Columns - Irish Examiner

Paul Rouse

Paul Rouse is an historian, author, broadcaster… and former Offaly football boss. He specialises in sport and Irish culture.

Charting the development of modern Irish athletics

The weekly fun and games that flows from RTÉ’s Ireland’s Greatest Sporting Moment programme is a timely reminder of the importance of athletics in Irish sporting history. 

Fri, 24 Nov, 2017

From wife-carrying to faction-fighting: Sporting success comes in many shapes and sizes

What are the limits of the sporting world? Where does sport begin and end? The difficulties in answering those questions are manifest whenever you move beyond the mainstream that dominates the sporting media in the western world, writes Paul Rouse.

Fri, 17 Nov, 2017

When sporting events become political protests

The use of sport as a place of political protest is not new. For as long as modern organised sport has existed in Ireland, people have sought to use sporting events to make political protests.

Fri, 10 Nov, 2017

Super 11s Boston junket in tune with the age of spin

The assault on the importance of language and facts continues apace. Propagandists are not new to our world, but their capacity to spread their message is now much greater than before. 

Fri, 03 Nov, 2017

What type of men win an All-Ireland in time of war?

In considering these men, it is impossible to ignore the political climate of 1917, writes Paul Rouse.

Fri, 27 Oct, 2017

Rewriting the history of the origins of Irish soccer

This weekend brings the anniversary the first playing of soccer in Ireland — or so the story goes, writes Paul Rouse.

Fri, 20 Oct, 2017

No finer tribute from one brother to another

There are things that a book can do for you that defy adequate explanation. It is a something deeply personal, a connection made with the words that lingers long after the book is closed and laid down. 

Fri, 13 Oct, 2017