Inter Bde Football final 2011 (6106312922)

Sport in Ireland plays an important role in Irish society. The many sports played and followed in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

include

Gaelic games Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling ...

(including

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

and

camogie Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game of hurling (which is played by men onl ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes ...

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tr ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the ...

motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of t ...

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

, hockey,

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

, and

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

. In terms of participation, association football (soccer) is the most popular team pursuit for males at 8.8% with Gaelic football attracting 3.4%. Personal exercise (at 13.4%) and running (8.9%) are the most popular individual male activities. Traditionally, team sports do not figure highly amongst females, with a greater percentage of post-school-age women choosing individual sports and fitness activities. As of 2018, additional funding and focus was afforded to females in sport, with a number of successes in women's international sporting competitions. Association football (soccer) is the most played team sport in Ireland. Gaelic football, hurling, golf, aerobics, cycling, swimming and billiards/snooker are the other sporting activities with the highest levels of playing participation in the Republic of Ireland. In terms of support and attendance,

accounted for 34% of total sports attendances at events in the Republic of Ireland in 2003, followed by

at 23%, association football (soccer) at 16% and rugby at 8%. In 2005, Initiative's ViewerTrack study measuring sports audiences showed that Gaelic football's highest-profile match, the All-Ireland Football Championship Final, was the most watched event of the nation's sporting year. In terms of funding, of the €62 million allocated in the

Irish government The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The gover ...

's 2017 Capital Sports Programme, approximately €25 million was allocated to hurling, football and other games overseen by the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

, €7.7 million to soccer, €3.3 million to rugby, €2.8 million to tennis, golf €2.4 million, sailing and rowing €1.3 million each, boxing and athletics over €1 million each, swimming €0.5 million, with the remainder allocated among other sports and sporting groups. As

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

is a

constituent nation A country is a geopolitical area–often synonymous with a sovereign state. Country or countries may also refer to: * Rural area, the country or countryside, an area away from towns or cities * Country (identity), a self-concept relating to an i ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, it also sends a Northern Ireland Team to the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the ex ...

. At the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

, a person from

can choose to represent either

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

Gaelic games

In a survey released in January 2021,

were collectively identified as "Ireland's favourite sport(s)".

Gaelic football

The sport may be referred to as ''Gaelic football'' or ''Gaelic'', if confusion might otherwise arise with association football. Though it has existed for centuries in Ireland as Caid, Gaelic football was formally arranged into an organised playing code by the

(GAA) in the late nineteenth century. It is the most popular sport in Ireland The game is played at underage, minor (under 18), under 21 and adult levels. All players are amateur, although players at a high level may receive income from sources such as sponsorship and grants. Gaelic footballers play for a local club or parish team, with the best chosen for the inter-county sides. County players may be chosen to play in inter-provincial

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

games or for the 'International Rules' team to face Australia. The main national competitions are the inter-county

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

and

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

, also known as the NFL. A Gaelic football year starts with pre-season competitions and the NFL. In early summer, the Championship begins. Each of the four provinces has its own tournament, and teams which are knocked out must do well in the 'qualifiers' if they are to gain a spot along with the four Provincial Champions in the All-Ireland quarter-finals. The All-Ireland Senior Football final is traditionally held on the third Sunday in September. Kerry are football's most successful team, with 37 All-Ireland senior titles. There are a number of rivalries within the game – an example is that between

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

and Meath. Other notable derbies or rivalries include

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

v Kerry, Mayo v

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

, Kerry v Dublin and Tyrone v Donegal.

Hurling

Hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

is a sport native to Ireland for several thousand years, organized by the

. In terms of attendance figures, hurling is second only to Gaelic football. Hurling is the fastest field sport in the world. The game has similarities to

shinty Shinty ( gd, camanachd, iomain) is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread in Scotland, and ...

and hockey. However the ball (or ''

sliotar A sliotar ( , ) or sliothar is a hard solid sphere slightly larger than a tennis ball, consisting of a cork core covered by two pieces of leather stitched together. Sometimes called a "hurling ball", it resembles a baseball with more pronounced s ...

'') is rarely played along the ground. Hurling is played on a large grass pitch. Many aspects of the organisation of hurling are similar to football, as both sports are organised by the GAA. Amateurism and the club/county/province structure are similar. Gaelic football has a larger footprint in terms of top-level competition, but in several counties where both sports are played, hurling sometimes holds precedence, and in certain parts of the country, it is the dominant game (Kilkenny, rural Antrim, Ards peninsula in County Down, and Clare, for example). Hurling is well-attended at elite level and the highest-level games fill

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and h ...

to its capacity of over 82,000. The main competitions are the

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition i ...

, the Leinster and Munster provincial championships and the

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the league system. ...

(NHL). Hurling and camogie are both included on

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Camogie

Camogie Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game of hurling (which is played by men onl ...

, played exclusively by women, is similar to

although a smaller

is used, there is the option to hand-pass into the goal, and the dress code requires players to wear a skort. The first game of camogie was played in

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

in 1904.

Gaelic handball

Gaelic handball Gaelic handball (known in Ireland simply as handball; ga, liathróid láimhe) is a sport where players hit a ball with a hand or fist against a wall in such a way as to make a shot the opposition cannot return, and that may be played with two ( ...

, or simply 'handball', like the related sport of

American handball American handball, known as handball in the United States and sometimes referred to as wallball, is a sport in which players use their hands to hit a small, rubber ball against a wall such that their opponent(s) cannot do the same without the bal ...

, somewhat resembles squash or

racquetball Racquetball is a racquet sport and a team sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek invented the modern sport of racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase velo ...

, but with the ball played or struck with the hand or fist instead of a racquet. It has no connection with the Olympic sport of handball which has limited following in Ireland, where it is generally known as Olympic handball. In Ireland, there are four main types of handball. These are 40x20 (small court), the traditional 60x30 Softball and Hardball (big alley) and One-wall handball. Handball is played with a variety of balls. Gloves and eyeguards are compulsory for some competitions. The sport is managed and promoted by

GAA Handball GAA Handball Ireland (Irish: ''Liathróid Láimhe C.L.G. na hÉireann'') is the governing body for the sport of Gaelic handball in all of its codes in Ireland. Handball is one of the four Gaelic games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association ...

, a subsidiary body of the GAA.

Rounders

Rounders ( ga, cluiche corr) is regulated by the

(GAA) in Ireland, and is similar to baseball. Game-play centers around

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is ...

where teams alternate at turns being batters and fielders. Points ("rounders") are scored by the batting team by completing a circuit around the field through four bases

Association football

Association football is a popular sport in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

and

but while international matches play before large crowds, and are passionately followed, domestic league games typically attract smaller attendances. English football leagues are also popular in Ireland, with a survey in February 2020 indicating that up to 40,000 Irish fans travel to games in England on a "regular basis". The national body in the Republic of Ireland is the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) while the national body in Northern Ireland is the

Irish Football Association The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became the Northern Ireland national football team. ...

(IFA). The domestic leagues are the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...

(in the Republic) and the

NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the North ...

(or Irish League) (Northern Ireland). Some of the major teams in Ireland include

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most ...

Dundalk FC Dundalk Football Club ( ; ga, Cumann Peile Dhún Dealgan) is a professional association football club that competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top tier of football in the Republic of Ireland. The club is based in Dundalk ...

and

Shelbourne FC Shelbourne Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Shíol Bhroin) is an Irish association football club based in Drumcondra, Dublin, who play in the League of Ireland Premier Division. Shelbourne were founded in Dublin in 1895. In 1904 the club joine ...

in the Republic,

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882. History Early history In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...

and Linfield in Northern Ireland, and Derry City, a team from the North who play in the League of Ireland. Due to the financial incentives abroad, most of Ireland's top players, such as

Damien Duff Damien Anthony Duff (born 2 March 1979) is an Irish professional football manager and former player who played predominantly as a winger. He has been the manager of League of Ireland club Shelbourne F.C. since November 2021. He began his prof ...

John O'Shea John Francis O'Shea (; born 30 April 1981) is an Irish professional football coach and former player. He was known for his versatility in playing several positions on either side of the pitch or the centre. Born in Waterford, O'Shea joined Man ...

Aiden McGeady Aiden John McGeady (born 4 April 1986) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Scottish Premiership club Hibernian. Born in Scotland, he represented the Republic of Ireland national team from 2004 until 2017. He started his c ...

and Jonny Evans, play in the leagues of larger European countries, particularly in England and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. This, along with the Irish media's huge coverage of the English league, is one of the reasons why Irish people tend to support leading British clubs such as

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

and

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

. Only occasionally does a League of Ireland or Irish League player make either of the national teams, despite the fact that the leagues sometimes produce some of Ireland's top players including internationals Kevin Doyle, Shane Long and Gareth McAuley and players like

Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, coach and former professional player. He is the joint most successful Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came durin ...

in the past. On the international stage, the

and

teams have both competed in three

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

s, with the Republic also appearing in three

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

, most recently in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. The Milk Cup is an international youth tournament held annually in Northern Ireland, in which clubs and national teams from elsewhere in the world may compete. Northern Ireland also played host to the 2005

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs fo ...

Under-19 European Championships.

Rugby union

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

is played and supported throughout Ireland, and is especially popular in urban areas such as

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

and

. Rugby union is played at club, province and national levels. The Ireland national team is composed of players from both Northern Ireland and the Republic, and the

Irish Rugby Football Union The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) ( ga, Cumann Rugbaí na hÉireann) is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland (both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ...

governs the sport throughout the island. Success at international level and the establishment of four professional teams has increased interest in rugby union as a sport in Ireland. At the 2018 World Rugby Awards, Ireland had been presented with a 'hat-trick' of awards, with

Johnny Sexton Jonathan Jeremiah Sexton (born 11 July 1985) is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Leinster Rugby and Ireland, and he also captains both teams. He represented the British & Irish Lions in both 2013 and 2017 and has scored o ...

winning the Player of the Year, Joe Schmidt the Coach of the Year, and the national squad the

Team of the Year Team of the Year may refer to: *BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award *Canadian Press Team of the Year Award *GPA Gaelic Team of the Year *IRB International Sevens Team of the Year *IRB International Team of the Year * J.League Team of the ...

awards. As of July 2022, following two defeats of New Zealand, the Ireland national rugby union team was ranked 1st in the World Rugby Rankings. School rugby union is also played at primary and secondary level, and traditional rugby playing schools include: St Michael's College,

Blackrock College Blackrock College ( ga, Coláiste na Carraige Duibhe) is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school for boys aged 13–18, in Williamstown, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded by French missionary Jules Leman in 186 ...

Belvedere College Belvedere College S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. The school has numerous alumni in the arts, politics, sports, science, and business. History Belvedere owes its origi ...

, Castleknock College,

Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814, which features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel '' A Portrait of the Artist as ...

, St Mary's College, and Terenure College in Dublin, Crescent College, Castletroy College, St Munchin's College,

Glenstal Abbey Glenstal Abbey is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery of the Congregation of the Annunciation located in Murroe, County Limerick, Ireland. It is dedicated to Saint Joseph and Saint Columba. The current abbot of the monastery is Brendan Cof ...

and Ardscoil Rís in Limerick,

Rockwell College Rockwell College ( ga, Coláiste Charraig an Tobair), founded in 1864, is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school near Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. The school has a rugby tradition and has won the Munster Schools S ...

in Tipperary, Presentation Brothers College,

Bandon Grammar School Bandon Grammar School () is a Church of Ireland secondary school situated in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland. Established in 1642, it is one of the oldest schools in Ireland. General Bandon Grammar School is a co-educational, boarding and da ...

and Christian Brothers College in Cork, and

Campbell College Campbell College located in Belfast, Northern Ireland and founded in 1894 comprises a preparatory school department (junior age) and a senior Northern Ireland 'Voluntary Grammar' school, the latter meaning, in terms of provision of education, a ...

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

and

Methodist College Belfast God with us , established = 1865 , type = Voluntary grammar , religion = Interdenominational , principal = Jenny Lendrum , chair_label = Chairwoman , chair = Revd. Dr Janet Unsworth , founder ...

in the north.

Boxing

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

is overseen by the

Boxing Union of Ireland The Boxing Union of Ireland (BUI) is the governing and sanctioning body for professional boxing in Ireland. Foundation and organisation The BUI was founded in 1980, and replaced the BBBofC associated "Irish Boxing Board of Control", which h ...

and Irish Athletic Boxing Association. Amateur boxers account for sixteen of Ireland's 31 Olympic medals, including two Olympic gold medals. Ireland's amateur boxers have also won medals at numerous top level competitions worldwide including World Senior Championships, European Senior Championships, World Junior Championships, World Youth Championships, European Junior Championships and European Youth Championships. The country's most successful boxers include

Steve Collins Stephen Collins (born 21 July 1964) is an Irish former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 1997. Known as the Celtic Warrior, Collins is the most successful male Irish boxer in recent professional boxing history, having held the WBO mi ...

Bernard Dunne Bernard Dunne (born 6 February 1980) is an Irish former professional boxer and a former WBA (Regular), and European Super Bantamweight champion. On Saturday 21 March 2009, Dunne defeated Ricardo Cordoba in the 11th round to become the WBA ...

, Barry McGuigan,

Michael Carruth Michael Carruth (born 9 July 1967) is a southpaw Irish Olympic boxer from Dublin. He is best known for winning the welterweight gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. He turned Pro in 1994 but retired in 2000. Amateur boxing ;Ol ...

Ryan Burnett Ryan Burnett (born 21 May 1992) is a Northern Irish former professional boxer who competed from 2013 to 2019. He was a unified bantamweight world champion, having held the WBA (Unified) and IBF titles between 2017 and 2018. At regional level ...

, Andy Lee, John Duddy,

Carl Frampton Carl Frampton (born 21 February 1987) is a former professional boxer from Northern Ireland who competed from 2009 to 2021. He is a former two-weight world champion, having held the WBA (Unified) and IBF super-bantamweight titles between 2014 a ...

Kellie Harrington Kellie Anne Harrington (born 11 December 1989) is an Irish people, Irish amateur boxing, amateur boxer, amateur World champion and an Olympic gold medallist. She was a silver medallist in the 2016 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships – Lig ...

and

Katie Taylor Katie Taylor (born 2 July 1986) is an Irish professional boxer and former footballer. She is a two-weight world champion and the current undisputed lightweight champion, having held the WBA title since 2017; the IBF title since 2018; and the ...

. The latter is among the world's most successful female boxers, and Taylor has won five European Championships and four World Championships, as well as the inaugural women's lightweight gold at the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Athletics

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

in Ireland is governed by Athletics Ireland, and in Northern Ireland by Athletics Northern Ireland. Athletics has seen some of the Ireland's highest performers at the Olympics, with several Irish athletes performing well for both the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain & Northern Ireland at the games over the years.

Denis Horgan Denis Horgan (18 May 1871 – 2 June 1922) was a champion Irish athlete and weight thrower, born in Banteer, County Cork, who competed mainly in the shot put. Biography Shortly after setting a world's record of 48 feet 2 inches wi ...

won the shot put 13 times at the AAAs, (still holding a title for greatest number of individual titles won), before emigrating to the United States where he won a number of American titles. Horgan also broke the world record on several occasions and silver at the 1908 Olympics. Dr. Pat O'Callaghan (also from North Cork) won the hammer throw in 1928 and again in 1932 at the Olympic Games.

Bob Tisdall Robert Morton Newburgh Tisdall (16 May 1907 in Nuwara Eliya, Ceylon ''now'' Sri Lanka – 27 July 2004 in Nambour, Queensland, Australia) was an Irish athlete who won a gold medal in the 400-metre hurdles at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los ...

also won gold for Ireland in 1932, competing in the 400m hurdles. In the late 20th and early 21st century, notable athletes have included

Ron Delany Ronald Michael Delany (born 6 March 1935) is an Irish former athlete who specialised in middle-distance running. He won a gold medal in the 1500 metres event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. He later earned a bronze medal in the 1500 m ...

, Mary Peters, John Treacy, Eamonn Coghlan, Sonia O'Sullivan and

Robert Heffernan Robert Heffernan (born 28 February 1978) is an Irish race walker. Career At the 2000 Olympics he finished in 28th place, and at the 2004 Olympics he was disqualified, both in the 20 km race walking discipline. At the 2008 Olympic Games h ...

. The

Dublin Marathon The Dublin Marathon is an annual 26.2 mile (42.2 km) road marathon in Dublin, Ireland, held on the last Sunday in October. Prior to 2016, the race took place on the last Monday in October, which is a public holiday in Ireland. Held each year ...

and

Belfast Marathon The Belfast City Marathon takes place in Belfast in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east ...

are run annually and are two of the most popular athletics events in the country. The Women's Mini Marathon in Dublin consistently gets upwards of 40000 competitors.

Equestrian

The various

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

sports have a sizeable following in Ireland. After Gaelic games, horse racing is the second most attended sport in the country, with around 1.3 million attendees annually. That is the largest number of horseracing fans in any country on a per capita basis. The governing body is Horse Sport Ireland (formerly the Equestrian Federation of Ireland), which is composed of 15 Irish affiliate bodies, representing all facets of equestrian sport. These sports include

eventing Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This ...

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined by ...

endurance riding Endurance riding is an equestrian sport based on controlled long-distance races. It is one of the international competitions recognized by the FEI. There are endurance rides worldwide. Endurance rides can be any distance, though they are rare ...

, para-equestrian,

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small ha ...

and carriage driving. Overall administration of Irish horse-racing is carried out by

Horse Racing Ireland Horse Racing Ireland (HRI; ga, Rásaíocht Capaill na hÉireann) is the governing body of horse racing on the island of Ireland. It is based in the Curragh, County Kildare, next to the racecourse of that name. HRI was founded in 2001, succeedi ...

. Horse Racing Ireland is responsible for racing in both the

, which has 24 racecourses, and in

, which has 2 racecourses. Ireland's top tracks are

the Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...

and

Fairyhouse Fairyhouse Racecourse is a horse racing venue in the Republic of Ireland. It is situated in the parish of Ratoath in County Meath, on the R155 regional road, off the N3. It hosted its first race in 1848 and since 1870 has been the home of ...

. The breeding industry (including the world's largest

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

breeding operation,

Coolmore Stud Coolmore Stud, in Fethard, County Tipperary, Ireland, is headquarters of the world's largest breeding operation of thoroughbred racehorses. Through its racing arm, Ballydoyle, Coolmore also has raced many classic winners and champions. The operat ...

) has produced many top race horses.

Golf

As of the early 21st century, golf is among the most-played sports in the country, with a 2008 report for the

Irish Sports Council Sport Ireland ( ga, Spórt Éireann), formerly the Irish Sports Council, is a statutory authority that oversees, and partly funds, the development of sport within Ireland. It is located at the National Sports Campus in the townland of Sheephill ...

indicating that golf was then the fourth most popular sport by participation rate. Ireland was the first country to organise the sport on a national basis, with two "oldest governing bodies in world golf", the

Golfing Union of Ireland The Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI) ( Irish: ''Aontas Gailf na hÉireann (AGÉ)'') was the governing body for men's and boy's amateur golf across the island of Ireland. Formed in 1891, the GUI was the first national golfing union to be establishe ...

(GUI) and the Irish Ladies Golf Union (ILGU), being formed in 1891 and 1893 respectively. There are over 400 golf clubs throughout the island, and over 300 courses in the Republic of Ireland, and (as of 2009) Ireland reportedly had the fourth most golf courses per capita in the world, Among Ireland's most famous golf courses are Royal County Down Golf Club,

Royal Portrush Golf Club Royal Portrush Golf Club is a private golf club in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The 36-hole club has two links courses, the Dunluce Links (the championship course) and the Valley Links. The former is one of the courses on the rota of the Ope ...

Portmarnock Portmarnock () is a coastal suburban settlement in Fingal, Ireland, with significant beaches, a modest commercial core and inland residential estates, and two golf courses, including one of Ireland's best-known golf clubs. , the population was ...

Ballybunion Ballybunion or Ballybunnion () is a coastal town and seaside resort in County Kerry, Ireland, on the Wild Atlantic Way, from the town of Listowel. Tourism Ballybunion has two main beaches, divided by the Castle Green. The Ladies Beach is to t ...

and

Lahinch Lahinch or Lehinch ( ''or'' ) is a small town on Liscannor Bay, on the northwest coast of County Clare, Ireland. It lies on the N67 national secondary road, between Milltown Malbay and Ennistymon, roughly by road southwest of Galway and no ...

. The most prestigious tournament of Ireland is the Irish Open, which is held on courses in the four provinces. Also, the

K Club The Kildare Hotel and Golf Club (abbreviated The K Club) is a golf and leisure complex in the Republic of Ireland, located at Straffan, County Kildare. It is built on the original grounds of the Straffan estate, incorporating the 1830s Straffan ...

in County Kildare hosted the European Open from 1995 to 2007. Golf is regularly televised in Ireland, with both domestic and international events broadcast. Ireland produced several top golfers in the late 20th and early 21st century, with players like Pádraig Harrington, Paul McGinley and Shane Lowry achieving significant success internationally. For example, Harrington and McGinley won the World Cup of Golf in 1997 and, together with Clarke, were part of the European team that successfully defended the

2006 Ryder Cup The 36th Ryder Cup Matches were held 22–24 September 2006 in Ireland at the Palmer Course of the K Club in Straffan, County Kildare, west of Dublin. It was the first time the event was played in Ireland. Europe won by 18 to 9 points, equallin ...

. Harrington also won

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later t ...

(British Open) in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, and the

2008 PGA Championship The 2008 PGA Championship was the 90th PGA Championship, played from August 7–10 at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb northwest of Detroit. Pádraig Harrington won his second consecutive major and third overall ...

. Clarke and Lowry won the 2011 Open Championship and 2019 Open Championship respectively. Three other golfers from Northern Ireland have had international successes in the 21st century.

Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who is a member of both the European and PGA Tours. He is the current world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has spent over 100 weeks in ...

has several major tournament wins, including the 2011 U.S. Open. He was world number one in the

Official World Golf Ranking The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...

for 95 weeks.

Graeme McDowell Graeme McDowell (born 30 July 1979) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland. He has a total of eleven tournament victories on the European Tour, and four on the PGA Tour, including one major championship, the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble ...

won the 2010 U.S. Open, becoming the first Irish player to do so. Darren Clarke won the 2011 Open Championship.

Cricket

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

has been played in Ireland since the early 19th century, and the game against

(a match which has first-class status) has been played annually since 1909. The sport is organised on an all-island basis and is overseen by the

Irish Cricket Union Cricket Ireland, officially the Irish Cricket Union, is the national governing body for cricket on the island of Ireland (both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland), and oversees the national men's and women's cricket teams. It also org ...

, founded in its present incarnation in 1923. Ireland has entered some domestic English tournaments since the early 1980s, but becoming an Associate Member of the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are 108 national associations, with 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members. Founded in 1909 as the '' ...

in 1993 paved the way for participation in international competition. Ireland co-hosted the

1999 Cricket World Cup The 1999 Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Cricket World Cup '99) was the seventh edition of the Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted primarily by England, with Scotland, Ireland, Wales ...

. It is most popular in Northern Ireland and Dublin. The

Ireland cricket team The Ireland cricket team represents all of Ireland in international cricket. The Irish Cricket Union, operating under the brand Cricket Ireland is the sport's governing body in Ireland, and organises the international team. Ireland particip ...

was among the associate nations that qualified for the

2007 Cricket World Cup The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth Cricket World Cup, a One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007. There were a total of 51 matches played, three fewer than at the ...

. It defeated

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and finished second in its pool, earning a place in the Super 8 stage of the competition. The team also competed in the

2009 ICC World Twenty20 The 2009 ICC World Twenty20 was an international Twenty20 cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) that took place in England in June 2009. It was the second ICC World Twenty20 tournament, following the inaugural ...

, and won the

2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier The 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier was a cricket tournament that took place in April 2009 in South Africa. It was the final part of the Cricket World Cup qualification process for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. The tournament is the renamed version ...

to secure a place in the

2011 Cricket World Cup The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka, and for the first time in Bangladesh. India won the tournament, defeating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai ...

. Kevin O'Brien scored the fastest century in World Cup history (113 runs off 63 balls), as Ireland produced one of the great upsets to defeat England by 3 wickets in the 2011 tournament. In 2017, domestic cricket in Ireland was recognized as first-class cricket for the first time, and was granted Test status in 2017. Prior to the granting of Test status, a number of Irish cricketers went to England to play

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last f ...

, including

Eoin Morgan Eoin (, or ) is an Irish name. The Scottish Gaelic equivalent is () and both are closely related to the Welsh . It is also cognate with the Irish . In the Irish language, it is the name used for all Biblical figures known as ''John'' in Engl ...

from Dublin, who captained the English cricket team to 2019 Cricket World Cup success.

Field hockey

Field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

(known in Ireland as just "hockey") is played throughout the country, particularly in secondary schools. The governing body in Ireland is the Irish Hockey Association. The

Ireland women's national field hockey team The Ireland women's national field hockey team is organised by Hockey Ireland and represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in international women's field hockey competitions, including the Women's Hockey World Cup and the Wom ...

reached the final of the

Women's Hockey World Cup The Women's FIH Hockey World Cup is the field hockey World Cup competition for women, whose format for qualification and the final tournament is similar to the men's. It has been held since 1974. The tournament has been organized by the Internat ...

in 2018. As of 2018, the

Ireland men's national field hockey team The Ireland men's national field hockey team is organised by Hockey Ireland and represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in international men's field hockey competitions, including the Summer Olympics, the Men's Hockey World ...

were ranked 10th in the

FIH World Rankings The FIH Men's World Ranking is a ranking system for men's national teams in field hockey. The teams of the member nations of International Hockey Federation (FIH), field hockey's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results. The ra ...

Other sports

Australian rules football

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

has gained a following in Ireland which has increased mainly due to the International rules series that takes place annually between Australia and Ireland. In October 2000, the Australian Rules Football League of Ireland was established, and a representative Irish team took part in the 2005 Australian Football International Cup. The Irish Green Machine became inaugural International champions in 2002. They have been finalists in every AFL International Cup since and were 2011 International Cup champions. Belfast and Dublin have been hosts to the AFL Euro Cup.

Chess

The

Irish Chess Union The Irish Chess Union (ICU; ), is the governing body for chess in Ireland since its formation in 1912. ICU is a member of FIDE since 1933 and the European Chess Union. The ICU promotes chess in Ireland and maintains the chess rating for play ...

(ICU), formed in 1912, is the governing body for chess in Ireland and a member of FIDE since 1933 and the European Chess Union. The ICU promotes Chess in Ireland and maintains the chess rating for players in Ireland, which are published three times a year. It runs competitions such as the Irish Chess Championship and selects teams to participate in international competitions for Ireland.

Croquet

Croquet was first played in Ireland in the 1830s. The governing association of the sport is the Croquet Association of Ireland. Most international matches and large tournaments are played at the Carrickmines Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, near Dublin.

Cycling

There are many regional cycling clubs throughout the country and competitions are organised regularly, the largest non-professional event being the '' Rás'' (Irish for race). The main governing body is Cycling Ireland which is responsible for cycling throughout the island. Ireland's most famous cyclists are

Stephen Roche Stephen Roche (; born 28 November 1959) is an Irish former professional road racing cyclist. In a 13-year professional career, he peaked in 1987, becoming the second of only two cyclists to win the Triple Crown of victories in the Tour de Fr ...

, who won both the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

and Giro d'Italia in 1987; and Sean Kelly, who won the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the ...

in 1988, the sprinter's green jersey in the Tour de France four times, the Paris-Nice seven times in succession as well as four of the five 'Monuments'. Mountain biking is supported by a number of dedicated trail centers in Wicklow, Dublin, Galway and Tipperary. For competitive mountain bikers, there is a National Cross-Country series, a National Downhill series and a National Enduro series. BMX events are undertaken at the Ratoath BMX track in County Meath, and an indoor BMX track in Cherry Orchard in County Dublin.

Darts

The Irish National Darts Organisation (INDO) is a governing body for Irish darts and is recognised by the

World Darts Federation The World Darts Federation (WDF) is a sport governing body and (along with the PDC) a tournament organiser for the game of darts. It was formed in 1974 by representatives of the original fourteen founding members. Membership is open to the nati ...

and British Darts Organisation.

Extreme sports

Extreme sports Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...

undertaken in Ireland include

skateboarding Skateboarding is an action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation ...

rollerblading Inline skating is a multi-disciplinary sport and can refer to a number of activities practiced using inline skates. Inline skates typically have two to five polyurethane wheels depending on the style of practice, arranged in a single line by a ...

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable ...

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

mountain boarding Mountainboarding, also known as Dirtboarding, Offroad Boarding, and All-Terrain Boarding (ATB), is a well establishedWall Street Journal, April 16th 1998 if little-known action sport, derived from snowboarding. This was initially pioneered by Ja ...

kitesurfing Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

and

wakeboarding Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (a board with foot bindings), is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboardin ...

. Several of these sports have national governing bodies, such as the Irish Surfing Association, and national competitions, such as mountainbiking's national series. Since 2005, skateparks (for skateboarding, rollerblading, and other sports) have been developed in several places, including in Greystones, Bushy park (Dublin) and Lucan (Dublin). Modular parks can be found in other parts of Ireland.

Greyhound racing

Greyhound racing began in Ireland in 1927; there were greyhound races in Celtic Park in Belfast on 18 April of that year and the

Shelbourne Park Shelbourne Park is a greyhound racing stadium in the south Dublin inner city suburb of Ringsend. Greyhound Racing Opening The plans to open a greyhound track in Dublin were drawn up by Paddy O’Donoghue, Jerry Collins, Patsy McAlinden and Ji ...

greyhound stadium opened in

four weeks later. Hare coursing was already a well established sport in the country and greyhounds were bred for racing in Ireland from the very start. Mick the Miller, winner of the English Derby in 1929 and 1930, was an Irish greyhound and Ireland continues to export greyhounds. There are twenty licensed greyhound stadiums in Ireland. There are seventeen in the Republic where the licensing authority is

Bord na gCon Greyhound Racing Ireland ( ga, Rásaíocht Con Éireann, formerly ga, Bord na gCon) is an Irish semi-state body charged with regulating and promoting Greyhound racing in Ireland. The organisation has been active in developing the sport in Irela ...

, the Irish Greyhound Board. This is a semi-state body and was established by the

in 1958. The three stadiums in Northern Ireland are licensed by the Irish Coursing Club, which also organises hare coursing throughout the Island.

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is governed by Irish Gymnastics which was formed in 1999, following the merging of the Irish Amateur Gymnastics Association and the Irish Sports Acrobatics Federation. There are 83 registered gymnastics clubs in Ireland (including Northern Ireland). Gymnastics includes four Olympic disciplines, women's artistic gymnastics, men's artistic gymnastics, trampoline gymnastics, and rhythmic gymnastics, and four non-Olympic disciplines, acrobatic gymnastics, tumbling gymnastics, gymnastics for all, and sports aerobics. The most successful Irish gymnast ever is Rhys McClenaghan. In 2019, he became the first Irish gymnast to qualify to a world championships final and to also win a medal, taking bronze on pommel horse. In addition to his world medal, McClenaghan is the first Irish gymnast to compete in a European final and also the first to win a European medal. In 2019, he qualified for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Kendo

While still a minority sport in Ireland, there are a number of

Kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords ( shinai) as well as protective armor ( bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spre ...

clubs based in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Cavan. The Irish Kendo Federation is the governing body for the country. The Irish National Kendo Squad participates in the European Kendo Championships and the World Kendo Championships, as well as other international competitions. The main Kendo event in Ireland is the annual Irish National Championships (INC) which takes place in June each year. Kendo in Northern Ireland is governed by the British Kendo Association (BKA).

Martial arts

The National Governing Body of Martial Arts in Ireland, as appointed by the Irish Sports Council, is the Irish Martial Arts Commission. The Irish Martial Arts Commission represents the martial arts of Aikido, Ju-Jitsu, Karate, Kendo, Kickboxing, Kung-Fu, TaeKwon-Do, Ninjutsu, Sambo and Tai Chi. The Executive Committee of the Irish Martial Arts Commission is made up of 2 representative elected within the membership of each Martial Art.

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

and

Karate (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fuj ...

are represented by various clubs throughout the country. The All-Ireland Taekwondo Association works to promote the sport and to organise competitions. Kickboxing Ireland (formally known as Allstyles Kickboxing Association of Ireland) was founded in 1985 to unify and structure the sport in Ireland. It was recognised by the Irish Sports Council as a national governing body of sport in 1993 under the auspices of the Irish Martial Arts Commission.

Motorsport

Motorsport also has a presence in Ireland with

Motorsport Ireland Motorsport Ireland is the National Governing Body for four-wheeled motorsports in the Republic of Ireland. ''Motorsport Ireland'' is affiliated to the supreme authority for world motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (F ...

being the governing body throughout the country.

Rallying Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

is one popular form of motorsport, with three major Rally Championships taking place every year, each hosting 6-7 rally events across the country. These include the Donegal International Rally, West Cork Rally, Galway International Rally and others. Ireland also hosted a round of the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

in 2007 and 2009, with stages being held in the Republic and also across the border in Northern Ireland, and was a stage candidate in 2016. Circuit racing is also present in the country with Ireland having only one international venue,

Mondello Park Mondello Park is Ireland's only international motorsport venue and is located in Caragh, County Kildare off the R409 regional road, approximately from Dublin city centre. History The Mondello Park short circuit was designed on farmland ne ...

in County Kildare which formerly hosted rounds of several international events and still hosts national events today. The country has produced many drivers who climbed the international ladder such as Derek Daly, Peter Dempsey, Tommy Byrne,

Eddie Jordan Edmund Patrick Jordan, OBE (born 30 March 1948), also known as EJ, is an Irish businessman, television personality and former motorsport team owner. Born in Dublin, Jordan worked first at the Bank of Ireland. He won the Irish Kart Championship ...

and David Kennedy.

Kart racing Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on fu ...

and

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It or ...

are also a popular forms of circuit racing in Ireland. Motorcycle racing in Ireland is governed by Motorcycling Ireland. Established in 1902, it is the oldest motorcycle sport federation in the world.

Olympic Handball

Olympic Handball is a minority sport in Ireland, with the Irish Olympic Handball Association acting as the national governing body. In 2011, Ireland hosted the European Challenge Trophy in Olympic Handball (a competition for developing nations).

Orienteering

Orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a ...

in Ireland is regulated by the Irish Orienteering Association. Every two years, the Shamrock o-Ringen, Ireland's largest Orienteering event, is held in Cork or Kerry. Irish orienteers compete at all levels, sometimes reaching the finals at the World Orienteering Championships.

Pitch and putt

The sport of

pitch and putt Pitch and putt is an amateur sport very similar to, and derived from, golf, where the hole length is typically up to and just 2–3 clubs are typically used. The game was organised and developed in Ireland during the early 20th century, befor ...

originated in

in the 1930s, and was developed throughout Ireland during the 1940s. Since 1960 it has been overseen by the Pitch and Putt Union of Ireland, in turn a member of the

European Pitch and Putt Association The European Pitch and Putt Association (EPPA) is the governing body for Pitch and putt in Europe. It was formed in 2000 by representatives from the Pitch and Putt Union of Ireland ( Ireland), British Pitch and Putt Union ( Great Britain), Associa ...

and Federation of International Pitch and Putt Associations. The Ireland men's national pitch and putt team won the

2008 Pitch and Putt World Cup The 2008 Pitch and putt World Cup was held on the Papendal course, close to Arnhem ( Netherlands) and was the third edition for this championship promoted by the Federation of International Pitch and Putt Associations (FIPPA), with 14 national te ...

Racquet sports

Tennis, badminton, racquetball and squash are common in Ireland. In Tennis,

Tennis Ireland Tennis Ireland is the governing body for tennis for the island of Ireland, with responsibilities for clubs and competitions. It was founded in 1908 and has almost 180 affiliated clubs and with approximately 80,000 players. Tennis Ireland is divide ...

is the governing body and runs several competitions between the approximately 200 clubs throughout Ireland. Ireland competes in tennis internationally in the

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organi ...

(men's) and the

Fed Cup The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was chan ...

(ladies). Ireland had had a prominent tennis tournament, the Irish Open, in the past, which was considered an important tournament prior to the establishment of world championship events in 1913. The men's event was abolished in 1979, and the women's event was abolished in 1983 - however, it remains as a lower-tier ITF tournament. Badminton in Ireland is run by the BUI.

Road bowling

Irish Road Bowling is an ancient sport. It is centred in Ireland (particularly Cork and Armagh) but is also played in the United States and the United Kingdom. Similar sports are played in the Netherlands, Germany and Italy and since the 1960s there have been international championships held with athletes participating from these countries.

Rowing

Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

is an Olympic Sport which is regulated by Rowing Ireland. During the winter there are Head of the River Races (processional timed races) and during the summer there are Regattas (side by side racing). The Irish Championships are held at the National Rowing Centre in Cork.

Rugby League

Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

in Ireland is governed by

Rugby League Ireland Rugby League Ireland (RLI) is the internationally recognised governing body for the development of rugby league football in Ireland, having secured official recognition from the RLIF in 2000. It is recognised within the Irish Sports Council an ...

, which runs the Irish Elite League (known as the Carnegie League for sponsorship purposes), which is the top level rugby league competition in Ireland. There are approximately 20 teams across

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following t ...

and

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

. The Irish rugby league team compete in the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

and the

Rugby League World Cup The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered by the International Rugby League and was first held in France in 1954, which was t ...

. It is made up predominantly of players based in Great Britain. Ireland reached the quarter-finals of the 2000 Rugby League World Cup and the

2008 Rugby League World Cup The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since its 1954 Rugby League World Cup, inauguration in 1954, and the first since the 2000 Rugby League World Cup, 2000 tournament. The tournament was held ...

Sailing

Sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' ( land yacht) over a chose ...

in Ireland is governed and regulated by the Irish Sailing Association in Dún Laoghaire. Events are organised by the various clubs on the coasts and on the reservoirs and lakes. The first sailing club was the Cork Water Club (now the Royal Cork Yacht Club), which was founded in 1720.

Snooker and pool

Snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. First played by British Army officers stationed in ...

and pool hold some interest in Ireland, with media coverage of most major international tournaments. The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland have produced some of the world's most successful snooker players, including Ken Doherty, Alex Higgins and

Dennis Taylor Dennis Taylor (born 19 January 1949) is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He is best known for winning the 1985 World Snooker Championship, where he defeated the defending champion Steve Davis in a ...

Target shooting

Target shooting in Ireland comprises a number of disciplines. These include the Olympic rifle and pistol shooting disciplines (administered by the NTSA), metallic silhouette shooting (administered by the NSAI), precision pistol, benchrest rifle, gallery rifle and sporting rifle disciplines (administered by the NASRPC), the Tetrathlon (administered by the Pony Club) and Olympic Penthathlon (administered by the Modern Pentathlon Association of Ireland), both Olympic and non-Olympic

clay pigeon shooting Clay pigeon shooting, also known as clay target shooting, is a shooting sport involving shooting a firearm at special flying targets known as clay pigeons, or clay targets. The terminology commonly used by clay shooters often relates to time ...

(administered by the ICPSA) and various long-range rifle shooting disciplines (administered by the NRAI). Ireland has had representation at international target shooting competitions, including the Olympic Games. The Irish Olympic clay pigeon team won the World Championships team event in Olympic Trap in 2002 and Irish shooter Philip Murphy claimed the silver medal in the

2007 World Shotgun Championships The 2007 ISSF World Shotgun Championships were held in Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, Romanization of Armenian, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city ...

; he has also placed in the top ten in two World Championships and two World Cups. His teammate Derek Burnett won silver in the 2007 World Cup in

Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, the seat of the Drava sta ...

and has placed in the top ten in three World Championships, two World Cup Finals and two European championships. Another teammate, David Malone, won gold in the 2004 World Cup in Cairo, and has ranked in the top ten in two World Championships, one World Cup Final and five World Cups. The team has also won several World Cup medals in both team and individual events. The clay pigeon high performance director has also been appointed head of the ISSF coaches' committee and the head clay target instructor with the ISSF Training Academy. Ian O'Sullivan also became the World Junior Champion in Olympic Trap in the 2014 World Championships. Ireland became world champions in Centrefire Gallery Rifle in the inaugural World Championships in 2013, in which the Irish team beat Great Britain and Germany. Gallery Rifle events are administered in Ireland by the NASRPC.

Triathlon and adventure racing

The

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...

, as well as the

duathlon Duathlon is an athletic event that consists of a running leg, followed by a cycling leg and then another running leg in a format similar to triathlons. The International Triathlon Union governs the sport internationally. Distance and format ...

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of ...

, and

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...

, are gaining interest in Ireland. The Irish Triathlon calendar of events runs to 200 events annually. The national body for the triathlon is Triathlon Ireland which organises competitions between various clubs throughout the country. The Modern Pentathlon Association of Ireland was set up in 2004. Pentathlon and Decathlon are track and field events and organised by an athletic association, whereas Triathlon and Duathlon are organized by multi sport associations such as National Governing bodies for Triathlon and the ITU, International Triathlon Union. Adventure racing also takes place in Ireland. The majority of adventure races in Ireland fall into what's often called multisport, with run, cycle and kayak stages in events like WAR (Wicklow Adventure Race) and Gaelforce West, which are won in under 4 hours. There are also a few longer international-style adventure races lasting 24 hours and 36 hours, events like Beast of Ballyhoura and Cooley Raid.

Tug of war

Tug of war Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport that pits two teams against each other in a test of strength: teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope a certa ...

has been in Ireland for a long time and the creation of the Irish Tug of War Association in 1967 boosted the competition among clubs in Ireland and also enabled Ireland to compete in international events, such as the Tug of War International Federation (TWIF) World Championships.

Underwater sports

Ireland, being an island on the western edge of Europe and on the

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...

, is well-suited for recreational diving activities such as

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...

and

snorkelling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, ...

. The dive season in Ireland generally starts around March and ends around October. Recreational diving started in Ireland in the early 1950s with the founding of the Belfast Branch of the British Sub Aqua Club. In the early 1960s, diving clubs in the Republic of Ireland formed the

Comhairle Fo-Thuinn Comhairle Fo-Thuinn (; Irish for "Under-Wave Council"; CFT), also known as Irish Underwater Council (IUC) and trading as Diving Ireland, is the national governing body for recreational diving and underwater sports in Ireland. Organisation CF ...

(CFT) (English: ''Irish Underwater Council''). This voluntary body regulates all aspects of diving for its members, is the national governing body recognised by the Irish Government and represents the Republic of Ireland at the

Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) is an international federation that represents underwater activities in underwater sport and underwater sciences, and oversees an international system of recreational snorkel and scub ...

(World Underwater Federation). The

Northern Ireland Federation of Sub-Aqua Clubs The Northern Ireland Federation of Sub-Aqua Clubs (NIFSAC) is the National Governing Body (NGB) for ''Sub Aqua'' in Northern Ireland. ''Sub Aqua'' is a broad term encompassing both recreational underwater activities such as recreational diving and ...

which was formed in 1975 is the corresponding national governing body in Northern Ireland. As of October 2013, underwater hockey is the only

underwater sport Underwater sports is a group of competitive sports using one or a combination of the following underwater diving techniques - breath-hold, snorkelling or scuba, usually including the use of equipment such as diving masks and fins. These sport ...

being practised. This activity is limited to the Republic of Ireland where regional competition takes place in both

and

. Irish national teams have played internationally with attendance at European championships.

Water sports

Water sports practised in Ireland include

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other act ...

, swimming,

, diving,

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with th ...

, sailing, and

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits faci ...

. Whilst many people participate in these, few do so competitively. Ireland has had only one Olympic medalist in swimming,

Michelle Smith Michelle Smith de Bruin (born 16 December 1969 in Rathcoole) is an Irish lawyer and retired Olympic swimmer. She won three gold medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, for the 400 m individual medley, 400 m freestyle and 20 ...

, and her medals have since been tarnished by

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhala ...

allegations. The

National Aquatic Centre The National Aquatic Centre (NAC) ( ga, Ionad Náisiúnta Uisce) is an indoor aquatics facility in Blanchardstown, Fingal, Ireland. The State-owned complex houses a 50-metre swimming pool with an associated diving pool, an aquapark and leisure ...

was opened in Ireland in 2003 and held the European SC Championships in December 2003 – the first time the country hosted such a competition. At the competition, Ireland won its first medal at the European SC Championships ever, a silver in the 200m

breaststroke Breaststroke is a human swimming, swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and ...

Andrew Bree Andrew Patrick Bree (born 16 March 1981) is a breaststroke swimmer from Helen's Bay, County Down, Northern Ireland. He is a two-time Olympian, having swum at the 2000 and 2008 Olympics for Ireland. He also represented Northern Ireland four times ...

. The National Aquatic Centre also hosted the

2018 World Para Swimming European Championships The 2018 World Para Swimming European Championships, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2018 World Para Swimming Allianz European Championships took place in Dublin, Ireland from 13 to 19 August 2018. It was the 5th edition of the Championship ...

Swim Ireland Swim Ireland ( ga, Cumann Snámh Éireann) is the national governing body of swimming, diving, water polo, open water swimming and synchronised swimming in the island of Ireland ( Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). Competitors from ...

is the national governing body of swimming in Ireland.

Winter Sports

The

Ski Club of Ireland The Ski Club of Ireland owns and runs the largest artificial ski slope in Ireland. It is located in County Wicklow close to the village of Kilternan (County Dublin). History The Ski Club of Ireland was founded in 1963 and a few years later ran ...

is the national snowsports centre for Ireland, and consists of four outdoor dry slopes in

Kilternan Kilternan (), also known as Kiltiernan, is a village in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains south of Dublin, Ireland, near the border with County Wicklow. Location Separated from the continuous built-up Dubli ...

, Dublin. A team representing Ireland has competed at the

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

since

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

North American sports

Baseball

: Baseball is an emerging sport in Ireland. The Irish National Baseball Team won the bronze medal at the 2004 European Championships in Germany and followed up that performance with a silver medal in the 2006 European Championships in Belgium. In 2018, the team won the C Pool in European Championships in Ashbourne, County Meath to advance to the B Pool in 2019. On a club level, baseball is organized through Baseball Ireland, which operates an adult league established in 1997 with teams in Dublin, Greystones and Belfast. Irish baseball was the subject of an award-winning documentary The Emerald Diamond in 2006.

Basketball

:''See also

Ireland national basketball team The Ireland men's national basketball team ( ga, Foireann cispheile náisiúnta na hÉireann) represents the island of Ireland in international basketball. It is governed by Basketball Ireland with players from both the Republic of Ireland and N ...

'' Basketball is overseen by Basketball Ireland. This governing body organises the sport's main competitions such as the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of w ...

. The main basketball arena in Ireland is the

National Basketball Arena National Basketball Arena, also known as Tallaght Arena, is an indoor sporting arena located in Tymon Park, Tallaght, South Dublin, adjacent to the M50 motorway. The capacity of the arena is 2,500 people and it opened in January 1993. It is us ...

. The sport receives small amounts of media attention, with a few games broadcast on television annually. Basketball is mainly driven by school, college and club support.

Pat Burke Patrick John Burke (born December 14, 1973) is an Irish former professional basketball player. Burke (whose family moved from Tullamore, Ireland, to Cleveland, Ohio, when he was three years old) competed in the National Basketball Association ( ...

is the only Irish born to play in the NBA, he played for

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

and

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

Ice hockey

There is one professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

team in Northern Ireland, the Belfast Giants, playing in the

Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hocke ...

. The

Irish Ice Hockey Association The Irish Ice Hockey Association (IIHA) ( ga, Cumann Haca Oighir na hÉireann) is the official governing body of ice hockey in Ireland. 2013 Ireland participation See also * Ireland men's national ice hockey team * Ireland women's national ic ...

is the national governing body for the sport, and is responsible for the

Ireland men's national ice hockey team The Ireland national ice hockey team ( ga, Foireann haca oighir náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the national men's ice hockey team of the Republic of Ireland run by the Irish Ice Hockey Association (IIHA) and a member of the International Ice Hocke ...

and

Ireland women's national ice hockey team The Ireland women's national ice hockey team is the women's national ice hockey team of the Republic of Ireland. The team is controlled by the Irish Ice Hockey Association, a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. Until the Dundalk ...

Lacrosse

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

in Ireland is governed by Ireland Lacrosse, an association which is a member of

World Lacrosse World Lacrosse (WL), formerly the Federation of International Lacrosse, is the international governing body of lacrosse, responsible for the men's, women's, and indoor versions of the sport. It was established in 2008 by the merger of the previo ...

and the European Lacrosse Federation. The Irish men's lacrosse team made headlines in 2020 when, after qualifying for the 2022 World Games, the team gave up their place at the competition to allow the

Iroquois men's national lacrosse team The Haudenosaunee Nationals Men’s Lacrosse Team, formerly known as the Iroquois Nationals, represents the Iroquois Confederacy in international field lacrosse competition. They are currently ranked third in the world by World Lacrosse after wi ...

to participate. The Iroquois team, despite representing the Haudenosaunee Confederacy in which the sport originated, were originally excluded because they did not represent a sovereign nation with an Olympic Committee. The Irish national team refused to take their place at the competition, with the place being allocated to the Iroquois team.

Softball

:''See also

Softball in Ireland Softball in Ireland is governed by Softball Ireland, itself a member of the International Softball Federation. As of 2021, the Softball Ireland website noted that there were approximately 800 softball players and 40 teams in the country. History ...

Softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

in Ireland can be traced back as far as 1982, with the first organised competition, the Dublin Softball League, taking place in 1984. The Irish Softball Association is the governing body of softball in Ireland and is responsible for the running of tournaments, Leagues, development and international competition in both co-ed slowpitch and ladies fastpitch softball. The National Team (Co-Ed) has competed at European level since 1998, with the best results being Silver in 2002 and 2004.

Volleyball

Volleyball has men's, women's, schools' and beach-volleyball participants. The sport is governed by Volleyball Ireland (VLY). The Northern Ireland Volleyball Association govern the sport in Northern Ireland. Men, Women and Junior National Teams regularly compete in international competition including the European Small Nations Championship. The NI Men's National Team competed in the first round of the World Championships. Club volleyball is played in several men's and women's divisions (both north and south). Volleyball Ireland (VLY) also run school competitions throughout the school year: a first and second year competition, a cadette competition, a senior competition, and a general schools competition. Spikeball tournaments are also held around the country throughout the school year.

Competitions and events

National

The various GAA discipline finals are the largest sporting events regularly held in Ireland, in both terms of attendance and media coverage. The biggest national sporting event in Ireland is the final of the

, held annually in

, usually in September. It usually attracts a sell out crowd of 82,500 to croke park. Many of the matches in the championship attract crowds of 50,000+, depending on who is playing. Aside from the GAA, the biggest

multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...

held in Ireland regularly is the

Community Games Aldi Community Games is an Irish independent voluntary organisation and National Governing Body providing opportunities for children and young people to grow and develop in a positive and healthy way while experiencing a wide range of sporting and ...

. The games are organised every year from a local level, where hundreds of thousands of young people compete in different disciplines such as athletics, swimming, and cycling, in the first half of the year. Winners progress to county level, and then to the Community Games finals. The finals are held over two weekends in the summer where over 3,000 children sleep over at a campus-style facility.

International

On an international level, Ireland has had mixed fortunes, with some successes in the late 20th and early 21st century in

, amateur

, and golf. Twenty four Irish people have won Olympic medals as of 2012. At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, Ireland had one of its smallest contingents in its history at the games, with only 106 individuals participating. This was due to the strict policy followed by the

Olympic Council of Ireland The Olympic Federation of Ireland or OFI ( ga, Cónaidhm Oilimpeach na hÉireann) (called the Irish Olympic Council until 1952 and the Olympic Council of Ireland until 2018) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of the island of Ireland. At ...

of only allowing ''A'' time athletes and swimmers to attend the games. One of the biggest international events in Ireland is international soccer. The Republic's national team first qualified for a

in 1990, reaching the quarter finals of Italia '90. In rugby union, as of September 2019, Ireland's national team was ranked 1st in the world. Ireland has produced major stars such as Keith Wood, Brian O'Driscoll and Johnny Sexton. In golf, Ireland has produced several top golfers such as Pádraig Harrington. The traditional

and

are played by Irish expats, with increasingly local involvement in communities around the world, however no nation has enough players to compete with Ireland. To compensate for this the GAA has entered into a partnership with the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling ...

(Australian rules football) and plays a hybrid annual series called International rules football – this series has been going in various forms since 1967. Also the GAA plays an international hurling hybrid match with Scotland's national

team (although Ireland do not select players from the best hurling teams in Tier One of the All-Ireland championship for this game). In 2003, Ireland hosted the Special Olympics World Summer Games, as well as the European SC Championships 2003. In 2006, Ireland hosted the Ryder Cup Matches.

Stadiums

Ireland's largest stadium is the GAA's

in Dublin, which can hold 82,300 people. It is the third largest stadium in Europe. Until the late 20th century, it was only used for Gaelic games and concerts. Other GAA facilities capable of accommodating 40,000 or more people are Semple Stadium, Thurles, Gaelic Grounds, Limerick and Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork. International soccer and rugby in the Republic of Ireland are played at the 52,000 capacity Aviva Stadium. Built on the site of the former

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...

, this all-seated stadium was opened in May 2010. Thomond Park, a rugby ground in Limerick, has been rebuilt into a modern 26,000-capacity stadium, though not all-seated. Ireland has three Olympic-sized swimming pools – two of which are open to the public. The largest – located at

Sports Campus Ireland The National Sports Campus ( ga, An Campas Náisiúnta Spórt) is a large site in the western suburbs of Dublin, Ireland, which contains a number of sporting facilities. It is operated by the National Sports Campus Development Authority and is h ...

– is the

. Ireland has several large horse and greyhound tracks such as

. Plans to develop a Northern Ireland stadium at the site of the former

Maze prison Her Majesty's Prison Maze (previously Long Kesh Detention Centre, and known colloquially as The Maze or H-Blocks) was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house alleged paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population ...

to cater for Gaelic games, rugby and soccer were scrapped in 2009 after opposition from unionists and soccer fans. The

Ireland national cricket team The Ireland cricket team represents all of Ireland in international cricket. The Irish Cricket Union, operating under the brand Cricket Ireland is the sport's governing body in Ireland, and organises the international team. Ireland participa ...

play

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

s at Stormont in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

and at the

Clontarf Cricket Club Ground Castle Avenue cricket ground, also known as Clontarf Cricket Club ground, is a cricket facility in the suburb of Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland. It is the primary of the two grounds of Clontarf Cricket Club, the secondary being at Mount Temple Com ...

in Dublin. Ireland also plays Intercontinental Cup matches at the

Woodvale Road Woodvale Road is a cricket ground in Eglinton, Northern Ireland. The home team of the ground is Eglinton Cricket Club who were founded in 1936. It has a capacity of 2,000. The ground has staged two first-class matches and three List A match ...

ground, and has played test cricket at

Malahide Cricket Club Ground Malahide Cricket Club Ground or The Village is a cricket ground in Malahide, Ireland situated in the Lady Acre field of Malahide Castle grounds. The ground is owned by the Malahide Cricket Club. The ground has been developed to a capacity of 11 ...

in Dublin.

Media coverage

*Newspapers: All major newspapers dedicate space to sports coverage, particularly to soccer, Gaelic games, rugby union and equestrian events. *Television: Gaelic football, hurling and soccer receive most of the sports coverage on domestic channels.

RTÉ Two (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

and TG4 hold rights to broadcast Gaelic games in Ireland. Coverage of the

is shared between RTÉ and other channels.

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television * Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by E ...

and RTÉ Two both have rights to various European soccer competitions, such as the Champions League and the English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

. Satellite and cable subscribers have access to other foreign channels such as

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

and ''Attheraces''. *Magazines: There are relatively few Irish based magazines apart from GAA ones such as the ''Hogan Stand''.

Notes

External links

Irish Sports Council

Department of Transport, Tourism, and Sport

Olympic Council of Ireland

Sport Northern Ireland

Federation of Irish Sport
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sport In Ireland Irish culture