The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-05-16
D|BDE||VF0RGEFS
POLITICS, GOES
DANCE MAD
Pleasure Seekers Making Up
for Lost Time Sports
Interest on Rise
BY DANIEL O'CONNELL..
International News Service.

DUBLIN, May 17.-Dublin has
gone dancing mad. Night after
night the cafes and hotels are filled
with joyous, happy throngs OF
dancers.
The terror which has held Irish
pleasure seekers in check for many
years has gone and Young Dublin
1s making up for lost time by err
ljoying itself to it's hearts content.
No longer does the gunmaE and
the minelayer disturb the enjoy
ment' of the Dubliner.
The manager of one Of the big.
gest hotels has announced that his
hotel is booked soIidly for the next
six weeks for dancing parties. mot
even in pre-war days." he said,
twas there anything like this.
Young Irishmen, at least, are en-
, toying the new.found freedom Of
their country"
Interest In Sports.
And as with dancing so 1t ds
with every other sport. Football
games are drawing bigger crowds
than ever. Horse racing is especial
ly enjoying the boom. Never in
all Ireland's history, according to
Senator Parkinson, the well-known
Irish trainer, has there been such
q fine crop Of thoroughbred two
year-olds. From England, where
the quality Of young race horses
has not improved, buyers are flock
ing to ireland and offering huge
sums for the pick Of the Irish stud
farms.
This year promises to be tire
gayest in Ireland's history unless
the trouble over the boundary be.
tween the Free State and Ulster
reaches a disastrous stage.
Forget Politics.
The revival of Ireland's pleasure
seeking instincts has turned the
minds Of the people from politics.
Even in Cork, which used to live On
political gossip, one very rarely hears
politics discussed.
Miss Mary MacSwiney sees in this
change the degeneracy of the Irish
race. She blames President Cos
grave for 1t. In speeches she has
been making throughout the Free
State she has repeatedly declared
that all the people think about now
10 dancing and drinking. -
AS for the drinking part Of her
charges, dealers in liquor declare
that Miss MacSwiney Is not accu-
rately informed. They assert that
their business was never so slack
at any time during the last ten years
as it has been in the six months
Just past.
No Politics in Sports.
Sport knows no politics. What
ever else the fisherman may fight
with his southern brother about,
when it comes to sport he is an
Irishman, first, last and all the time.
Recently, in Dublin. when Belfast
University beat the National Uni
versity in the final for the Irish foot
ball cup, Dublin crowd gave the
victors a great ovation To repay
the compliment an Ulster committee,
including many Of the leading Union
lists, has been formed to help the
Nationalist of the south to make the
Tailteann games a success.
Recently Colonel Ruttle, a repre-
sentative of the British Olympic
games committee, tried to convince
the Ulstermen that Belfast athletes
should compete with the British
team at Paris.
Nothing doing" the Ulster
spokesman told him. 1--WE are Irish
men, and If Ireland is sending team
70 Paris we are going with them"
And Ireland is sending a team and
U1Stermen will be represented on 1t.