Irish sport in 10 objects: The Liffey Swim, Ronnie Delany’s shoes, Rachael Blackmore’s saddle

A statute from the King of England Richard III in 1527 shows an early sign of the suppression of Gaelic sports by the British Crown. The statute forbids hurling from being played, reading “at no time to use nor occupy the hurling of the little ball with hockey sticks or staves, nor use a handball to play outside the walls, but only the great football”. Any person caught playing hurling or handball would be issued a fine of eight pence – the equivalent of about €20 today.

During the 19th century, one of America’s most popular spectator sports was competitive walking, or pedestrianism. Competitors walked around dirt tracks in endurance tests that lasted for several days. Born in Co Cork, Daniel O’Leary moved to New York at the onset of the Great Hunger and became a walker after being determined to prove a theory wrong that only an American could walk 100 miles in 24 hours. O’Leary was declared “Champion of the World” after winning a famous 500-mile race and his likeness was captured on a cigarette packet collector’s card.