Symposium Themes
This symposium, hosted by Technological University Dublin in partnership with Sports History Ireland, brought together historians, academics, elite sports people and community representatives to explore the histories of sport across Dublin. Drawing upon the interplay between city and suburb, the event reflects TU Dublin’s unique footprint across the capital.
The themes that were explored in the symposium include:
- The sporting history of Grangegorman and its surrounds
- The development and evolution of Dublin's sporting culture
- The modernisation of sport in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Dublin
- The sporting lives and stories of men, women and communities in Dublin
- The histories of sporting organisations and clubs in Dublin city and county
- The role of sport in shaping urban communities
The symposium featured a keynote talk by Prof. Paul Rouse in which he explored the rich history of sport in Grangegorman and its environs with a particular focus on the multi-layered approach to sport in the Richmond Lunatic Asylum and its successor, the Grangegorman Mental Hospital.
American basketballers Ed Randolph and Jerome Westbrooks were interviewed by TU Dublin's Claire Walsh on their experiences of moving to Ireland in the early 1980s, as part of a wave that kickstarted the "golden era" of Irish basketball.
Azeez Yusuff, Taha Hassen and Kerrie Clohessy from Sport Against Racism Ireland participated in a panel discussion on their own work on Inclusion and Diversity in Sport.
Julien Clénet and Anna Maria Mullally presented in the first afternoon panel session on sport in nineteenth century Dublin. Julien focussed on how the Phoenix Park, adjacent to Grangegorman, was Ireland’s largest playground throughout the nineteenth century. Anna Maria explored the history of female athleticism in Dubin, with a specific focus on female swimmers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
Terry Clavin and Siobhán Doyle led the second afternoon panel session on the theme of Gaelic sports. Terry's presentation surfaced aspects of the early story of the Camogie Association in Dublin. Siobhán focussed on the objects and stories related to Dublin GAA that were uncovered when researching her book A History of the GAA in 100 Objects.
In the final session of the day, Cormac Moore and Conor Curran examined aspects of soccer culture in Ireland in the late twentieth century. Cormac's presentation focussed on the famous 1973 match in Lansdowne Road when an All-Ireland XI playing as Shamrock Rovers lost narrowly to world champions Brazil. Conor explored the development of British football clubs' supporters' clubs in Ireland, with particular emphasis on Liverpool Football Club.
Photo Credit: Grangegorman Soccer Team, 1909–10, National Archives of Ireland, Priv 1223/29/96