It parallels first-class cricket tournaments in other countries such as the County Championship of England and the Sheffield Shield of Australia.

However, at an International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in October 2016, first-class status was awarded to all future matches, starting with the 2017 tournament.

[1][2] The Ireland cricket team have had huge success recently on the international level which has boosted the popularity of the game in the country.

[3] Nevertheless, one of the main stumbling road blocks for Ireland from getting to play the pinnacle of the game was a lack of a first-class cricket infrastructure at home, amongst other things.

[5][6][7][8][9][10] According to Richard Holdsworth in an interview with Setanta Sports, CI are pleased with the strategic progress that had been made as of November 2012.