and Bijerk, The 1920 Olympic Games, 5–6.

23. McCarthy, Gold, Silver and Green, 299–313.

24. Ibid, 302–3; Olympic Studies Centre Historical Archive (OSCHA) International Olympic Committee Session Minutes (IOCSM), Antwerp Session, April 18 1920.

25. OSCHA, IOCSM, Lausanne Session, June 5 1921.

26. OSCHA, CIO, MBR-Keane-Corr, B-IDO5/107, Keane to de Coubertin, April 10 1922.

27. Ibid.

28. Ibid., Keane to de Coubertin, May 8 1922; McCarthy, Gold, Silver and Green, 308–9.

29. Freeman’s Journal, April 17 1922.

30. OSCHA, CIO, MBR-Keane-Corr, B-IDO5/107, Keane to de Coubertin, June 2 1922.

31. McCarthy, Gold, Silver and Green, 311–12.

32. OSCHA, IOCSM, Paris Session, June 7, 1922, 2.

33. Ibid., June 8, 1922.

34. Ibid., June 9, 1922.

35. O’Donoghue, Irish Champion Athletics, 6; Hunt, Little Book, 18–36.

36. Irish Times, June 10, 1919.

37. Irish Times, April 12, 1922.

38. Irish Times, April 13, 1922.

39. See note 38 above.

40. Irish Independent, April 18, 1922.

41. Irish Independent, May 23, 1922.

42. de Búrca, The GAA, 158–9; and Mandle, Gaelic Athletic Association, 204.

43. Irish Times, June 28, 1922.

44. Irish Times, July 19, 1922.

45. Mandle, Gaelic Athletic Association, 205.

46. Irish Times, August 5, 1922.

47. Irish Times, May 11, 1923.

48. Griffin, Politics of Irish Athletics, 68–72.

49. Irish Times, May 12, 1924.

50. IAAF, Handbook of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, 28.

51. Hunt, “National Athletic Association”, 132–-6.

52. Freeman’s Journal, December 4, 1923; Irish Independent, December 21, 1923.

53. D’Arcy, Horses, Lords and Racing Men, 257.

54. See note 20 above.

55. Freeman’s Journal, September 17, 1918.

56. Murphy, “An Irish General”, 10–11.

57. Paxman, Great Britain’s Great War, 105.

58. Murphy, “Sir Bryan Thomas Mahon,” 292–3; and D’Arcy, Horses, Lords, Racing Men, 250.

59. Marshall, “William Evelyn Wylie”, 1059–61; and Michael Slavin, Showjumping Legends, 23.

60. Dungan, Irish Voices from the Great War, 49.

61. Bunbury, Easter Dawn, 76–77.

62. Freeman’s Journal, January 19 21 January 1923 1923.

63. Irish Times, March 20, 1924.

64. Cork Examiner, March 28, 1924.

65. Freeman’s Journal, June 30, 1924.

66. Irish Times, April 28, 1924.

67. Meehan, The Cosgrave Party, 45–7; Cronin, “The Irish Free State”, 53–68; and Rouse, Sport and Ireland, 245–53.

68. Irish Times, April 15 17 April 1924 3 May 1924 1924.

69. Dublin Evening Mail, May 2 7 May 1924 8 May 1924 1924.

70. Freeman’s Journal, October 22, 1926.

71. Llewellyn, “British Olympic Association,” 768–-78; and McCarthy, Gold, Silver and Green, 239–242.

72. Irish Times, April 1, 1924.

73. Irish Times, April 5, 1924.

74. Murphy and Murphy, Wearing the Shamrock, 194.

75. See note 73 above.

76. Hunt, “Ireland in the Olympic Movement,” 844–49.

77. Lanfranchi et al. 100 Years of Football, 64–68.

78. Mandle, The GAA, 210.

79. Moore, Irish Soccer Split, 169–70.

80. Menary, GB United? 96–99.

81. University College Dublin Archives (UCDA), FAIFS minutes: Application for membership of FIFA, P137/1, Dichenne to Murphy, August 18, 1923.

82. Ibid., Murphy to Dichenne, August 27, 1923.

83. Sport, June 14, 1924.

84. UCDA, FAIFS minutes: FAIFS Foreign Correspondence File March 1922-January 1931, P 137/2. McDevitt to Harrison, April 16, 1924.

85. UCDA, FAIFS minutes: Finance Committee, 1921–48, P 137/11, July 17, 1924.

86. Garda Review, December 1925, 1, (1), 41.

87. Hunt, “Harry Cannon,” 96–102.

88. An t-Óglach, November 3 17 November 1923 5 July 1923 1924.

89. Comité Olympique Français, Official Report, 1924, 194.

90. Sport, April 12, 1924.

91. Sport, May 10 17 May 1924 24 May 1924 1924.

92. Comité Olympique Français, Official Report, 1924, 492.

93. ILTA Centre, Minute book of ILTA from April 12,, 1921, to August 2, 1932, minutes of August 20, 1923 and March 24, 1924.

94. ILTA Centre, minutes of April 11 25 April 1924 2 May 1924 1924.

95. Irish Independent, July 19, 1924.

96. Irish Times, July 2 10 July 1924 4 August 1924 1924; The Times, July 9, 1924.

97. Limerick Leader, July 2, 1924.

98. Irish Times, July 30, 1924.

99. Department of Education, Targeting Sporting Change.