Sport in the Making of Celtic Culture

"This is the first book to draw together leading sociological and historical writers in a thorough examination of sport's role within the 'Celtic Nations'. It explores the place, passion and meaning of rugby in Wales, of shinty in Scotland and of football in Brittany. It offers an explanation of the links between civic and ethnic nationalism in Irish sport, the role of the Gaelic Athletic Association in both Ireland and Scotland, and a critical evaluation of the part played by sport in political nationalism in France. It explains why so many of the peripheral borderlands of Europe, struggling for elements of autonomy, tend to be passionate about national and regional forms of sport." --Book Jacket.