Jimmy Carter’s Triumph, RUC Barracks, and the GAA Ban on English Games

In this episode of the Irish History Boys, hosts Tim McGarry and Dr. Cormac Moore go back to November 1976 to discuss the election of Jimmy Carter as President of the United States and the changing landscape of American politics.

Reading from The Irish News, we revisit Carter’s historic victory over Gerald Ford—a former peanut farmer and political outsider who declared "the sun is rising on a beautiful new day for this country".

We examine how the shadow of Watergate, Ford's controversial pardon of Richard Nixon, and famous television debate missteps shaped one of the closest-fought presidential races in modern history.

Additionally, we explore how Carter broke long-standing US diplomatic precedent by initiating a direct American policy engagement with Northern Ireland.

Going back 100 years to November 1926, we examine the controversy surrounding an Irish News headline declaring "Palaces for Policemen".

We discuss the Northern Ireland government's proposal to spend £800,000 erecting 90 new Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) barracks and reconstructing 115 others.

We dissect the fierce parliamentary opposition led by nationalist MP Joe Devlin, who condemned such massive security expenditure at a time of deep economic recession, severe poverty, and urgent housing shortages for the poor.

We also reflect on Unionist security anxieties, the reliance on the B Specials, and the long, contentious history of policing in Ireland.

To conclude, we tackle a 1926 sporting dispute from Fermanagh, where the local GAA County Board expressed "great indignation" over reports that schoolboys were being coerced into playing rugby.

We unpack the condemnation of forcing boys to embrace a "foreign code," the history and enforcement of the GAA's ban on English games, and the 19th-century invention of Gaelic football under Maurice Davin.

Finally, we reflect on how times have changed up to the modern era with the establishment of the PSNI GAA team.

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