Brian Kerr and Niall Quinn help Ardara author Dr Conor Curran launch book

Former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr was on hand to launch a book penned by an Ardara author in Dublin this week.

Dr Conor Curran’s ‘Soccer and Society in Dublin: A History of Association Football in Ireland’s Capital’ is the first full-length assessment of the history of soccer in Dublin and the game’s role within society in the city.

Conor Curran is an adjunct lecturer in the School of Education, TCD, who has published extensively on the history of sport and society. His book is the first full-length assessment of the history of soccer in Dublin and the game’s role within society in the city.


Dr Conor Curran and Joanne Curran at the launch in Dublin

It examines the sport’s growth there from the late 1800s to the early twenty-first century. It discusses its belated initial development while exploring the origins of clubs, competitions and venues. It also assesses the growth of underage structures and discusses the significance of links with Britain and further afield. As well as tracing the movement of players at home and abroad, it highlights the tensions between organisers of soccer and other sporting codes in Dublin.

The book can be purchased from Four Courts Press here

From interviews with players, managers and supporters, as well as drawing on archival material, it also looks at the importance of soccer within the lives of Dublin’s residents. In doing so, it sets the game’s history there within the context of other parts of Ireland and within wider developments in international cities.

There was a huge crowd in attendance to celebrate the launch, which included former Ireland international Niall Quinn and his wife Gillian, Labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin and a host of current and former League of Ireland footballing legends, on Wednesday at Hodges Figgis Bookshop in Dublin.