Gaelic games and the Irish Diaspora in London

Abstract

The close geographical proximity of Ireland to mainland Britain has meant that the city of London has historically been the one of the primary destinations for the Irish diaspora. For more than 100 years, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and its sports have become one of the primary vehicles for the retention and expression of Irishness in London. Founded with the aim of preserving and cultivating Irish national pastimes on the island of Ireland, the GAA inevitably put down strong roots amongst Irish communities abroad, with London being no exception. The volume of research investigating Irish diasporic involvement in sport has increased gradually in recent years with much of the emphasis being placed on Gaelic games. Perhaps understandably, given the large scale of Irish migration to the United States during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, American cities have constituted the main focus of this small but growing body of research. This thesis redirects this scholarly lens eastwards and represents the first academic treatment of the history, development and role of Gaelic games for the Irish diaspora in the city of London.

With these observations in mind, the overall objective of this study is to uncover the historical, cultural and political significance of the GAA in London. More specifically, the study aims to uncover who the key actors behind the establishment of the GAA in London were and what internal and external factors have impacted on the Associations development and growth since 1896. Theoretically, this thesis seeks to understand how the GAA in London became an important conduit through which the Irish in London have been able to retain and articulate either benign or politicised versions of both their ethnicity and nationalism. To fully theorise this process and the Irish diaspora in London more generally, this study constructs a novel theoretical position which is built on the contention that there exist three tiers or levels of diasporic identity formation amongst the Irish émigré. This thesis subsequently reveals that the Association in London has a long and illustrious history and that the GAA has performed a number of crucial functions for Irish communities in the city. It has allowed migrants to preserve, sustain and build varying forms of Irishness which are informed by imagined notions and reinvented practices from Ireland. For many Irish migrants, an involvement in the GAA continues to represents an authentic manifestation of Irishness as well as their cultural, national and sporting distinctiveness in the multi cultural context of London.

Date of Award	May 2010
Original language	English
Supervisor	Paul Darby (Supervisor) & Eric Wallace (Supervisor)