Flares illuminate the night's sky, smoke fills the air, tifo flags sway from side to side down the front of the stand while songs of praise and hatred are belted out back and forth by the two opposing faithfuls.Since the founding of the League of Ireland's first Ultras groups at the turn of the century, this is the atmosphere that has become synonymous with the league's major derbies and crunch ties.
(SRFC Ultras in action on 'Dublin Derby' night V Bohemian's in 2008)
Its hard to pinpoint when exactly Ultra culture first came to Ireland's shores. Since the 1960s, home made banners and two sticks could be seen on big match days while ticker tape/till roll was frequently thrown onto the pitch by the more partizan supporters in the stands. Tifo polls and smaller Ultras style flags also made occasional appearances at League of Ireland grounds, most notably at Shamrock Rovers during the years the RDS was their temporary home. Pyrotechnics, mainly flares, also started to make sporadic appearances on Ireland's terraces during the 90's. However, most of this Ultra activity was done in a non-organised fashion by small numbers of individuals looking to add a more continental flavour to the atmosphere generated by their clubs fans. It was not till the formation of the SRFC Ultras of Shamrock Rovers in 2001 that Ultra culture in Ireland began to take off on a more active, organised and large scale basis.The SRFC Ultras made their debut in April 2001 at Rovers FAI Cup semi–final clash with cross city rivals Bohemians.That night the newly formed Ultras group lit up the Tramway End terrace occupied by the Hoops faithful with an impressive display consisting of large quantities of flares and till role.This display was the first real orga...
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...tmosphere , one in which flares,smoke etc. are central elements.Clearly the footballing authorities fail to recognise Ultra culture is a large part of the reason why many fans get hooked in the first place.
( Forza Rovers of Sligo Rovers at home to St Pats)
(St Patricks Athletic's Ultras group the 'Shed End Invincibles' before their Europa League tie with Zalgiris)
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(The SRFC Ultras remember deceased founding member Joe Merriman)
Ireland's Ultras groups continue to face ever increasing scrutiny and restrictions.However, its important they remain resilient and active if they are to continue bringing a colourful, partizan atmosphere to grounds around the country. With a young age profile and enthusiastic, dedicated members this should be more than possible for Ultras groups across the league.
The imaginative recreation of sport as play has become the world. There is not the slightest sign here of any other reality; even the existence of a creator external to the play-world may now only be inferred (Berman 219).
Not a unified and separate country until 1921, Northern Ireland has had cultural, financial, and economic that makes it stand affront from the rest of the Emerald Isles. With its close proximity to England and the immigration all through the 1600s of English and Scottish, Northern Ireland has become more anglicized th...
The Irish National Liberation Army was founded on the 8th December 1974 by the former member of the Irish Republican Army(IRA) Seamus Costello who left or was forced to leave the group as he strongly disagreed with the ceasefire called by the Irish Republican Army in 1972. The Irish National Liberation Army came under attack from the Irish Republican Army who wanted to destroy them because the Irish National Liberation Army goal was to remove Northern...
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republic revolutionary military organization. It came from the Irish volunteers, which were created on November 25, 1913. The Irish volunteers started the Easter Rising in order to end the British Rule in Ireland, leading them to be titled as the Irish Republican Army in January 1919. In 1919, the Irish volunteers became confirmed by Irish Nationalists, Dail Eireann and were recognised as a legitimate army. The IRA raged Guerilla warfare against the British from 1919-1921, creating the Irish War of Independence. The IRA was active from January 1919 to March, 1922, though they are inactive now. The IRA’s main leader was IRA army council. Their headquarters were in Dublin Ireland, but they also operate out the United Kingdom, throughout Ireland, and Northern Ireland. The IRA was funded by extortion, bank robberies, and donations from their descendants. The Irish Republican Army’s main goal was to become independent from Great Britain.
Walsh’s, Ford’s and Toibin’s works help influence the way Ireland is perceived nowadays. Despite what some people may think, Ireland and it’s people lives do not revolve around Pubs and alcohol. The country relies heavily on their culture and customs. Religion, music and food are three ways my family celebrates our Irish heritage. Those three parts of the Irish culture are only a small portion of what it means to be Irish.
At 2.40pm on Friday 21st July 1972, the first bomb planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) exploded outside Ulster Bank in Limestone Road, Belfast (BBC, undated). Over the next ninety minutes, 18 more bombs exploded around the city, whilst a further 2 were defused and 2 failed to detonate. In total, 9 people were killed, including 7 civilians, and 130 were injured in the attack that later became known as ‘Bloody Friday’ (BBC, undated). The PIRA were a republican paramilitary group that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland during a period known as The Troubles after the British Army was drafted in to help with rioting between nationalists and unionists in 1969. As nationalists, the PIRA believed that the ‘Six Counties’
What do you think of when you hear the name Ireland? Ireland is a relatively small island off the coast of Great Britain with a land area of 32,424 square miles (Delaney 2). There are several things that you may associate with this country such as St. Patrick’s Day, shamrocks, beer, and strife. The source of the bitterness behind this conflict began centuries ago, when Britain came over and forced Protestantism on the Irish Catholic inhabitants. For this reason there has always been an animosity between the Protestants and the Irish Catholics. The island is broken up into two distinct regions. The Republic of Ireland consists of twenty-six counties, which make up the southern region. This area is predominantly Roman Catholic. Northern Ireland is made up of the six northern counties, which are under British rule and predominately Protestant. Both sides use propaganda to spread their ideas and gain support. They each have organizations, such as the I.R.A., in the south, and the U.V.F., in the north, which use peaceful methods such as newspapers and murals along with violence to fight for their cause. In Northern Ireland the Protestants used their position in the government to spread anti-Catholic propaganda and persecute the Catholic citizens.
The Irish throughout time have been stereotyped as a very low-culture people. Many people have characterized the Irish as “fighters and drinkers,” (Krim & Early, 1995, p.31) which is not true, because many Irish who are normal working, non-drinking or non-fighting individuals. However, when the holiday called St. Patrick’s Day comes around, it is celebrated with drinking and eventually fighting. The reality is that no matter what bar you go into, you can find a drunk fighting about somet...
...will decide how much tribalism they wish to get involved in, even if it is simply wearing the jersey; or getting involved in heavy duty teasing with the rival fans of their favorite football team; or even if they simply decorated their own home with every piece of team collectables available for purchase. Whatever an individual does or decides to continue to do I remain convinced that it is actually the tribalism that is more important that the football and if that tribalism dies, than professional football becomes starved of its founding roots and dies. And that my friends, is the scariest thought of it all. Even though I am a strong supporter of tribalism in football, I do feel as that the extreme football hooliganism violence that takes place in the book “How Soccer Explains The World” is unnecessary and the violence does not need to happen along with tribalism.
Ireland in The Coming Times- Essays to Celebrate T.K. Whitaker’s 80 Years edited by F. O’ Muircheartaigh, IPA, Dublin, 1997.
Cheer was started in America at Princeton University in 1884 by men. The first cheer was put together to cheer on the varsity football team. The cheer went, “Rah, Rah, Ray! Tiger, Tiger, Sis, Sis, Sis! Boom, Boom, Boom! Aaaaah! Princeton, Princeton, Princeton!”, and soon the students on campus formed the "pep club" ( The Cheerleaders). Thomas Peebles, a graduate from Princeton, took the spirit of his pep club to Minnesota University in 1884 and formed a new club. For a rugby game, the pep club created "team yells" which the crowd started joining in on. Johnny Campbell picked up a megaphone and led the crowd in the uproar for the game, thus was the beginning of cheer. As cheer advanced, new skills were added to it such as choreography, tumbling, and stunting. Women were not permitted to be a part of pep clubs. This should not be a surprise; universities had only just started admitting female students at the time. A fight for the right to cheer was hardly supported by women because they lacked so many other right...
With each passing civilization and the era it’s [its] people lived in, one can find a great deal about the times by examining an area that is not often thought of. That area is in regards to sports. The ancient Mayans had arenas, the Greeks helped initiate the Olympics, and the Romans had bloody matches between gladiators in the Colosseum. These sports and games often reveal to us what was occurring outside the playing field and arenas, into the political arenas and clashes between the classes. Examining the history of rugby throughout Europe, particularly in Great Britain, allows one the opportunity to see how the changes throughout society’s values, norms, and principles are mirrored by the evolution of the game of rugby from the mid-nineteenth century up to World War I.
...nguage and art to interpret a better of understanding of Ireland’s symbols. The fourth section of the essay focused on the ethnicity/racial, weather, terrain, and military elements of the country. The last section gave insight to a few of the culture’s contributions to the world.
The importance of the Gaelic Athletic Association can be viewed in the impact it has had on Irish society in the 20th century. At a time when Irish morale was depleted and cultural identity was almost non-existent, the GAA helped restore both through the sports and programs it created. These sports brought the Irish together as a nation and helped improve the overall condition of Ireland. The nationalistic feelings that the GAA brought to Ireland became the driving force for the rebellions to come in the near future and the political culture was legitimized through GAA influence. Without a doubt the GAA has done more for Ireland than simply organizing sports, and have shaped the Irish nation that exists today.