The Irish ‘Olympics’ that helped shape a new nation
In the summer of 1924, Ireland did something extraordinary: it hosted the biggest sporting event in the world that year – bigger, even, than the Paris Olympics.
Thousands of competitors and tens of thousands of spectators packed venues around Dublin for an array of events encompassing not only athletics, swimming, horse racing, archery and other sports but also poetry, painting, dancing and sculpture.
The inaugural Tailteann games – named after an
