The Irish Soccer Split: a Reflection of the Politics of Ireland? Cormac

1 The Irish Soccer Split: A Reflection of the Politics of Ireland? Cormac Moore, BCOMM., MA Thesis for the Degree of Ph.D. De Montfort University Leicester July 2020 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements P. 4 County Map of Ireland Outlining Irish Football Association (IFA) Divisional Associations P. 5 Glossary of Abbreviations P. 6 Abstract P. 8 Introduction P. 10 Chapter One – The Partition of Ireland (1885-1925) P. 25 Chapter Two – The Growth of Soccer in Ireland (1875-1912) P. 53 Chapter Three – Ireland in Conflict (1912-1921) P. 83 Chapter Four – The Split and its Aftermath (1921-32) P. 111 Chapter Five – The Effects of Partition on Other Sports (1920-30) P. 149 Chapter Six – The Effects of Partition on Society (1920-25) P. 170 Chapter Seven – International Sporting Divisions (1918-2020) P. 191 Conclusion P. 208 Endnotes P. 216 Sources and Bibliography P. 246 3 Appendices P. 277 4 Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thank my two supervisors Professor Martin Polley and Professor Mike Cronin. Both were of huge assistance throughout the whole process. Martin was of great help in advising on international sporting splits, and inputting on the focus, outputs, structure and style of the thesis. Mike’s vast knowledge of Irish history and sporting history, and his ability to see history through many different perspectives were instrumental in shaping the thesis as far more than a sports history one. It was through conversations with Mike that the concept of looking at partition from many different viewpoints arose. I would like to thank Professor Oliver Rafferty SJ from Boston College for sharing his research on the Catholic Church, Dr Dónal McAnallen for sharing his research on the GAA and Dr Tom Hunt for sharing his research on athletics and cycling. The thesis would not have come to fruition without the help of the staff of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, the University College Dublin Archives, the UK National Archives, the National Library of Ireland and the National Archives of Ireland. I wish to thank the Irish Football Association and the Football Association of Ireland for allowing me access to their rich archives. Lastly, I am very grateful for my wife Brigid’s support throughout the last number of years of long hours spent researching and writing. Her constant help and support made the task of completing the thesis considerably easier. 5 County Map of Ireland Outlining Irish Football Association (IFA) Divisional Associations IFA Divisional Associations North-East: Counties Antrim and Down Mid-Ulster: Counties Armagh and Tyrone North-West: County Derry/Londonderry Leinster: All Twelve Counties of Leinster Munster: All Six Counties of Munster Fermanagh and Western: County Fermanagh and some towns within Counties Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim. Counties Cavan, Monaghan, Mayo, Galway and Roscommon and much of Counties Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim were not affiliated to any divisional association of the IFA. 6 Glossary of Abbreviations AAA – Amateur Athletics Association ASTI – Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland BLP – British Labour Party CFA – Cyprus Football Association ConIFA - Confederation of Independent Football Associations ESB – Electricity Supply Board FA – The Football Association FAI – Football Association of Ireland FAIFS – Football Association of the Irish Free State FA of Wales – Football Association of Wales FFF – French Football Federation FIFA - Fédération Internationale de Football Association FIS – Fédération International de Ski FLN – Algerian National Liberation Front GAA – Gaelic Athletic Association IAAF – International Association of Athletics Federations IABA – Irish Amateur Boxing Association IBA – Irish Bowling Association IFA – Irish Football Association IFAB – International Football Association Board IHA – Irish Hockey Association IHU – Irish Hockey Union ILTA – Irish Lawn Tennis Association INTO – Irish National Teachers Organisation IOC – Irish Olympic Council IOC – International Olympic Committee IRA – Irish Republican Army IRFU – Irish Rugby Football Union ITGWU – Irish Transport and General Workers Union ITUC – Irish Trades Union Congress KTFF – Kıbrıs Türk Futbol Federasyonu 7 LFA – Leinster Football Association MCUI – Motor Cycle Union of Ireland MFA – Munster Football Association NACAI – National Athletic and Cycling Association of Ireland NAI – National Archives of Ireland NILP – Northern Ireland Labour Party PFA – Palestinian Football Association PR – Proportional Representation PRONI – Public Records Office of Northern Ireland RAC – Royal Automobile Club RDS – Royal Dublin Society RIAC – Royal Irish Automobile Club RIC – Royal Irish Constabulary RUC – Royal Ulster Constabulary SFA – Scottish Football Association TRNC – Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus TUC – Trades Union Congress UCD – University College Dublin UEFA – Union of European Football Associations UULA – Ulster Unionist Labour Association UVF – Ulster Volunteer Force 8 Abstract The purpose of the thesis is to ascertain the reasons for the split in Irish soccer. Chronologically, the thesis covers from the period in the late nineteenth century when soccer was introduced to Ireland, up to 1932, the year of the last significant attempt to bring about re-unity in the sport. The thesis focuses on soccer in Ireland, with a particular geographic emphasis on the two centres of the sport, Belfast and Dublin. It shows how the Irish soccer example compares to other sports in Ireland and how they responded to partition, and it compares the sporting examples with other organisations and their reaction to partition by analysing the political, cultural, economic and societal ramifications of the division of Ireland. The thesis goes beyond the regional and local in offering a global perspective on sporting divisions by offering a transnational comparison of other sporting splits around the world, The thesis demonstrates the important role that administrative bodies play in shaping sports. It shows the pivotal impact internal politics – the ways that power is shared in an organisation and the way it is affected by relationships between people who work together – has on sports. It scrutinises the governance of sports in Ireland and transnationally, as well as in other organisations and bodies in Ireland. This thesis adds to the expanding historiography on sport and partition mainly through the prism of the Irish soccer split. By focusing on a particular case study, this thesis explores wider societal impacts. By adding to the growing literature on studies of partition away from the purely political treatises, this thesis demonstrates the ambiguities, complexities and fluidity that surrounded the partition of Ireland that does not fit into the simplistic narratives that have coloured the topic in the past. It contributes to research on borderlands by analysing the impact of partition on multiple bodies, not just from a top-down political perspective. This thesis also places emphasis on the interlinking of nation-state actions and people’s and organisations’ responses to them. This thesis focuses on four main research questions: How did the political environment contribute to the Irish soccer split? What part did the internal structures within Irish soccer play in fomenting division? How much of a factor was the geography of Ireland in leading to the split? And how unique was the Irish soccer split to other sports in Ireland and around the world? 9 The thesis contends that the Irish soccer split was caused primarily by deep rooted internal political factors and not the political partition of Ireland. Whilst, there were underlying issues of a national political character that contributed to the split, the main divisions related to internal governance issues. 10 Introduction The main focus of the thesis is to ascertain the reasons for the split in Irish soccer that divided one national association into two and mirrored the political division of Ireland following revolution and the partition of the island. It seeks to contribute to a wider understanding of the partition of Ireland by focusing on a particular subject, the split in Irish soccer. Chronologically, the thesis covers from the period in the late nineteenth century when soccer was introduced to Ireland, up to 1932, the year of the last significant attempt to bring about re-unity in the sport. The thesis focuses on soccer in Ireland, with a particular geographic emphasis on the two centres of the sport, Belfast and Dublin. The growth, development and divisions in soccer on the island coincided with the path towards and implementation of political partition between north and south with ‘the existence of two primate cities, Dublin and Belfast, each the focus for the crystallization of a nationalism’ at this time,1 and therefore, presents an important case study on the wider implications of partition. A particular strength of this thesis is to show how the Irish soccer example compares to other sports in Ireland and how they responded to partition, and to compare the sporting examples with other organisations and their reaction to partition by analysing the political, cultural, economic and societal ramifications of the division of Ireland. Finally, by offering a transnational comparison of other sporting splits around the world, the thesis goes beyond the regional and local in offering a global perspective on sporting divisions. The thesis is an important study in its own right as the most comprehensive study of one of the most controversial episodes in Irish

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