A Northern Ireland Rugby League?

Although a lot of effort was put into the Gaelic Athletic League and promoting Gaelic football, Rugby union is a popular sport in Eire with a past as a rugby international being a good background for a carrer in politics. Ironically Rugby union was a sport that originated in English public schools and has been regarded as a sport for the better off in England. In Northern Ireland football is a popular sport with many internal footballers including England internationals such as Danny Blanchflower and Billy Wright coming from Northern Ireland. I presume Rugby is regarded as a nationalist sport in the loyalist areas of Belfast.

Could Rugby league have been developed in protestant working class areas of Northern Ireland and would it have had any effect on the divisions not necessarily for the better in that it might have made the union/league split greater
 
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