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ACKNoWLEDGEMENTS he many staff members of the National Library with whom I have had dealings over the past five years could not have been more helpful to me in my researches. The same is true of the various local libraries and of the staff members at the Colindale newspaper division of the British Library and at the New York Public Library. The willingness with which the archives of the GAA, the British olympic Association and the American Irish Historical Society were opened to me was as close to spontaneous as it could have been, with particular thanks owing to William Cobert of the American Irish Society, who had the grace to facilitate me while he was in the midst of organising a major fundraising banquet in late 2005. The olympic Council of Ireland was essentially founded after the core period of my research and hence was unable to assist me with archival material, although I certainly thank the staff I spoke with there for their efforts in any respect. Professors Joe Lee and Marion Casey at NYU were also most supportive when called upon for assistance on the American front and secured me access to the NYU Irish archives. The staff at the olympic Studies Centre in Lausanne have always been much more than helpful. From the moment I made contact with Ruth Beck-Perrenaud and Patricia Ekert, no stone was left unturned to provide assistance to my work. In total, I believe I had dealings with at least twelve different staff members in Lausanne, often in my pidgin French but always with the most helpful of people. For anyone interested in researching the olympics, or just in the olympic Games themselves, the centre and museum, attached to the IoC headquarters on the shores of Lake Geneva, are a must. on a more localised level, the assistance of Marie McMahon and Julia Walsh at the South Tipperary Museum in Clonmel, of Rosemary Ryan at the Treasures Museum in Waterford, and of Sophia McNicholas at the Bohola Cheshire Home must be recorded. Waterford County Library staff have also been very supportive, none more so than my local librarian, Mary Tobin. Countless people have assisted with anecdotes, snippets of information and just supportive words during this sporting odyssey. People like Peter o’Connor’s grandson, Mark Quinn, Con Tarrant (Banteer), Tom Aherne, the Ahearne family and Tim vii Quaid (Athea), Patsy McGrath and the society members in Kilfinnane, the Sheridan memorial group (Bohola), Michael McGrath and Mary Burke (Charleville), Sean o’Donnell (Clonmel), Michael Walker (Dublin), Michael o’Dwyer (Bansha), Edward Walsh (Carriganimmy), Colm Murphy (London) and official GAA historian Marcus de Búrca are very happily numbered among these ‘consultants’ and providers of material. My sincere apologies if I have left anyone out of the list. A number of schools and history teachers whom I have worked with have been forthcoming with material on olympic alumni, for which much gratitude is heartily offered. Ger o’Sullivan did great work in trying to track details of the plans (in 1900) for olympic hurling with Cork County GAA Board. Those who deserve my thanks also include several of my colleagues at the Department of Education and Science, whom I have certainly bored silly with my obsession over the years. At the UCC History Department, Professor Dermot Keogh and Dr Gabriel Doherty have given me tremendous advice and encouragement over the duration of my research and I am very fortunate indeed to have had not only two such fine historians but also sports fans into the bargain, to supervise my work. I am hugely indebted to Professor Keogh for his ongoing interest in my work, not least in the transforming of the original thesis into the work you now hold. I can only hope the book has done justice to his faith in me. My heartfelt thanks must go to the members of the Hibernian Athletics Historical Association, the self-styled ‘HAHAs’. Dr Cyril White, Larry Ryder and Ronnie Long have added so much to my enjoyment of this topic since I met them and have, in my opinion, enhanced its quality beyond recognition with their knowledge, insights, human-interest details and photographs. These men are amazing ambassadors for Irish athletics and athletic history. They have also acted as guides and proofreaders when required and I have no doubt that the service people like these have given to Irish sporting history is beyond the scope of my mere words to properly recognise. My thanks...

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