A game played on the fields of Tara and in Eamhain Mhacha the games of the Fianna and Cchulainn : Tradition and Authority in representations of Gaelic games

This paper examines the representations of the indigenous Irish sport of Gaelic games in a series of documentary depictions between the 1940s and 1970s, including the films Peil (1962) and Christy Ring (1964). It charts the development of distinctive depictions of these traditional sports and examines the manner through a modern technological art form was employed to affirm the traditional character of Gaelic games. A key concern of this paper will be the employment of this discourse of tradition to affirm a very contemporary social and moral order at a key transitional point in modern Ireland.