Physical Education in Irish Schools, 1900-2000: A History

Dr Conor Curran (School of Education, Trinity College Dublin) has published extensively on the history of sport and society in Ireland. This is his fourth monograph and is the result of an Irish Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship he was awarded in 2017.

• Contents: The Development of Physical Drill in Primary Schools in Pre- partition Ireland – Physical Training in Pre-partition Ireland’s Second Level Schools – Reduction and Disorganisation: PE in Irish Free State Schools, 1922–1937 – False Dawns: PE in Independent Ireland, 1938–1953 – Towards a Specialised Training College: PE in Northern Ireland, 1922–1953 – A Slow Struggle for Recognition: PE in the Republic of Ireland, 1954–1965 – Towards the Troubles and Beyond: PE in Northern Ireland, 1954–1972 – A Temporary Transformation: PE in the Republic of Ireland, 1966– 1973 – A Difficult Period: PE in Northern Ireland, 1973–2000 – Struggling Along: PE in the Republic of Ireland’s Primary Schools, 1974–2000 – Unfulfilled Expectations: PE in Second Level Schools in the Republic of Ireland, 1974–2000.

«Though - for better or worse - a part of every child’s school experience, physical education has been marginalized in histories of education to date. This comprehensive and scholarly study places the subject at the interface of the state’s relationship with its citizens.»(Professor Dilwyn Porter, Emeritus Professor of Sports History and Culture, International Centre of Sports History and Culture, De Montfort University Leicester)«This comprehensive monograph makes a much needed contribution to the literature on the status of physical education within Irish schools throughout the twentieth century. Curran’s book fills a gap within the historiography of both Irish education and sports history and constitutes both a lucid introduction and an original and challenging advancement to the debate.»(Dr Kristian Naglo, Senior Researcher in Social Sciences at the German Sport University, Cologne, Germany)