ABSTRACT

As a branch of sport history, the historiography of weightlifting lags behind other areas. The field is growing but much work needs to be done on its origins. Seeking to provide some context as to the origins of organised weightlifting in Europe, the following article uses Ireland as an ideal case study. The first two major efforts to form an Irish weightlifting organisation in the 1910s and early 1920s failed owing to a series of material and ideological problems. Exploring this point, the article begins with a discussion of weightlifting as an informal sport in Ireland in the nineteenth century before discussing the failure to establish an Irish weightlifting organisation in the early 1910s and early 1920s. Where one organiser, a Mr. W.A. MacPherson failed owing to a lack of material resources and a poor network of contacts, those following him, like the Irish weightlifter Michael Stokes, were hampered by warfare and political conflict. For historians of sport, a study of Irish weightlifting in this vein reiterates the many factors needed to establish formalised pursuits and serves as a timely reminder of the many barriers facing individual athletes wishing to compete.

摘要

作为体育史的一个分支，举重的史学滞后于其他领域。该领域正在发展，但需要对其起源做很多工作。为了提供有关欧洲有组织举重起源的一些背景，以下文章使用爱尔兰作为理想的案例研究。由于一系列物质和意识形态问题，在 1910 年代和 1920 年代初期组建爱尔兰举重组织的前两次主要努力都以失败告终。探讨这一点，文章首先讨论了 19 世纪爱尔兰作为一项非正式运动的举重，然后讨论了 1910 年代初和 1920 年代初爱尔兰举重组织的失败。如果一位组织者 WA MacPherson 先生由于缺乏物质资源和人脉网络不佳而失败，那么跟随他的人，像爱尔兰举重运动员迈克尔斯托克斯一样，受到战争和政治冲突的阻碍。对于体育历史学家来说，对爱尔兰举重的这种研究重申了建立正式追求所需的许多因素，并及时提醒了希望参加比赛的个别运动员面临的许多障碍。