The History of Physical Culture in Ireland

This book is the first to deal with physical culture in an Irish context, covering educational, martial and recreational histories. Deemed by many to be a precursor to the modern interest in health and gym cultures, physical culture was a late nineteenth and early twentieth century interest in personal health which spanned national and transnational histories. It encompassed gymnasiums, homes, classrooms, depots and military barracks. Prior to this work, physical culture’s emergence in Ireland has not received thorough academic attention. Addressing issues of gender, childhood, nationalism, and commerce, this book is unique within an Irish context in studying an Irish manifestation of a global phenomenon. Tracing four decades of Irish history, the work also examines the influence of foreign fitness entrepreneurs in Ireland and contrasts them with their Irish counterparts. Abstract Acknowledgements Contents Abbreviations List of Figures Chapter 1: Introduction Structure Chapter 2: Combating the ‘Evils of Civilisation’: Recreational Physical Culture in Pre-Independence Ireland ‘Physical Culture Is Applicable Right Through Life ...’: Why Did Physical Culture Come to Ireland? ‘The Object of Physical Culture Is to Bring the Body to the Highest State of Perfection ...’: Deconstructing Physical Culture in 1900s Ireland ‘The Number of Systems of Physical Culture Expanded Within Recent Years ...’: Physical Culture in Wartime Ireland Chapter 3: ‘With This Atmosphere of Unrest and Sinister Rumours...’: Military Physical Culture in Pre-Independence Ireland ‘The Object of Physical Training Is the Production of a State of Health ...’: Physical Training in Peaceful Times ‘I Was Always Keen on Physical Training ...’: Physical Culture and Home Rule ‘If You Broke Your Mothers’ Hearts, You Won’t Break Mine ...’: Physical Culture and the Great War ‘I Myself Was Much More Interested in Physical Culture and Athletics than in Politics...’: Physical Culture and Revolution, 1916–1923 Chapter 4: ‘The Production and Maintenance of Health in Body and Mind’: Educational Physical Culture in Pre-Independence Ireland ‘Souls of Fire in Iron Hearts’: Early Physical Education in Ireland ‘The Conditions of Modern Civilisation’: New Directions in Irish Education ‘Maintenance of Health in Mind and Body’: Physical Exercises for Schools ‘A Methodical Course of Physical Exercises Beneficially Affects Mental Alertness ...’: Physical Education in Wartime Chapter 5: ‘Physical Culture Is Good for Body and Soul’: Recreational Physical Culture in Interwar Ireland ‘That We Need Systematic Physical Training in Ireland Is Obvious to Anyone...’: A Nation Born? Physical Culture in 1920s Ireland ‘Physical Culture Is Worthy, One Feels, of More Attention...’: Rebuilding the Nation in 1930s Ireland ‘Movement Is Life’: The Women’s League in Ireland Chapter 6: ‘Embracing the Whole Gambit of Physical Exercise’: Interwar Military Physical Culture ‘Drill Is Not Peculiar to Military Forces’: Military Physical Culture in the 1920s ‘The Irish Nation Looks, and Not Unnaturally, to Its Trained Forces’: Policing in the 1920s ‘Physical Training Aims at the Acquirement of Perfect Health’: Military Training in the 1930s ‘Fundamentally Man Is a Creature of Fine Proportion ...’: Police Physical Culture in the 1930s Chapter 7: ‘In Ireland the Subject of Physical Training Had Perhaps, Been Neglected’: Interwar Physical Culture in Schools ‘A New and Awakened Interest in Educational Matters’: Physical Education in the 1920s ‘Physical Education Stumbles Along ...’: Physical Culture in the 1930s ‘Promoting the Revival of Physical Education’: State Intervention in the Late 1930s Chapter 8: Conclusion: ‘Physical Culture Is Nation’s Need’ Bibliography Primary Sources Printed Primary Sources Online Material Newspapers, Magazines and Periodicals. Secondary Sources Monographs Journal Articles and Book Chapters Unpublished Theses Index