Rugby In Munster

Product Description

This study is the first book-length academic treatment of rugby football in Irel&. Covering the period from the games origins in Ireland in the 1870s through to the onset of professional rugby in the twenty-first century this book seeks to examine Munster rugby within the context of broader social cultural & political trends in Irish society. As well as providing a thorough chronological survey of the games development key themes such as violence masculinity class & politics are subject to more detailed treatment. Since the turn of the twenty-first century rugby football in Munster has seen extraordinary growth in terms of popularity & cultural significance. The Munster rugby team in particular has become a hugely important provincial institution through which regional identity has been expressed on the international stage. This book will detail & analyse the games evolution in Munster from its origins in the 1870s through to the dawn of the professional era in the 2000s. Focusing mainly on the games two centres of popularity in Limerick & Cork cities this book will display how contrary to popular myth rugby football rarely expressed any kind of unitary coherent identity throughout the province. The game was centred on clubs & was highly adaptable to local conditions throughout its history. In addition the often fractious internal politics of the game within the province reflecting the games contrasting social development in Limerick & Cork will also be discussed. Drawing on the unpublished records of the games provincial & national administrative bodies & a comprehensive survey of the provincial press this book will show how one sport served multifarious roles in terms of class culture & politics in Munster.