David Toms's Soccer in Munster joins the rapidly growing historiography on soccer in Ireland, under British rule and after. The primary question that Toms seeks to answer is this: if soccer was merely a garrison game, then why did the sport continue to expand in Ireland after the garrison left? His answer is that soccer was not simply the preserve of the British army. Rather, soccer endured in Ireland because it attracted players and crowds among the Irish, not just from among British soldiers. Within his province-level examination of Munster, Toms gave particular attention to Cork, Waterford, Tipperary, and Limerick. He chose these urban spaces because they were where soccer had the greatest footholds in Munster.

To explain the continuation of soccer, Toms examined the factors which helped the spread and popularity of the sport. Particularly in the era of the Gaelic revival at the end of the nineteenth century, foreign influences on Ireland were challenged by nationalists. Despite the movement for an Irish-Ireland, in sport as well as in religion and language, soccer is an example of how a return to a purely Irish identity devoid of any foreign influence was no longer a realistic objective: Ireland was too connected to the rest of the world, especially Britain and the United States. Soccer had joined a milieu of entertainments that were permeating Irish culture, along with such foreign diversions as vaudeville and jazz, despite the desires of cultural purists, and those influences were not going away. Instead, Irish culture was adapting to accommodate them.

Soccer in Munster contains eight chapters, including the introduction and conclusion. There is a chapter on the period between 1877 and 1918, when soccer spread to Ireland from Britain; the next two chapters cover the sporting revolution in Ireland and how soccer was an important component of contested identities; and the final three cover the years from 1918 to 1937, discussing Cork, Waterford, and Limerick in turn. Toms chose these three cities because it was in these urban areas that soccer became a significant part of people's leisure hours (p. 114). The result is an examination of a sport that flourished in Ireland for multiple reasons, appealing to the young men of Munster in many ways that were neither homogeneous nor top-down (p. 209). In addition to soldiers and the young men who attended elite schools, the working class and social clubs at all levels of society contributed to how the game was played. Toms made it clear that his discussion of young men is deliberate; women participated as spectators and fundraisers for the sport, but rarely as players, and then predominantly in one-off matches rather than regular fixtures.

Among the strengths are his argument regarding the importance of soccer's development as both an activity and a commodity. As soccer evolved into the modern game, it became a form of entertainment, something for people to consume akin to theatre or music. As such, the fans became increasingly important, and played a crucial role in the sport's survival in Ireland. Another strength is Toms's examination of the multiplicity of influences on soccer specifically and culture generally, particularly those coming from Britain and the U.S.A. Throughout the book, Toms stressed that the appeal of soccer was not homogeneous, and that Ireland played an active role in creating its culture. It was not imposed in a top-down monolithic fashion.

One thing that Toms could have done better would have been to discuss more explicitly why he chose this particular time period, especially using 1937 as his end point. For Irish historians, 1937 indicates the end of the Irish Free State, but for other audiences, that is not readily apparent. This is a book which could be useful to historians of sport outside of Ireland; it could also be beneficial to scholars of modern Europe. Having a clearer discussion of why Toms chose the time period would have been a useful addition. Overall, it is a good book, well written with a logical structure and convincing argument. Soccer in Munster makes an important contribution to the historiography on sport in Ireland.