'Nothing suggests to me even now that it was wrong, just that it was of its time'

'Nothing suggests to me even now that it was wrong, just that it was of its time'

Billy Gallagher remembers the emphasis placed on sport in his secondary school curriculum.

Billy Gallagher

Trinity College Dublin

1945

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Billy Gallagher

Childhood and Early Life

Life Story

Dublin, Castleknock College

1940's

Sport was a big item in the curriculum and the best sportsmen had a certain aura, especially if it was rugby. Everyone had to play rugby at least 3 times a week (Wed, Sat, Sun) no matter how dysfunctional. I remember one frail little boy (my cousin John Gallagher) with two out-turned feet, milk bottle glasses and a bull's lick togging out regularly and hating every minute of it. Nothing suggests to me even now that it was wrong, just that it was of its time. It did imbue an enthusiasm for sport in us and an interest in certain disciplines that never left us.

Irish Research Council for Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (IRCHSS)

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)