14 September 2016: ‘Atlas of the Irish revolution’ lecture: ‘Players or patriots? The Gaelic Athletics Association and the 1916 Rising’, National Library of Ireland, Kildare St, Dublin 2
On Wednesday 14 September 2016 the National Library of Ireland hosted the first in a series of lectures based on the forthcoming Atlas of the Irish Revolution.
Dr Richard McElligott (UCD) spoke on ‘Players or Patriots? The Gaelic Athletic Association and the 1916 Rising’. On the eve of the Rising, the GAA was one of the largest nationalist organisations in Ireland. Though a sporting body, the Association was always deeply politicised, no more so in the years surrounding 1916. This lecture discussed the GAA’s growing relationship with militant nationalism in the months and years before the Rising. It also illustrated the notable contribution of GAA figures in the rebellion itself and the dramatic consequences of this for the GAA nationally in the years which followed.
From Century Ireland: The GAA and the Irish Revolution.