This week we talk to Dr Liam O’Callaghan about the newly published paperback edition of his superb history of rugby in Ireland ‘Blood and Thunder’.

It’s a classic work which looks at the history of the sport in the context of Irish history over the past 150 years.

As well as detailing the history of the sport itself, it also examines the relationship of the game to the complex political history of Ireland and explains how the sport has remained united on a disunited island.

It’s a superb book that is the latest landmark work from a series of high quality works about the history of sport in Ireland. It’s published by Penguin and you can find more details at https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/458098/blood-and-thunder-by-ocallaghan-liam/9780241999769.

For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (where you can find the links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony