Irish Sporting Lives

by  Turlough O'RiordanTerry Clavin

€ 19.95

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Book Details

Published by Royal Irish Academy

November 2022

Paperback

Number of pages: 416

ISBN: 9781911479857

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Out now!

Serial winners and glorious losers, heroes and villains, trailblazing women, role models and rogues, all are here; so too are audacious sporting founders, enduring legends and forgotten or overlooked greats. Through a selection of sixty lives from the Dictionary of Irish Biography, this book celebrates the diversity of Irish sporting history. 

The Dictionary of Irish Biography is a project of the Royal Irish Academy. It tells the island’s life story through the biographies, at home and overseas, of prominent men and women born in Ireland, north and south, and the noteworthy Irish careers of those born outside Ireland. The online edition of the Dictionary of Irish Biography now features nearly 11,000 lives and continues to grow.  dib.ie

You can buy the eBook here.

Take a look at editors Terry Clavin and Turlough O'Riordan presenting a selection of the lives included in the book at the Royal Irish Academy Research Day 2022.  

In the press:

'A joy...the lesser told stories are a treat'

The Irish Times, Mary Hannigan, 10 November 2022: Irish Sporting Lives filling the void with vital history of sportswomen From a Nazi-supporting racer to Ireland’s greatest woman golfer, stories of intriguing and diverse cast of characters make for a joyful read.. 

Newstalk, 8 January 2023: Take a listen to an interview with the editors and contributor Helena Byrne on Patrick Geoghegan's Talking History podcast

IMAGE magazine - read an extract and meet the editors in 'Author's Bookshelf' 

Books Ireland - interview with Terry Clavin and Turlough O'Riordan - Forgotten heroes, unforgettable failures, the tragic, talented lives cut short – would they feel disappointed to be lost to the archives or do they think they expected to end up there at all?

Croke Park GAA Museum Book Club - Book of the month - Interview with Terry Clavin and Turlough O'Riordan

RTÉ series of featured sporting lives:

How one woman changed the Irish equestrian world forever - Iris Kellet 

From the Wimbledon finals to Devil's Island: the Irish tennis player who was convicted of murder - Vere Goold

Very readable. It has managed to achieve the difficult balancing act of keeping the profiles comparatively short but still providing sufficient detail to give a true picture of the featured personalities – without being top heavy with detail.

The Offaly Express, Kevin Corrigan, 15 November 2022: The man behind the wire: Offaly historians played key role in excellent new biography of Irish sporting lives

Trailblazing women feature prominently, and their stories highlight the adversity they had to overcome in pursuing their sporting ambitions.

The Irish Post, Grainne Conroy, 4 November 2022: Ireland's sporting heroes - plus the odd villain...

Two pioneering Louth sportswomen are featured in a new book on Irish sporting greats. 

Drogheda Independent, Alison Comyn, 21 October 2022: Louth sportswomen feature in new book on Irish sporting greats

The Connaught Telegraph, 17 October 2022: Mayo Olympian features in new book on Irish sport

The Leinster Leader, Daragh Nolan, 17 October 2022: Kildare's Jack Dempsey and Dan Donnelly feature in new book on Irish in sport

The Kerryman, Paul Brennan, 17 October 2022: Kerry men Dick Fitzgerald and Moss Keane feature in new book on Irish sporting lives

Tipperary Live, 6 December 2022: Tipperary’s John Doyle, Vincent O’Brien and Pat O’Callaghan feature in new book on Irish sport