Competing in different leagues, the clubs on the island of Ireland win the heart of one English writer
Presented in person on St Patrick’s Night at Dulwich Hamlet’s stadium bar, Chris Lee’s new book Shades of Green – a Journey into Irish Football coincides nicely with Irish clubs making exceptional progress on the European stage. As Dublin’s Shelbourne prepared to tangle with Belfast’s Linfield, Brian Mulligan quizzed the author about the project:
Chris Lee: I work in the technology PR sector by day and, as a hobby, I blog and podcast as Outside Write. I also write books about football history and socio-politics. My first, Origin Stories: The Pioneers Who Took Football to the World (2021) focused on the game’s global beginnings. The second, The Defiant: A History of Football Against Fascism (2022) is fairly self-explanatory. My third, Shades of Green: A Journey into Irish Football (2025) combines history and politics with my passion for groundhopping.
Libero: What inspired you to turn to Ireland and why now?
CL: Writing Origin Stories really opened my eyes to the richness of football history on the island of Ireland. I’d never really thought about it beyond seeing names on the football scores. I went over to Dublin in May 2023 to co-present a talk to my social media followers on the history of the game and, following our 60-minute talk, there was a 90-minute Q&A. So many issues came up that interested me.
The following day, I went to a Bohemians match at Dalymount, which is just brilliant. It’s a beautiful old school ground with an Archibald Leitch-designed stand, but it’s going to be redeveloped after the end of the 2025 season, so I was desperate to see it in its current charming state. I also went to Tolka Park on that trip for a women’s match and, following conversations with several contacts, historians, fanzine editors and even politicians, I felt there was a story here. There is a great domestic body of work around the Irish game, but I don’t believe an outsider has penned a comprehensive study of the game across the island before.
Libero: How does your book differ from previous ones on Irish football such as Green is the Colour and Just Follow the Floodlights ?
CL: Green is the Colour is a very comprehensive read on the history of Irish soccer, while Just Follow the Floodlights is a great club-by-club guide to the League of Ireland – I sat with the author, Brian Kennedy, at a Waterford game, which was fun. I wanted to explore the socio-political story of Irish soccer as an outsider in both the League of Ireland and the Irish League north of the border, and let the people involved tell the story of their club.
Libero: How long did it take you to research and how much time did you spend in Ireland?
CL: I made three trips. The first one was to Dublin, which inspired the book. The second was ten days or so based in Belfast, passing through Drogheda on my way up from Dublin. My final visit took me from Cork up to Sligo via Cobh, Waterford, Limerick, Kerry and Galway, so I really did see a lot of the island. I wrote the book in just over 12 months from idea to first draft.
Libero: What are your favourite particular stories from your travels?
CL: My favourite couple of days didn’t involve any football at all. I was shown around The Oval, home of Glentoran, which is my favourite stadium in Europe. It’s a proper 1950s’ time capsule. That was a bucket lister. The next day, I was shown around George Best’s home and his grave, plus Dundela’s brilliant Wilgar Park. In between, I met a descendant of a Belfast Celtic player and was shown their brilliant little museum, which sits on the site of their former ground, now a shopping centre.
Belfast’s football history alone is just something else. And everyone I met was just so friendly and generous with their time.
Libero: How easy, or difficult, is it to write about soccer in Ireland? The importance of Gaelic football is more than just a sporting matter.
CL: I was obviously conscious that I come from England, and that was writing about Irish football history and all the sensitivities that go with it. That’s why I was mindful to relay the historical detail in a neutral, matter-of-fact way and let local experts provide the commentary and viewpoints. The only time you’ll hear my opinion is when I am describing a match day experience.
Regarding the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), that’s just one element of a very complex and ongoing story, which confirmed to me that I don’t think there’s anywhere else on earth where the football culture reflects the geopolitics of the time. For example, all other sports are played on an all-Ireland basis, yet soccer is split, like the island is politically.
Libero: With attendances on the rise, progress in Europe at club level and a new deal with Virgin Media, how do you see the future looking for football across Ireland?
CL: The League of Ireland is certainly having its best moment since the 1950s. It’s been a long time coming, but post-pandemic, people wanted to get back into watching live sport while at the same time, the appeal of the Premier League has diminished. Every club has at least one ultras group now, and they make a great spectacle. That creates very social media-friendly content, so word spreads about this exciting product.
It’s a bit different in the Irish League (NIFL, the Northern Ireland Football League). They may not have the same ultra culture, but now clubs like Larne are challenging the traditional dominance of Linfield in recent years, keeping it interesting.
Chris Lee’s book has impressed one Leeds fan from Belfast who devours such volumes: “Shades of Green is a modern sporting classic. It’s so readable and covers the history of the sport in Ireland, on both sides of the border, viewed against the history and social changes on the island over the last 150 years”.
Chris Lee, Shades of Green: A Journey into Irish Football, Pitch Publishing (£14.99).
