Blood & thunder

• Verfasst von: O'Callaghan, Liam [VerfasserIn]
• Titel: Blood & thunder
• Titelzusatz: Rugby abd Irish life: a history
• Verf.angabe: Liam O'Callaghan
• Ausgabe: Erstausgabe
• Verlagsort: London
• Verlag: Penguin Books
• Jahr: 2024
• Umfang: 304 Seiten
• Illustrationen: Ilustrationen
• Fussnoten: Literaturverzeichnis: Seiten 241-[249]
• ISBN: 978-1-84488-661-6
• Sprache: eng
• K10plus-PPN: 1909289736

Abstract

Iiam O'Callaghan's revelatory Blood and Thunder shows that the rise of Irish rugby is inextricable from the tensions, debates and divisions - of politics, religion and class - that have defined modern Irish history.Despite the political partition of the island, Ireland competes at rugby internationally with an all-island team - and with a bespoke anthem that nobody loves but everyone tolerates. Ireland has become a leading rugby nation despite its tiny population and the fact that the sport is only the fourth most popular team game on the island by participation.In Blood and Thunder, O´Callaghan traces the dramatic evolution whereby a rugby nation that was deeply attached to amateurism has made such a dramatic success of professionalism. From the sequence of events that led Ireland's private Catholic secondary schools to embrace rugby, to the controversies and crises that have shaken Irish rugby - including the Northern Troubles, the Belfast rape trial, and the rising toll of head injuries - Blood and Thunder tells the rich and fascinating story of Irish rugby.Blood and Thunder is more than a social and political history of Irish rugby. It is also a shadow-history of modern Ireland, rooted in brilliant original research and packed with terrific stories.