Association Football and Irish Society During the Inter-War Period, 1918-1939
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ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL AND IRISH SOCIETY DURING THE INTER-WAR PERIOD, 1918-1939 by MARK PATRICK TYNAN THESIS FOR THE DEGREE OF PHD DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, MAYNOOTH Head of Department: Professor Marian Lyons Supervisor: Dr Gerard Moran September 2013 Table of Contents Acknowledgments........................................................................................................ii Abbreviations..............................................................................................................iii Introductory Notes............................................................................................................................iv Introduction..................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: Post-war recovery and split.....................................................................14 Chapter 2: The Football Association of Ireland and its pursuit of international recognition..................................................................................................................46 Chapter 3: The Irish Free State and international football........................................75 Chapter 4: The dissemination and development of association football during the 1920s.........................................................................................................................103 Chapter 5: The financial crisis and stagnation within association football during the 1930s.........................................................................................................................132 Chapter 6: Irish sporting culture: Association football and Gaelic games........................................................................................................................163 Chapter 7: Association football and the sporting community................................194 Conclusion................................................................................................................223 Appendix 1...............................................................................................................234 Appendix 2...............................................................................................................236 Bibliography.............................................................................................................238 i Acknowledgments I would like to thank Professor Marian Lyons and the academic and administrative staff at the history department at NUI Maynooth for their support during the course of this project. I would particularly like to thank my supervisor Dr Gerard Moran for his guidance, advice and suggestions over the past three years, all of which have been greatly appreciated. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Professor Colm Lennon, who supervised my thesis for the first year of my PhD, and Professor Vincent Comerford, who offered much advice during the formative stages of the project. My research colleagues within the history department have also been on hand to offer advice throughout, and for that I am grateful. I would like to thank the Irish Research Council for funding my research for the past three years, as the financial support I have received has been much appreciated and valued. I would like to thank Seamus Helferty, and the staff at the UCD archives, Bethany Sinclair, and the staff at PRONI, Mark Reynolds at the GAA archive in Dublin, David Barber at the Football Association in London, and Eibhlin Roche at the Guinness archive for facilitating access to archival sources. I would also like to thank the Football Association of Ireland for kindly allowing access to their records. Countless people have been generous with their time, sources, advice and assistance. I would like to thank Plunket Carter, Neal Garnham, Maighréad Ní Mhurchadha, Patrick O’Callaghan, Paul Gunning, Robert Goggins, Ciarán Priestley, Michael Quinn, Jim Murphy, Diarmuid O’Donovan, Peter Doyle at the Leinster Football Association, Willow Murray at the IRFU, Brian Whelan, Gary Spain, David Toms, Alice Hughes and Sarah O’Shea. All inputs and contributions have been much appreciated. I would like to thank my parents, Pat and Bernie Tynan, and sisters Ruth, Gráinne and Sara for their constant support throughout this process, without which this thesis would not have been possible. Finally I would like to thank my fiancée Sharon Grimes for her love, encouragement and patience, which has been greatly received and very much appreciated. I love you and will always be grateful. ii Abbreviations IFA – The Irish Football Association, formed in 1880 in Belfast. LFA – The Leinster Football Association, formed in 1892 in Dublin. Co. Antrim FA – The County Antrim Football Association. GAA – Gaelic Athletic Association, formed in 1884 in Thurles. FAI – Football Association of Ireland, formed in Dublin in 1921. IRFU – Irish Rugby Football Union, formed in 1879 with the amalgamation of the Irish Football Union and the Northern Football Union of Ireland. FIFA – Fédération Internationale de Football Association, formed in 1904. IFAB – International Football Association Board. FFF – Fédération Française de Football, formed in 1919 in Paris. FAIFS – Football Association of the Irish Free State (the title used by the FAI between 1923 and 1937). English FA – The Football Association, formed in 1863 in London. Scottish FA/SFA – The Scottish Football Association, formed in Glasgow in 1873. IOC – International Olympic Committee, formed in 1894. IRA – Irish Republican Army. IRB – Irish Republican Brotherhood. Dundalk GNR – Dundalk Great Northern Railway Football Club. MFA – Munster Football Association, formed in 1901. CFA – Connacht Football Association, formed in 1928. GAU – Guinness Athletic Union. IAAA – Irish Amateur Athletic Association. PRONI – Public Records Office of Northern Ireland. UCD – University College Dublin. NACA – National Athletic and Cycling Association. USFSA – Union of French Societies of Athletic Sports. iii Introductory Notes 1. The organisational structure of association football in Ireland consisted of three distinct levels of participation for players. The senior level was the highest stage on which the game was played, and was theoretically a national structure. Before the split of 1921 the Irish League served as the senior league competition, consisting of six teams from Ulster and two from Dublin. While the Irish League continued as the senior competition in the territory governed by the IFA, the League of Ireland became the senior league competition in the southern twenty-six counties after the split. Below the senior game existed the intermediate level, which in southern Ireland consisted of the Dublin-based Leinster League and the Cork-based Munster Senior League. This structure consisted of emergent clubs that aspired to the senior level and the reserve teams of established senior clubs. On occasion it was possible for intermediate clubs to be elected to the League of Ireland, while a strong performance in the national intermediate cup could result in access to the senior FAI/Free State Cup for the following season. The third tier on the organisational structure of the sport was the junior level. This was essentially the ground-level entry point for the plethora of clubs that emerged throughout the country during the inter-war period, and the majority of clubs participated in regional and local competitions within the construct of the junior game. 2. The Irish League, established in 1890, is the senior league competition under the auspices of the IFA in Belfast, and is the second oldest national league structure in the world behind the English Football League. The Irish Cup, established in 1881, is the annual knock-out competition held under the auspices of the IFA. The League of Ireland, established in 1921, is the senior league structure in the territory governed by the FAI. It was established by eight clubs from Dublin after the split between the IFA and the LFA, and was organised throughout the inter-war period with up to twelve teams competing at certain junctures. Between the years of 1923 and 1937 the League of Ireland was referred to as the Free State League. The FAI Cup, established in 1921, is the annual knock-out competition organised by the FAI. Like the League of Ireland, it came into existence after the split, and was referred to as the Free State Cup in the years between 1923 and 1937. iv 3. The Home Championship was a tournament that was played annually between the national associations that held membership of the International Association Football Board (IFAB), namely Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. 4. The International Football Association Football Board (IFAB), or International Board, was an administrative structure that oversaw the organisation of international football in the British Isles, and considered alterations to the rules of the sport. It consisted of two representatives from each of the four British associations (the Football Association of England, the Scottish Football Association, the Welsh Football Association and the Irish Football Association). The two remaining seats on the board were allocated to representatives of FIFA. 5. The Football Association of Ireland is referred to as the FAI within the text relating to the period between its formation in 1921 and 1923, at which point it becomes the FAIFS. The association is referred to as the FAIFS in discussion relating to the period between