Sands McSwineys GFC, Coatbridge

The Gaelic Athletic Association and Irishness in Scotland: History, Ethnicity, Politics, Culture & Identity

Joseph M Bradley

Argyll Publishing, available 1^st June 2007, £12.99

Until recently, apart from the valued works of the late Brother Handley, there was little or no writing or research within Scottish academic, educational or journalistic circles with regards Irish migrants in Scotland, since the 19^th century historically the country’s largest ethnic community.  In the 1980s and 1990s studies by Professor Tom Gallagher, Professor Tom Devine, Dr Martin Mitchell and Dr John McCaffrey among others, broke this silence.  Since the 1990s, novels, short stories and plays by Des Dillon and Andrew O’Hagan, as well as commentary by composer James MacMillan and others, has added to our understanding of the story of the Irish diaspora in Scotland. 

Since the mid-1990s foremost amongst the researchers and writers who have contributed to an enhanced knowledge and understanding of the Irish experience in Scotland has been Dr Joseph M Bradley.  A lecturer at the University of Stirling, his noteworthy works have encompassed sociological, historical, religious, cultural and political based research and writings.  His contributions to academia and the media have extended to sport, with a particular focus on the jewel in the sporting crown of the Irish diaspora, Scottish institution and Irish football club, Celtic FC. 

In his latest book, Bradley focuses on aspects of the story of the Irish in Scotland as seen through a number of cultural, social and political manifestations.   This is achieved primarily through surveying the history of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Scotland.  The G.A.A. is the biggest and most significant cultural and sporting body in Ireland.  It has also been important wherever the Irish have settled in significant numbers and has been present in Scotland since the Irish in the east end of Glasgow founded the Red Hugh O'Neill Gaelic Athletic Club in 1897.   Dr Bradley’s research charts the highs and lows of the G.A.A. in Scotland, notes many of the important figures to Gaelic sport in Ireland and Scotland and reflects on the cultural and social importance of sport, specifically Celtic FC and the G.A.A, to the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th generation Irish in Scotland. 

By looking at the G.A.A. and situating it within the larger story of the Irish in Scotland, Bradley adds to our knowledge and understanding of this community; a community that comprises Scotland’s greatest single group of immigrant descent; a community that in the new millennium partly reflects Scotland’s status as a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society. 

Available at all good bookstores from June 1^st 2007

Also visit http://www.argyllpublishing.com/