Leisure and the Irish in the Nineteenth Century

It has often been argued that ‘modern’ leisure was born in the period from the mid-nineteenth century to the outbreak of World War One. Then, it has been suggested, that if leisure was not ‘invented’ its forms and meanings changed.Despite the recent expansion of the literature on Irish popular cultures – perhaps most strikingly sport – the conceptions, purposes, and practical manifestations of leisure among the Irish during this critical period have yet to receive the attention they deserve. Thi