From its earliest days, Association Football was seen not just asa contest between individuals and teams, but also betweennations and peoples. The Irish national team was among the first inthe world to participate in international competition in the early1880s, but not everyone accepted it as a truly national entity. Sportin Ireland was disputed ground in a manner that was not the caseelsewhere – even the term ‘ football’ itself was a contested one.But soccer followers generally found no contradiction between theirsporting and national loyalties, and the game found an importantniche in Irish life, supported by many leading nationalists, from JamesConnolly to John Hume.This book provides a unique window into the history of Ireland andBritain, with keen insights into the making of national, regional,sectarian, class and gender identities that crystallised around Irishsoccer. Taking the story from the 1870s up to the present, it examinesthe domestic as well the international game in Ireland, North andSouth, and sets both in a richly detailed historical and cultural context.