‘In the Ráth Camp, rugby or soccer would not have been tolerated by the prisoners’: Irish Civil War attitudes to sport, 1922-3

ABSTRACT

Traditionally, the historiography of sport in Ireland has largely been dominated by writings on the Gaelic Athletic Association. This phenomenon is even more pronounced when one considers the historiography of sport during the Irish Revolution (1912–1923). Owing no doubt to the numerous intertwining relationships between the GAA’s codes, its administrators, players, and the campaign for Irish independence this is hardly surprising. However, more recently historians have begun to shed light on some lesser-known connections between non-Gaelic games and the movement for Irish independence. This article focuses specifically on the period known as the Irish Civil War (1922–1923) and examines the political and cultural significance of sport during the fraternal conflict.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The terms association football and soccer are used interchangeably throughout the text. The term republicanis used to denote those of an anti-Treaty political stance. It is a self-applied label and not one which this author employs in tactic recognition of political sympathy or legitimacy. Ditto, it does not imply that those on the opposing side of the Treaty divide were any less republican in their outlook.

2. Andrews, Dublin made me, 317.

3. For a discussion of the difficulties faced by militant Irish Republicans who played association football during the period 1913–1923 see Aaron Ó Maonaigh, ‘Who were the Shoneens?’

4. Healy, ‘The Civil War Hunger-strike’, 214.

5. On the issue of sport and Irish identity in the early twentieth century see Garnham, ‘Football and National Identity’, 13–31.

6. PoblachtnahÉireann War News, 3, June 30, 1922; This theme features heavily in many anti-Treatyite memoirs, see for example O’Connor, Tomorrow was another day, 105.

7. Murphy, ‘The Irish Civil War 1922–1923’, 298.

8. ‘The Republican War Bulletin’, [1922] (National Library of Ireland [NLI], Erskine Childers papers, MS 48,058/3).

9. Novik, Conceiving revolution, 247.

10. For example, ‘Republican army leaders must not be referred to as of any other rank such as “Commandant”’. Emotive terms such as ‘kidnapped’ and ‘murdered’ were substituted for arrested and killed, respectively etc. See ‘The Republican War Bulletin’, [1922] (NLI, Erskine Childers papers, MS 48,058/2).

11. Not to be outdone by their critics, the self-professed and avowedly pro-Treaty periodical Young Ireland/Éire Ógran a series of similarly vitriolic pieces denouncing the Republican stance, while also publishing a number of caricatures and illustrations which variously trumpeted the papers political allegiances and critiqued their opponents. See Young Ireland/Éire Óg, March 18, 1922, and December 30, 1922, passim.

12. Foster, The Irish Civil War and Society, 37.

13. Ibid., 22.

14. English and O’Malley, Prisoners: The Civil War letters of Ernie O’Malley, Passim; ‘No cause was ever got without sacrifice and this cause is worthy of all the sacrifices that any Irish man or woman is called upon to make’, George Fullerton to Elizabeth Fullerton, Newbridge, n.d. [c. 1923] (Fullerton papers, author’s private possession); O’Dwyer, Seventy-seven of mine said Ireland, passim.

15. Murphy, ‘The GAA during the Irish Revolution, 1913–1923’, 70–72.

16. Murphy, Political Imprisonment & the Irish, 1912–1921, 10; and O’Mahony, Frongoch: University of Revolution, 73–84.

17. Costello, ‘The Curragh Army Camp’, 33.

18. Andrews, Dublin Made Me, 312.

19. Ibid., 320.

20. Ibid., 317; John Joseph ‘Jack’ Callanan was a member of the Dublin Brigade’s 4^th Battalion, C Company, who fought alongside Andrews in the Tramway Offices on Dublin’s Sackville Street (now O’Connell Street) during the outbreak of the Civil War in 1922. He was arrested [5 or 6 November 1922] and interned in Tullamore, Roscrea, Templemore and later Newbridge until his release in December 1923. Irish Military Archives. John Joseph Callanan, Military Service Pension application(MSP/34/REF/83).

21. Tintown – the name given to the ramshackle galvanized tin structures used to contain the prisoners.

22. University College Dublin.Lily O’Brennan to Áine ‘Fanny’ Ceannt, 22 May 1923 (P13/64); idem. Eithne Coyle, draft memoir [c. 1940s] (P61/2).

23. Andrews, Dublin Made Me, 317.

24. Hunt, ‘Harry Cannon’, 694.

25. Foster, The Irish Civil War and Society, 65.

26. ‘Oscar’, ‘Athletics in the Army’, 19; while the identity of the author is not revealed, in a postscript to a later article the reader is informed that ‘The writer of these notes played All-Ireland Championship finals in hurling and [Gaelic] football, and won an All-Ireland Athletic Championship’. ‘Oscar’, ‘Gaelic Games’, 8.

27. McDevitt, ‘Muscular Catholicism’, 263.

28. ‘Oscar’, ‘Athletics in the Army’, 19.

29. ‘Oscar’, ‘Gaelic games’, 8.

30. ‘Athletic Games’, 4.

31. White, ‘The impact of British colonialism’, 25–27; and Beatty, ‘Masculinity and Nationhood in the East Clare By-Election, 1917’, passim.

32. Sport, 20 and February 27, 1904; The Leader, January 30, 1904.

33. Norton, ‘Army Sports Stars of the Past’, 102.

34. Editorial, ‘Army Athletic Association’, 9; and O’Callaghan, ‘Rugby Football and Identity Politics in Free State Ireland’.

35. Irish Independent, May 25, 1985.

36. Martin, Con Martin’s Soccer Annual, 2.

37. Hanley, ‘Oscar Traynor and “the Crime of Playing Soccer”’, 49.

38. Irish Independent, December 17, 1963.

39. Kamtekar, ‘Situationism and Virtue Ethics ’, 458–60.

40. Stynes, ‘How I became a Soccer Player’.

41. University College Dublin.O’Rourke, interview (P17b/115).

42. Drawing from the same catchment area, Shamrock Rovers AFC shared a number of players with Isles of the Sea. Doolan and Goggins, The Hoops, 1.

43. Portlaoise prison was then known as Maryborough prison. Irish Press, November 18, 1949.

44. Ryan and Burke, The book of Irish goal scorers, 80.

45. McGuffin, Internment, 40.

46. National Archives of Ireland, ‘Treatment of Civil War prisoners in the Free State’.

47. National Archives of Ireland. Hannah Sheehy-Skeffington to Town Clerk (Dublin), 11 September 1922, idem (TSCH/3/S1369/3); Freeman’s Journal, 27 November 1922; Dáil Éireann debates, 4 October 1922.

48. National Archives of Ireland. C. Clancy to Charlie Moloney, and Matt Smith to Bennie Smith, 31 October 1922; H. Malone to M. J. Malone [n.d.] and John French to Mrs. French [n.d.], all in ‘Treatment of Civil War prisoners in the Free State’ (TSCH/3/S1369/3)

49. McCarthy, ‘From Waterford to Ballykinlar, 105.

50. Reinisch, ‘Performing resistance: sport and Irish Republican identity in internment camps and prisons’, 251; During the War for Independence at Spike Island internment camp, Cork, internees were permitted to play hurling under strict supervision. Tragically, during one game an internee, Capt. Patrick White of Co. Clare, was shot dead by a sentry in dubious circumstances whilst attempting to retrieve a sliothar (hurling ball) near a perimeter fence. Ó Ruairc, Captain Patrick White Commemorative Booklet, 10–11.

51. Boland, ‘Gerald Boland’s story’.

52. Garnham, Association Football and Society.

53. Andrews, Dublin Made Me, 5–6; and Henderson, Frank Henderson’s Easter Rising, 21.

54. University College Dublin. Smith, interview (P17b/115).

55. There were some small pockets of the western seaboard such as Sligo where local teams organized games outside the remit of the Irish Football Association. See Gunning. ‘Association Football in the Shamrock Shire’s HyBrasil’, 608–30.

56. Manning, ‘Playing soldiers, Olympia versus Jacobs’.

57. Stynes, ‘How I became a Soccer Player’.

58. Ketchum, Ruhleben, 220–9.

59. Mac Domhnaill, ‘Soccer Men Who gave their all for Ireland’.

60. Curran, ‘Networking Structures and Competitive Association Football in Ulster, 1880–1914’, 76; and Ibid, ‘From Ardara Emeralds to Ardara FC’, 7.

61. Andrews, Man of No Property, 7–8, and p. 21.

62. For instance, contrast the magnanimity of Irish prison hunger strikers of the preceding conflict to the ignominy of those during the latter stages of the Civil War. Gallagher, Days of fear; Ó Briain, Traolach Mac Suibhnecf; O’Donnell, The gates flew open; Irish Military Archives, Christopher ‘Kit’ O’Byrne to Lily Cooney, November 8, 1923 (CW/CAPT, Lot 51); Andrews, Dublin made me, 317; Andrews, Man of no property, 5–6; and Durney, ‘The Curragh internees 1921–24: from defiance to defeat’, 23–24.

63. Foster, ‘Res PublicanahÉireann?’ 21.

64. deBúrca, The GAA, 121–3.

65. Traynor, ‘Who were the Shoneens?’; McAlister would in later years author a number of articles and reports on army athletics. See McAlister, ‘Sporting notes: impressions of AonachTailteann’, 107–109; Idem., ‘Sporting notes’, ibid., 1:3, Apr.-June 1928, 114–115; Idem., ‘Sporting notes, ibid., 1:2, Jan. 1928, 111–114; Idem., ‘Sporting notes’, ibid., 1:1, Oct. 1927, 117–118.

66. McCabe, ‘Football Sports Weekly and Irish soccer: 1925–1928’, 148; and ‘Dún-Dealghán’, ‘Nationality and games’ in Gaelic League of London, 6.