The Garrison Game: State of Irish Football (Hardback)

In the beginning, association football in Ireland was known as the garrison game: the game played in those towns where British garrisons existed when the country was under foreign rule. To its critics, it was just a crude no-hands variation on the indigenous sport of Gaelic football. These days it consumes much of the country. This book traces the growth in interest from the day 12 years ago when Jack Charlton took over as manager of the then struggling Republic of Ireland international team to the present, a time when there are more Irish professionals playing in Britain than ever before. From Roy Keane of Manchester United to John Donegan of Forfar Athletic, it examines the relationship between Ireland and the British game.