Physical Education in Irish Schools, 1900-2000: A History

This book is the first major examination of the history of physical education in Irish primary and second level schools in the twentieth century. Set within the context of major international developments in the subject, it examines its state in these schools prior to the partition of Ireland in 1921. It assesses the reasons why physical drill’s status was reduced in the Irish Free State’s primary schools in the mid-1920s and accounts for the failure to fully implement the Sokol system in the following decade. Despite the efforts of a number of educationalists and those in the media to draw attention to the subject’s neglect, it was not until the late 1960s that concrete action was taken to provide compulsory physical education in what had become the Republic of Ireland. However, following the foundation of the National College of Physical Education in 1973, problems remained, with the country’s schools still lagging behind those in many other European nations in terms of curricular time given to the subject by the late 1990s. In Northern Ireland, treatment of physical education was more closely aligned to developments in other parts of the United Kingdom, but progress was also slow in many schools.

This book is the first major examination of the history of physical education in Irish primary and second level schools in the twentieth century. Set within the context of major international developments in the subject, it examines its state in these schools prior to the partition of Ireland in 1921. It assesses the reasons why physical drill’s status was reduced in the Irish Free State’s primary schools in the mid-1920s and accounts for the failure to fully implement the Sokol system in the following decade. Despite the efforts of a number of educationalists and those in the media to draw attention to the subject’s neglect, it was not until the late 1960s that concrete action was taken to provide compulsory physical education in what had become the Republic of Ireland. However, following the foundation of the National College of Physical Education in 1973, problems remained, with the country’s schools still lagging behind those in many other European nations in terms of curricular time given to the subject by the late 1990s. In Northern Ireland, treatment of physical education was more closely aligned to developments in other parts of the United Kingdom, but progress was also slow in many schools.