"This book is the first major examination of the history of physical education in Irish primary and second-level schools in the twentieth century. Set within the context of major international developments in the subject, it examines its state in Irish schools prior to the partition of the country in 1921. It assesses the reasons why its status was reduced in the Republic of Irelands primary schools in the mid-1920s and accounts for the failure to fully implement the Sokol system in the following decade. Despite the efforts of a number of educationalists and those in the media to draw attention to the subjects neglect, it was not until the late 1960s that concrete action was taken to provide compulsory physical education. However, following the foundation of the National College of Physical Education in 1973 problems remained, with the Republic of Irelands schools still lagging behind those in many other European countries in terms of curricular time given to the subject by the late 1990s. In Northern Ireland, treatment of the subject was more closely aligned to developments in other parts of the United Kingdom, but progress was also slow in many schools. As well as utilising numerous previously unpublished documents and reports, this monograph draws upon the experiences of teachers themselves, and examines their own childhood memories of physical education, as well as their teacher training and subsequent school teaching of the subject"--.