New book on the development and growth of sport in Tipperary in the 19th century

On Wednesday 3rd October, a new book, entitled The growth and development of Sport in County Tipperary, 1840-1880 by Pat Bracken, will be launched by Prof. Mike Cronin, Academic Director, Boston College, Dublin, in the Source library, Thurles at 7pm.

​In his study of the development of sport in Co. Tipperary between 1840 and 1880, Pat looks at how the popularity of sport grew during this period, in what may be seen as a barometer county for the rest of the country.

While there have been similar studies for Co Westmeath by Tom Hunt and Co Donegal by Conor Curran, both published by Cork University Press, this is the first county study, which covers the famine period and in it, among other fascinating insights, Brackenchallenges the perception that hurling was in decline in Tipperary before the foundation of the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1884.

Using evidence from Petty Sessions court records he shows that further evidence for not only hurling, but ball playing in general, may be identified in these underused records. This is a key element in the understanding of the development of sport in Victorian Ireland. There is no denying that much sport went under-recorded and by using alternative sources a better picture of the growth and development of sport in Tipperary can be arrived at. This is something which Pat has achieved in this study.

However, this is only part of the story. Much of the way sport developed in Tipperary was very much influenced by the landed gentry and the military personnel that were to be found scattered throughout the county. Apart from time and money to finance sport, what these people also had, to make sport a success, was access to land. For without land and by extension, permission to use such lands, sport could not and would not succeed.

The country estate setting was instrumental in promoting and developing not only sporting networks, but also social networks. These networks underpinned much of Tipperary society. Today, the county is synonymous with horse racing and the way in which the sport of kings developed is laid out in great detail, from the low key race meeting to the marquee meetings outside Tipperary town and Cashel. One key figure looms large in the study of horse racing and hunting, Henry de la Poer Beresford, 3rd Marquis of Waterford. Lord Waterford was an important financier to both horse racing and hunting. His support of these sports in Tipperary was key to their initial success, especially in relation to the Tipperary Fox Hounds.

Pat has also compiled extensive tables and charts relating to the development of various sports. The extent of hunting in the county is beyond a scale previously recorded and it highlights the importance of hunting to many people countywide. While there was much fox hunting in the county during the nineteenth century, Bracken shows that in the years immediately preceding the Land Wars hunting to hounds was at its height in rural Tipperary.

This came at the end of a ten year period when sport was undergoing radical change in Ireland, with the emergence of new codified ball games, such as Association football, rugby and lawn tennis. Once more it was the military personnel who were instrumental in introducing association football and rugby, and by a process of emulation and inspiration sport took root and developed. With national bodies established to oversee the development of these sports the English influence on sport cannot be underestimated.

Much of what took place with sport in Britain was subsequently mirrored throughout Ireland and, by extension, Tipperary. The 1870s was the heyday period for the sport in Tipperary. But with no national body established to oversee its development in Ireland, its popularity waned and into the breach came the GAA.

Yet even prior to the foundation of the GAA there were shoots emerging which indicate that a parochial structure to football was starting to emerge in mid-Tipperary by the end of the 1880s. With a strong emphasis on sport emanating from Carrick-on-Suir, where the influence of the Davin brothers was strong, here too an organisational framework was also in place, something which would stand Maurice Davin in good stead as he helped shape the future direction of the GAA with Michael Cusack.

The role of women is not ignored either as their participation at lawn tennis, archery and fox-hunting demonstrates that sport was not a male preserve. It also demonstrates that there was a large scale of social and sporting networking present, indicating the extensive nature of sporting ties, which were greatly enhance by the development of the printed press and the railway network countywide.

Overall, Pat Bracken’s study of the growth and development of sport in County Tipperary, from 1840-1880, adds greatly to the existing knowledge of the relevance of sport to many people in Victorian Ireland. It shows that, in spite of the famine period, sport continued to be played. While many people died or emigrated, a desire to play sport remained strong and this shines through in this study of Tipperary. His books is published by Cork University Press and all are welcome to attend the launch.