Martin Sheridan was the greatest all-round athlete of the age.

By Abigail Smith (MA in Public History at UCD).

This podcast, from UCD’s Dr Paul Rouse, discusses the life of Irish-American athlete Martin Sheridan. Sheridan, born in May of 1881 in Bohola, County Mayo, Ireland, emigrated to New York as a young man and became a successful athlete and member of the New York City Police Department.

The winner of multiple Olympic championships, Sheridan was known as ‘one of the greatest figures that ever represented this country in international sport’. The 27th of March marks 100 years since Sheridan’s passing, yet he remains an important figure in both Irish and U.S. American sports history.

Further Reading:

Martin Sheridan’s New York Times obituary, available online.

Main image: detail from ‘American athlete Martin Sheridan in the discus throw competition at the Summer Olympics 1908 in London’. Source: Illustration in the “Fourth Olympiad 1908 London Official Report” published by the British Olympic Association in 1909. Public Domain, Link.