Ealaíona Maisiúla & Stair

This is the Prize Medal for Literature and a trophy for a vocal solo won by Eleanor Sterling, given out during the Tailteann Games of 1932. 

The Tailteann Games was a two-week, large-scale sporting and cultural festival organised by the Irish Free State government in 1924, 1928, and 1932. The idea behind them was to demonstrate the independence of the new Free State from Britain and to display an Irish national identity to the wider world. They were also presented as the revival of an ancient custom in Ireland, which had ended after the arrival of King Henry II in 1171. The original Tailteann Games had been to honour the dead, disseminate new laws, and provide entertainment to the people. The idea of reviving the Tailteann Games had begun during the Celtic Revival and momentum increased after Dáil Éireann was established in 1919. After the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the Games were planned for 1922 but the outbreak of the Civil War curtailed them until 1924.  

The first games occurred between the 2nd and 17th of August. An opening ceremony was held in Croke Park, which attracted 20,000 people and included an Olympic-like stadium entrance for competitors from countries including Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Though it had been planned that only Irish competitors and members of the diaspora could compete, the recent completion of the 1924 Paris Olympics meant that many international athletes were persuaded to participate as well.  

In keeping with the ancient theme, the opening ceremonies saw an actress playing Queen Tailté enter the stadium, along with young men dressed as 11th century warriors accompanied by Irish wolfhounds. The Games included a huge range of sports, including athletics, swimming, motorboat racing, golf, wrestling, chess, Gaelic football, hurling, and camogie. Notably, sports deemed ‘garrison games’ like soccer, rugby, and cricket were excluded. Along with sports, there were competitions in Irish dancing, poetry, drama, and storytelling, music, painting, and arts and crafts. Tens of thousands of spectators travelled to Dublin to see the games.  

In total, over 1,000 medals were presented in the 1924 competition. The events were held all around Dublin; most famously, the swimming competitions were held in a pond in Dublin Zoo as Ireland had no proper swimming pools. The games were re-staged in 1928 and 1932. Similarly to 1924, the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics meant that many top athletes travelled to Ireland, although not in the same numbers. However, the same did not happen in 1932 as the Olympics were held in far-away Los Angeles. The hosting of the Eucharistic Congress that year also shortened the competition, pulling away national and governmental interest. The games were not hosted again.