The Irish Soccer Split - by Cormac Moore (Hardcover)

About the Book

This history of the Soccer associations in Ireland looks at how the political landscape of a dividing nation shaped the sport.

Book Synopsis

A look at the 1921 split of soccer in Ireland between North and South, through primary sources from the Irish Football Association, Football Association of Ireland (FAI), the English Football Association, and the Leinster Football Association as well as contemporary newspaper sources. It details the events and causes that led to the split and compares soccer to other sports that remained or became united after the island's partition. It recounts the early years of the FAI and its attempts to gain international recognition. Many efforts were made to heal the division throughout the years. Some came very close, all ultimately failed, leaving soccer in Ireland today, as it is politically, divided North and South.

Review Quotes

The Irish Soccer Split is a brilliant examination and treatise on the origins and development of soccer on the island of Ireland. It is is highly recommend as a fascinating read and a wonderful reference point that deserves a place on the book shelves of all lovers of football.-- "Soccer Ireland"

Cormac Moore's The Irish Soccer Split is the definitive historical account of the beautiful game in Ireland and Northern Ireland. It literally has no equal when it comes to the Irish game. It is well-written in every regard and the author clearly knows his stuff. Moore was at his best in the conclusion where he talked about how the split was "neither inevitable nor unnecessary," showing how there is always a glimmer hope for compromise or even a settlement.-- "International Soccer Network"

[...] certainly well worth a read for anyone with an interest in the history of sport in Ireland or indeed the history of Ireland.-- "Meath Chronicle"

A brilliant history book.--Damien O'Meara "RTE 2FM's Game On"

Cormac Moore is [...] to be commended for unearthing a huge amount of evidence dating back to the years immediately before and after the emergence of two governing bodies for association football in Ireland and for providing new insights into the reasons which lay behind this development. This book allows readers to consider, with far greater information to hand than was previously available, whether 'the split' [...] was primarily caused by politics or status rivalries within the game or a combination of the two. Moore tells the story, in remarkable detail [...] I salute the author for producing such an authoritative piece of work. Thirty-seven pages of endnotes, the use of countless sources, both primary and secondary, and three informative appendices tell their own story.--Alan Bairner "Sport in Society"

Moore is one of an astonishing number of what might be called brat-pack historians in Ireland at present who, thankfully, concentrate on society and pastimes [...] It can truly be said that there are a disproportionate number of sporting historians per head in Ireland, but readers are blessed by their work ethic and writing, and the willingness of Cork University Press to produce such works [...] As a history book, at first glance this can appear like a bit of a breeze, with its large typeface and totalling a mere 235 pages. However, Moore understands the key elements of what this new generation of historical writers seem to have nailed; that stories and anecdotes are the best means of communication. Relate to the reader and the reader begins a relationship with the book [...] the insights in this book will delight you [...] As a counterpoint to the tired, hackneyed genre of the sports autobiography, this is a worthwhile venture. We wave our scarves and throw flat caps up in the air as applause for the author.--Declan Bogue "Belfast Telegraph"

Moore's eye for detail enlivens the narrative, whether it's Winston Churchill addressing a Home Rule rally in Belfast in 1912, to the outrage of unionists; or the Northern Ireland team that reached the quarter-finals of the 1958 World Cup in Sweden being met in Malmo by a bus flying the tricolour. Moore is even-handed in his judgement.--Enda McEvoy "The Sunday Times"

Sporting buffs wondering why our small island has two soccer teams in the Euros next summer will learn a great deal from this excellent book. It details the sectarianism and regional tensions which led to the split; the FAI's quest for international recognition and the sporting politics that ensure this rift never healed.--Dermot Bolger "Irish Mail on Sunday"