Tag: Conor Curran

In his new book Blue Chippers from the Emerald Isle: A history of Irish footballers and scholarships in the USA in the twentieth century (Peter Lang Publishing), Conor Curran focuses on how players were recruited, their playing and educational experiences of the soccer scholarships, and the extent to which their scholarships facilitated their employment in professional football and in work related to their degrees after leaving university. Our reviewer Hans Bolling would have liked to see the study situated within a wider educational and career history framework.

Histories of Women’s Football in Britain and Ireland, edited by Fiona Skillen, Helena Byrne and Gary James (Peter Lang Publishing) brings together a range of researchers to explore the growth and development of the women’s game in Britain and Ireland. Hans Bolling has read a book that sheds new light on a phenomenon for which interest has increased significantly during the 21st century and also highlights forgotten and/or ignored pioneers. Reading the book from cover to cover it may seem repetitive, but that also means that each chapter can be read on its own.

This special issue of Soccer & Society is edited by independent historian Conor Curran and takes a pan-European approach in examining the game’s role within schools in seven European nations from the late 1800s until the early twenty-first century, including the homes to the ‘Big Five’ European leagues – England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France. The Forum Editor’s pick from the current issue: Introduction: soccer’s growth and development in schools in Europe: a history by Conor Curran (open access).

Conor Murray’s Rugby, Soccer and Irish Society: 1921-1990 (Routledge) is an all-island history of rugby union and association football, two of the three most popular male sporting pastimes in Ireland, across the seven decades that followed the political partition of that country between 1920 and 1922. Our knowledgeable reviewer Conor Curran wonders about the time frame – why not end in 1998? – and a couple of lacunae in the bibliography, but is generally appreciative of Murray’s effort.

Sport in History encourages the study of sport to illuminate broader historical issues and debates. Includes an extensive reviews section, an annual compendium of sports-related accessions to British archives and a 'Sport in Public History' section. The Forum Editor’s pick from the current issue: Women coaches, professionalisation, and national governing body mergers in England, 1989–2000 by Rafaelle Nicholson (open access).

Soccer, a.k.a (association) football is the most popular mass spectator sport in the world. Soccer & Society is the first international journal devoted to the game of soccer, and aims to focus on the game in the context of a more global world. The Forum Editor’s pick from the current issue: Beyond ‘good’ and ‘bad’ fans: exploring the mechanisms enabling football fans’ position as a stakeholder in the management of circulations by Jan Andre Lee Ludvigsen (open access).

Sport in History encourages the study of sport to illuminate broader historical issues and debates. Includes an extensive reviews section, an annual compendium of sports-related accessions to British archives and a 'Sport in Public History' section. The Forum Editor’s pick from the current issue: Personal reflections on the genesis, early history and activities of the British Society of Sports History by Richard Cox (open access).

Daphné Bolz’ and Michael Krüger’s edited and profusely illustrated collection A History of Sport in Europe in 100 Objects (Arete Verlag) is the first attempt to create a kaleidoscopic history of European sport through its rich material culture. In his thorough, knowledgeable and cogent assessment of the book, our reviewer Conor Curran is highly appreciative of the editors’ huge achievement while still pointing out several omissions, often related to the dark sides of sport – violence, drugs, corruption, etc.

Conor Curran’s Soccer and Society in Dublin: A History of Association Football in Ireland’s Capital (Four Courts Press) is the first full-length assessment of the history of soccer in Dublin and the game’s role within society in the city. Sports (and not least football) historian Hans Bolling read the book at our behest, and he found too much empirical detail about soccer at the expense of society, while also recognizing the value of the empirical material in the book for future studies of Irish football and of the development of football in other European capitals.

Soccer, a.k.a (association) football is the most popular mass spectator sport in the world. Soccer & Society is the first international journal devoted to the game of soccer, and aims to focus on the game in the context of a more global world. The Forum Editor’s pick from the current issue: Merseyside football and the slave trade by David Kennedy.