[5] It also had the effect of specifically banning sports being played on Sunday in Ireland on the grounds that they led to "tumultuous and disorderly meetings" which interfered with observance of the Sabbath.

[8] In the nineteenth century, Sabbatarians advocated use of the act to prevent playing of sports on Sundays, which was common in rural areas.

From 1872, Royal Irish Constabulary policy was to permit Sunday sports events unless they were likely to lead to a breach of the peace.

[15] In the 1990s the act remained in force and was utilised by Northern Ireland district councils as grounds to close parks and leisure centres on Sundays.

[16] An adjournment debate in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom led by the Social Democratic and Labour Party's Seamus Mallon in 1995 criticised the act and requested it be repealed.