Póg Mo Goal, the independent Irish football magazine and website, continues to go from strength to strength. To date, they have released three beautifully designed magazines, covering everything from “the Curse of the Square Crossbar” to the historic tensions between the GAA and association football. I’ve contributed a few features, including a profile of Easter Rising rebel and FAI President Oscar Traynor, and some of my favourite articles on the site have examined things as diverse as Martin McGuinness and his support for Manchester United, Con Houlihan’s relationship with Saint Patrick’s Athletic and the passion of Prague derby days.
I have an article on the website today that may appeal to readers of this blog, examining the history of women’s football in Ireland. Of course, the central influence for writing this was the recent controversies around the women’s international side. The piece looks at the rise of women’s football in Britain against the backdrop of World War One and how this impacted on Ireland too. It runs right through to what many would argue were the glory days of women’s football here, the 1970s, when Inchicore local Anne O’Brien made it to the European stage, playing for French club Stade de Rheims and Italian giants Lazio. Anne told one journalist in Dublin Airport before departure that she’d been informed “the only alcohol we are allowed is locally-sourced champagne.” At home, clubs like the wonderfully named Suffragettes FC of Finglas thrived, and the future looked good.
The piece is available to read here.
Anne O’Brien (right) lines up for Lazio (Image Credit: LazioWiki)
