The GAA and the War of Independence

by Tim Pat Coogan

The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) was founded in 1884 to promote Irish identity and revive the traditional sports of hurling, football and handball. After the turn of the century, the GAA became politicized, its club committees infiltrated by members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. As Ireland drifted close to civil war in 1914, the Irish Volunteers drilled with hurley sticks in the absence of guns. Many of those interned after the 1916 Rising were GAA members and the British banned Gaelic games after 1918. After independence, Gaelic games would play a central role in nationalist Ireland. Tim Pat Coogan charts the relationship between Gaelic sports and Ireland's national struggle in the period 1916-23: in so doing he writes another remarkable chapter in the many-stranded story of Ireland's ascent to nationhood.

Genres: Ireland, Nonfiction, History

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Timothy Patrick Coogan is an Irish historical writer, broadcaster and newspaper columnist. He served as editor of the Irish Press newspaper from 1968 to 1987. Today, he is best known for his popular and sometimes controversial books on aspects of modern Irish history, including The IRA, Ireland Since the Rising, On the Blanket, and biographies of Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera.

Reviews

[Odrán de Bhaldraithe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Paul Rouse should have written this book

[Differengenera · Rating 1 out of 5]

incoherent dross

[John Somers · Rating 4 out of 5]

16/20.

[Brian Keyes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Coogan wears his Nationalist and pro-Collins sympathies on his sleeve, so I won't fault him for that since it's what you should expect when you pick up one of his books. That being said, his clear lack of unfamiliarity with the existing material on the history of the GAA, and Irish sports at large, makes it difficult to read. In the first couple of chapters I could pick out numerous details which were either incorrect, not properly understood, or otherwise generally incoherent if you have knowledge of the source material. It made me far less trusting of the details presented in later chapters that I had less direct knowledge of. The almost complete lack of referencing other works or research in this, except the strange occasional shot at proper academics like Paul Rouse and Anne Dolan, also mean this book is adding very little to our greater understanding of the GAA and the revolutionary period in Ireland. A large amount of Coogan's "analysis" amounts to "well this follow was both in the GAA and the IRB" and leaves that as proof of the connection between the GAA's organization and the Irish revolutionary Republicans. Frequently, not a lot of work is done to show the links between the two besides they're large overlap in membership, when surely more rigorous research and analysis could have produced a much more worthwhile book. What's more, the last 80 pages or so aren't even about the revolutionary period, they're about The Troubles, and hardly seem to touch on the GAA at all.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. For a sport right on Britain’s doorstep it doesn’t appear well known and it’s easy to forget its pivotal role in Ireland’s early 20th Century politics. In the part explaining the sport’s role in the Troubles, it’s a very Irish/Catholic account rather than looking at it from a more neutral standing, but you can’t begrudge the author his roots and its impact from his perspective. Did enjoy this and as a fan of this period of Irish history it was very interesting.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished this on the day of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling final, which felt appropriate!

An interesting mix, really - some parts are just a history of how the GAA came to be, then there are whole chapters where the GAA isn't even mentioned, where history of the island is given for context. It does make it feel a bit weird at times, but I kind of view it like a (very) long form essay and admire the skill to bring the various strands together in a way that can be followed.

[Michael F Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and the perfect example how politics influences every moment of life. It's a true story of perseverance through brutality. The GAS lives in today despite the atrocities committed against it's members and clubs. Coogan tells the stories with passion and true love of the Irish people who made the GAA what it is. He also gives hope to a unified sand free Ireland.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable book detailing the GAA’s role in Irish society and primarily during the Irish war of independence. The book is full of interesting historical stories and facts of Ireland’s history. A nice read.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Far too many mistakes for my liking.

[Padraic Ó Broin · Rating 1 out of 5]

First half of the book was quite good and interesting I felt; when he actually talked about the build up to and War of Independence.

But the book then veered into a rant and commentary about the Troubles until returning to share a few stories about individuals (not the orgainisation itself) who played GAA and were part of the IRA during the WoI.

At one point I put it down and said to myself "This has gone way off topic", Coogan then in the next page says "I make no apology for the preamble.

If I wanted a book on the Troubles I'd have bought one. Coogan is exceptionally biased on it. I have a lot of sympathies for the nationalist side of Northern Ireland and have little like and less love for loyalism and what happened in the North was a disgrace and abhorrent. But if one was to go by Coogan, then the Nationalist and Republicans have never set a foot wrong.

It went, quite rapidly I think, from a decent book with some good insights to a golden-cleric-esque rant about the North.

A few pages talking about how the loyalist fans of NI were dead set on preventing the ROI qualifying for '94 and how hostile the atmosphere was. This again has little to do with the title of the book, it's far from the era and a different sport. Coogan gives little creedance to the fact that the IRA, Provisional or Real, were responsible for the deaths of innocence as well.

The War of Independence had a tiny part in it and most of that was him plugging his other books. " I wrote about this in greater detail in my book the 12 Apostles" "I have previously discussed the Easter Rising in my other book."

If you want a heavily biased view on the Troubles, this is the book for you. The book did not do enough in my opinion on living up to the title and discussing the GAAs involvement in the War of Independance.