Richard McElligott
I graduated with a a PhD in modern Irish history from University College Dublin (UCD) in 2012. My PhD research concentrated on the political, social and cultural impact of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) on wider Irish society between 1884 and 1924.
I am currently working as a historical researcher for the Irish Government.
I was appointed one of the expert curators for RTÉ’s National Treasures project in 2017 and appeared, each week, on the major four-part RTÉ One television programme which aired in April 2018.
Between January 2012 and May 2015, I worked as an Occasional Lecturer and Teaching Assistant with the School of History lecturing courses on Anglo-Irish relations, 1798-1998 and 19th & 20th Century Irish history.
I currently coordinate the UCD Access Learning Centre's Modern Irish History Programme. In addition, I teach several courses for UCD's Lifelong Learning Centre, including 'The Irish Revoultion, 1912-1924', ‘Uncovering 1916’ and 'The Irish War of Independence' which have been run in conjunction with the National Library of Ireland.
My first book, Forging a Kingdom: The GAA in Kerry, 1884-1934, was published in October 2013 by the Collins Press. It was nominated as one of the Irish Times' Sports Books of the Year.
Since then my research on the impact of the GAA, and sport generally, on Irish society, particularly during the Gaelic Revival and the Irish Revolutionary period, has been published in several books and in a number of prestigious, internationally-recognised, peer-reviewed journals including, Eire/Ireland, Irish Economic and Social History and Sport in Society.
I have expanded this research to look at both associational culture, sport and childhood and the political radicalisation of cultural and social movements both before and during the Irish revolutionary period.
My main research interests are Modern Irish History, Irish Sports History, Irish Political, Social, Cultural and Leisure History, History of the Irish Revolutionary Era, Associational Culture, History of Irish Childhood, History of Morality, Sexuality, Gender and the Family, Irish Church/State Relations, History of Irish State Institutions, Irish Studies, Military History, Napoleonic history, Modern European History
I am a regular contributor to the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Irish Examiner, the Kerry's Eye and Ireland's Own. I have written articles for the Irish Times’ ongoing ‘Century: The Years That Shaped Modern Ireland’ supplements and between September 2015 and March 2016, I was a lead contributor to the UCD/Irish Independent’s ten-part ‘1916 Collection’ of collaborative supplements. During the Easter Rising centenary celebrations I was a special contributor and analyst for the Irish Independent, providing historical context to the commemoration.
In February 2017, I was awarded the prestigious McNamee Award in Irish journalism for my ‘Sport and Revolution: The GAA and the 1916 Rising’ supplement which was produced by the Kerry’s Eye newspaper.
I am the former Chairman of the Sports History Ireland Society, which was set up to organise conferences on the history of sport and encourages academic and popular study of the subject in Ireland.
Supervisors: Dr Paul Rouse
Address: twitter @richardmcell
I am currently working as a historical researcher for the Irish Government.
I was appointed one of the expert curators for RTÉ’s National Treasures project in 2017 and appeared, each week, on the major four-part RTÉ One television programme which aired in April 2018.
Between January 2012 and May 2015, I worked as an Occasional Lecturer and Teaching Assistant with the School of History lecturing courses on Anglo-Irish relations, 1798-1998 and 19th & 20th Century Irish history.
I currently coordinate the UCD Access Learning Centre's Modern Irish History Programme. In addition, I teach several courses for UCD's Lifelong Learning Centre, including 'The Irish Revoultion, 1912-1924', ‘Uncovering 1916’ and 'The Irish War of Independence' which have been run in conjunction with the National Library of Ireland.
My first book, Forging a Kingdom: The GAA in Kerry, 1884-1934, was published in October 2013 by the Collins Press. It was nominated as one of the Irish Times' Sports Books of the Year.
Since then my research on the impact of the GAA, and sport generally, on Irish society, particularly during the Gaelic Revival and the Irish Revolutionary period, has been published in several books and in a number of prestigious, internationally-recognised, peer-reviewed journals including, Eire/Ireland, Irish Economic and Social History and Sport in Society.
I have expanded this research to look at both associational culture, sport and childhood and the political radicalisation of cultural and social movements both before and during the Irish revolutionary period.
My main research interests are Modern Irish History, Irish Sports History, Irish Political, Social, Cultural and Leisure History, History of the Irish Revolutionary Era, Associational Culture, History of Irish Childhood, History of Morality, Sexuality, Gender and the Family, Irish Church/State Relations, History of Irish State Institutions, Irish Studies, Military History, Napoleonic history, Modern European History
I am a regular contributor to the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Irish Examiner, the Kerry's Eye and Ireland's Own. I have written articles for the Irish Times’ ongoing ‘Century: The Years That Shaped Modern Ireland’ supplements and between September 2015 and March 2016, I was a lead contributor to the UCD/Irish Independent’s ten-part ‘1916 Collection’ of collaborative supplements. During the Easter Rising centenary celebrations I was a special contributor and analyst for the Irish Independent, providing historical context to the commemoration.
In February 2017, I was awarded the prestigious McNamee Award in Irish journalism for my ‘Sport and Revolution: The GAA and the 1916 Rising’ supplement which was produced by the Kerry’s Eye newspaper.
I am the former Chairman of the Sports History Ireland Society, which was set up to organise conferences on the history of sport and encourages academic and popular study of the subject in Ireland.
Supervisors: Dr Paul Rouse
Address: twitter @richardmcell
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The evolution of the unique Kerry football tradition and how the rise of Kerry as a footballing power was fundamental to the GAA’s national sustainability and success are highlighted. Yet, conversely, the failure to establish a hurling on anything like an equal footing in the county is also examined. The membership of the Kerry GAA, their social and political backgrounds, and the formation of the county's clubs and their rivalries are investigated. Likewise, the Association's links with cultural and revolutionary movements – the Gaelic League, the Catholic Church, the IRB and Sinn Féin – are explored. The role of the GAA, both nationally and locally, in events such as the 1916 Rising, the War of Independence, and Civil War, and the effects of political violence on the organisation are outlined. After the Civil War a senior Kerry side emerged politically divided yet united by the sport they loved, the symbol Irish society craved in its search for unity. Yet their story is not as simple as it has previously been told, and Kerry remained a political hotbed for Republicanism which continually manifested itself among the hierarchy of the GAA there in the years up until 1934 and beyond.
Despite this, by 1934 Kerry’s unique tradition within the Association had been forged. This is an absorbing insight into the multifaceted world of the GAA since it origins in pre-independence Ireland.
Published Articles
Conference Papers
The evolution of the unique Kerry football tradition and how the rise of Kerry as a footballing power was fundamental to the GAA’s national sustainability and success are highlighted. Yet, conversely, the failure to establish a hurling on anything like an equal footing in the county is also examined. The membership of the Kerry GAA, their social and political backgrounds, and the formation of the county's clubs and their rivalries are investigated. Likewise, the Association's links with cultural and revolutionary movements – the Gaelic League, the Catholic Church, the IRB and Sinn Féin – are explored. The role of the GAA, both nationally and locally, in events such as the 1916 Rising, the War of Independence, and Civil War, and the effects of political violence on the organisation are outlined. After the Civil War a senior Kerry side emerged politically divided yet united by the sport they loved, the symbol Irish society craved in its search for unity. Yet their story is not as simple as it has previously been told, and Kerry remained a political hotbed for Republicanism which continually manifested itself among the hierarchy of the GAA there in the years up until 1934 and beyond.
Despite this, by 1934 Kerry’s unique tradition within the Association had been forged. This is an absorbing insight into the multifaceted world of the GAA since it origins in pre-independence Ireland.