Sport History Symposium

Dublin’s sporting heritage is rich, diverse and deeply woven into the social and cultural fabric of the city and its suburbs. From local clubs to national heroes, school leagues to stadiums, sport has long been a vital part of how communities across the capital express identity, belonging and pride.

This symposium, hosted by Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) in partnership with Sports History Ireland, will be opened by Minister of State at the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, Charlie McConalogue TD. The event will bring together historians, academics, and sports men and women to explore the histories of sport across Dublin.

Historian Prof. Paul Rouse will deliver the keynote address in which he will examine the history of sport in Grangegorman. Grangegorman, now the home to TU Dublin's largest campus, served for over a century as the location for the largest psychiatric hospital in Ireland, the Richmond Asylum, later renamed St Brendan's Hospital.

Contributors to the symposium include US basketballers Ed Randolph and Jerome Westbooks who will share the stories of their sporting lives in Ireland. During the afternoon panel discussions, historians Julien Clénet, Anna Maria Mullally, Terry Clavin, Siobhán Doyle, Cormac Moore and Conor Curran will each explore aspects of the symposium's themes.

Whether you're a researcher, sports professional or local enthusiast, this event offers a chance to celebrate and reflect on the role of sport in Dublin’s past and present.

Register here for this FREE event and join us as we delve into the fields, pitches and people that have defined Dublin’s sporting story. 

 

Banner image of Grangegorman in the 1950s, with sports pitches in the background, provided courtesy of the Grangegorman Development Agency.