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Sport, Politics and Catholics in Northern Ireland

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The Contested Identities of Ulster Catholics

Abstract

Hassan and Murray suggest that many of Northern Ireland’s unresolved issues are not solely political in nature but in fact have more to do with cultural identity and expression, when settling upon an agreed narrative concerning the country’s divided past and it’s telling in a public forum. A range of agencies has attempted to play their role, many again operating outside established political structures, focussing instead on expressions of identity promoted through sports. For the Catholic community, these are viewed as entirely legitimate forms of cultural expression, even if they carry added significance within such a divided society (where they constitute both a form of political allegiance by proxy and an important aspect of community expression for many, including those who feel disenfranchised from wider society).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Special Olympics Regional Research Centre, Ulster, Ireland

    David Hassan

  2. Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

    Conor Murray

Authors
  1. David Hassan
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  2. Conor Murray
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Conor Murray .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Applied Social Studies, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Thomas Paul Burgess

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Hassan, D., Murray, C. (2018). Sport, Politics and Catholics in Northern Ireland. In: Burgess, T. (eds) The Contested Identities of Ulster Catholics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78804-3_9

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