A History of Rugby in Leinster

Description

Leinster – one of the most successful and influential Irish sporting teams of all time.

Established in 1879, they boast a dazzling roster of players, past and present, including Brian O’Driscoll, Johnny Sexton, Jamie Heaslip, and current captain James Ryan.

But there is so much more to rugby in Leinster, and, for the first time, this book compiles its rich history, from its foundation, through the amateur years, to the club’s many spectacular championships in the twenty-first century, when the national love for rugby kicked up a gear.

Doolin ruminates on the sport’s relationships with politics and class, and of course celebrates all the breathless victories enjoyed by Leinster teams at every level.

And success doesn’t stop with silverware; since the nineteenth century Leinster Rugby has been influencing the spheres of education, business and politics throughout the province and the country as a whole. Nothing reflects the complexities of politics and identity in Ireland more than rugby.

A History of Rugby in Leinster is a vibrant celebration of sporting greatness and of Leinster’s enduring commitment to teamwork, integrity and community.

Praise for A History of Rugby in Leinster

‘Doolin’s book is a particular treat, since it gives equal weight and attention to rugby in the province beyond its traditional south Dublin hinterland.’  – Malachy Clerkin, The Irish Times

Contents
Introduction
1. Rugby Comes to Ireland
2. Leinster Rugby and the Centrality of the Schools
3. Steady Progress: Leinster Rugby, 1880–1900
4. Leinster Rugby in Turbulent Times, 1900-1925
5. Leinster Rugby and Irish Revolution
6. An Inter-war Rugby Surge
7. World War Two, the Irish Republic, and Leinster Rugby: 1939–69
8. Rugby’s Progress and the Coaching Boom
9. Leinster Rugby, New Foundations
10. Building Broader, Widening Rugby’s Base
11. The Re-invention of Leinster Rugby, 1995–2005
12. Creating Club Leinster
13. Consolidating a Professional Leinster Rugby FC
14. Leinster Conquering Europe
Epilogue

About the Author
Dr David Doolin is currently lecturer above the bar in transdisciplinary learning at the University of Galway. David has a diverse and eclectic research and teaching record, where he has explored the history of Irish America, Revolutionary Technologies, Sports History, Public History and Intercultural Encounters. His first book, Transnational Revolutionaries: The Fenian Invasion of Canada, 1866, was published in 2016.