EP 9: Peters, Clovers, and Blue Chippers: the Emerald Influence on American Soccer (March 2021)

“Peters, Clovers, and Blue Chippers: the Emerald Influence on American Soccer" examines Ireland’s influence on soccer in the United States.

Hosted by Tom McCabe, the session includes three presentations:

• “Peter Peel: Long Journey Home” by Michael Kielty (pronunciation: Keel – Tee), the Head of Department for Arts, Languages and Study Abroad in Dublin Business School in Ireland. Michael works with students from Ireland and the USA in helping them create digital stories, mainly about sports history. He is also former average goalkeeper for Irish soccer teams Home Farm, Tolka Rovers and Clonmel Town and is member of fan-owned Bohemian Football Club in Dublin.
• “From Celtic Park to Billy Rose’s Diamond Horseshoe” by Pádraig Coyle, a journalist, writer and broadcaster. He has written books, articles and stage plays relating the story of Belfast Celtic. He is the chairman of the Belfast Celtic Society.
• “‘If Ever There Was a Blue Chipper, This is the Boy’: The Recruitment of Irish Footballers by US Universities for Soccer Scholarships,  1969-2000” by Dr Conor Curran, who is an adjunct lecturer in the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin. He has published extensively on the history of sport in Ireland and has recently completed a postdoctoral research fellowship on the history of Physical Education in Ireland at Trinity College Dublin. He has also just completed a Master’s thesis in Education which looked at the remigration of Irish players on US soccer scholarships.

Podcast produced by Brian Quarstad.

Music created by LiteSaturation and found at Pixabay.

View the video of the session at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wErXAu-vmE&list=PLF9oL3yRaMyyYqsS1Qqj6XxUV8RU6p4tC&index=9&pp=iAQB

For more US soccer history, visit the SASH website at https://www.ussoccerhistory.org/