| Ireland at the 1930 Commonwealth Games | |
|---|---|
 Representative flag of Ireland | |
| CGF code | IRE |
| Medals Ranked 9th |
|
| Commonwealth Games appearances (overview) | |
| Other related appearances | |
 Northern Ireland (1934–) | |
Representation of theisland of Ireland at the British Empire Games (now theCommonwealth Games) has varied:
The organising committee for the 1930 games inHamilton, Ontario sent an invitation to theNational Athletic and Cycling Association (NACA), and offered to pay $1000 towards travel expenses.[1] It also invited theIrish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA), which declined in order to concentrate on the1932 Olympics.[2] The NACA executive decided to accept, on condition that the team be designated "Ireland" rather than "Irish Free State".[1] The NACA was affiliated to theInternational Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) and regarded itself as the governing body for athletics in the whole of Ireland, although a separate Northern Ireland Amateur Athletic, Cycling and Cross Country Association (NIAAA) was affiliated to theAmateur Athletic Association of England (AAA). NIAAA athletes, including some born in the Free State, were included on the AAA's England team.[3]
The NACA's attendance of the games proved to be controversial among some of its members who heldIrish nationalist views.Sean Ryan, thePresident of the Gaelic Athletic Association, publicly dissociated himself from the NACA, and the Crokes club of one of the selected athletes voted to disband in protest.[4][5]
The NACA made a shortlist of athletes whom it would fund for the trip to Canada if they could secure the necessary time off work. The NACA was careful to include an athlete from Northern Ireland to assert its all-island jurisdiction.[6] The English AAA offered to pay the expenses ofhammer throwerBill Britton on condition that he andPat O'Callaghan take part in a British Empire athletics team to compete in a challenge match against the United States immediately after the Empire Games.[1] The NACA rejected this offer. In the event, O'Callaghan went to the1930 International University Games in Germany, making him unavailable for the Empire Games.[6] Neither Britton nor any other Irish athlete was in the Empire challenge selection.[7] Ultimately four Irish-based athletes travelled. They were joined by a fifth, P. "Jack" O'Reilly, who was already living in Canada; O'Reilly wrote to the NACA asking to be nominated for themarathon and offering to pay his own way.[6][8]
The Irish team's ship was delayed by fog and the team missed the opening ceremony, except for O'Reilly, who carried the flag.[9] The flag was not theIrish tricolour, considered byunionists as specific to the Free State; instead it showed thecoat of arms of Ireland, a gold harp.[10][11] The team colour was green, and singlets included theshamrock symbol.[12][13]
| Athlete | Club[15] | Event(s) | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Britton | Cavan | Hammer | 2nd | Narrowly lost toMalcolm Nokes, whom he had beaten at the 1928 AAA championships.[16] |
| Michael O'Malley | Westport | 880 yds/ mile[17] | —/? | Missed 880 yds heats owing to delayed arrival of ship.[9][18] |
| William[n 1] Dickson | NorthBelfast Harriers | 880 yds[20]/ mile[19][18] | —/? | Missed 880 yds heats owing to delayed arrival of ship.[9] |
| Patrick J.B. "Joe" Eustace[21] | Crokes (Dublin) | 100 yds / 220 yds | 3rd in heat 1[22] / — | Missed 220 yds heats owing to delayed arrival of ship.[9] Crokes disbanded in protest at the NACA sending a team to the Empire Games.[5] |
| P. "Jack" O'Reilly | Galway | Marathon | 9th[8] | Based in Canada at time of Games,[6] O'Reilly had won the Irish marathon title in 1924–5–6–7,[23] and later came second in the 1931 Canadian championship.[24] |
Liston and Maguire state, "Contradictory media and sports reports exist regarding a team representing Ireland and/or Northern Ireland in 1934".[25] Colonel Evan Hunter, of the 1934 organising committee,[n 1] opposed an all-island team, stating that teams must have "the political style and title of the respective territories by which they are known within the British Empire".[26] The English AAA invited the NIAAA to nominate competitors to represent Northern Ireland inathletics,cycling,boxing, andswimming;[27] the NIAAA regulated only the former two sports, for which it nominated athletes who competed.
The AAA separately invited the NACA nominate competitors to represent the Free State.[28] The AAA's view conformed to a 1933 IAAF decision to require member associations to be delimited by political borders; the NACA had objected to that and would later be expelled from the IAAF as a consequence. NACA declined the invitation to the Empire Games, although it accepted a contemporaneous invitation to an international meeting in Scotland at which the NIAAA would field a separate Northern Ireland team.[28] An AAA meeting preparatory to the games reported Northern Ireland among the teams to be represented, but not the Irish Free State.[29]Paddy Bermingham, aGarda fromCounty Clare,[30] was entered in the discus but did not compete,[31] although he won theEnglish AAA title the previous month at the sameWhite City Stadium which hosted the Games.[32] TheCommonwealth Games Federation (CGF) lists Bermingham under "Northern Ireland" in the entries,[33] while a contemporary preview lists him as from the Irish Free State,[34] as does Bob Phillips.[35][36] TheAssociation of Track and Field Statisticians lists him as "Ireland" and "did not compete".[31]
TheIrish Amateur Swimming Association (IASA) refused to send teams for the Free State or Northern Ireland, pointing out that the bowling team was designated "Ireland" and thatJersey competitors were on the England team.[37] For similar reasons, the IASA boycottedthe 1948 Olympic swimming gala, also in London.[38]
The IABA in February declined to send a team, stating that the games were during its close season.[39] In March,William Grant asked in theHouse of Commons of Northern Ireland whether, in the absence of IABA participation, theRoyal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) boxing club might represent Northern Ireland.[40] In May, four IABA boxers who applied for exemption to participate in the Games got leave to do so.[41] They were: Larry Scally (flyweight),[42] T. Byrne (bantamweight), Jack Kennedy (welterweight), andJimmy Magill (middleweight).[41] Magill, who won bronze,[43] was in the RUC;[44] as was William "Billy" Duncan,[citation needed] who won bronze at welterweight.[45] Magill and Duncan's medals are credited to Northern Ireland.[45][43] One (possibly incomplete) list of results of the boxing events does not list Scally, Byrne, or Kennedy.[46]
Thelawn bowls team was described as "Ireland" in reports of its selection,[47] on the scoreboard,[48] and in reports of its results.[49][50] It was selected by the Irish Bowling Association, an all-island governing body,[n 2] but the team members' clubs (Larne, Cavehill, and Shaftesbury[47]) were all in Northern Ireland, the heartland of the sport in Ireland, and its results have retrospectively been credited to Northern Ireland.[52][36]
When the programme for the1938 games in Sydney was unveiled in May 1936 by the British Empire Games Federation, the list of teams expected to be present included Northern Ireland but not Ireland (thenew name for the Irish Free State under a new1937 constitution).[53] Liston and Maguire state, "CGF and other public records use different nomenclature for the 1938 [Ireland/Northern Ireland] team."[25] In 1937, the Irish Free State Bowling League was invited,[n 2] and said it would have liked to go but the cost of travel was prohibitive.[54] The Irish state was not in fact represented at the Games, while Northern Ireland was. The Irish Bowling Association's team is variously described as "Ireland" and "Northern Ireland" in contemporary reports.[36] The 1942 and 1946 games were cancelled, and when theRepublic of Ireland Act 1948 came into force in 1949, Ireland was considered by Commonwealth states as having left the Commonwealth and ineligible for the1950 games inAuckland, New Zealand. Northern Ireland was also absent, though it has participated at all subsequent games.
DISCUS (4 Aug): ... Pat Bermingham (IFS)
the B.L.I., which in the meantime had affiliated to the Irish Bowling Association
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