Covering the 1924 Tailteann Games, a 2-week sporting and cultural celebration held in the Irish Free State, the following article explores the broader sociocultural significance of the Tailteann’s opening ceremony. Said to be the restoration of an ancient Irish festival, the Tailteann Games were envisioned as an Irish ‘race Olympiad’ open to those born in Ireland and those of Irish descent. Welcoming visitors from several nations, the festival marked an ambitious effort on the part of its organisers to formally announce the newly independent state onto the world stage. While previous studies on the Tailteann Games of 1924 have depicted it as an attempt to project a certain kind of Irish identity, the present article seeks to specify the meaning of this identity in much greater detail. Surveying the use of ancient folklore, mass gymnastic displays and modern technologies during the opening ceremony, it is argued that the 1924 Games sought to depict the Irish Free State as a young, modern and culturally vibrant state. The article thus highlights efforts to project a specific and definitive form of Irish identity during the Free State’s opening years.

中文翻译：

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爱尔兰种族大会？身体政治和 1924 年 Tailteann 运动会

以下文章涵盖了 1924 年 Tailteann 运动会，这是一项在爱尔兰自由州举行的为期 2 周的体育和文化庆典，探讨了 Tailteann 开幕式的更广泛的社会文化意义。据说是对古老的爱尔兰节日的恢复，Tailteann 运动会被设想为爱尔兰“种族奥林匹克”，向出生在爱尔兰的人和爱尔兰血统的人开放。该节日欢迎来自多个国家的游客，标志着其组织者为正式宣布这个新独立的国家登上世界舞台而做出的雄心勃勃的努力。虽然之前对 1924 年 Tailteann 游戏的研究将其描述为试图投射某种爱尔兰身份，但本文试图更详细地说明这种身份的含义。调查古代民间传说的使用，开幕式期间的大规模体操表演和现代技术，有人认为 1924 年的奥运会试图将爱尔兰自由邦描绘成一个年轻、现代和文化充满活力的国家。因此，这篇文章强调了在自由邦成立的几年里，为塑造一种特定的、明确的爱尔兰身份形式所做的努力。