Sport in Ireland
The many sports played and followed in Ireland include Gaelic games (including Gaelic football, hurling, camogie and handball), association football, horse racing, show jumping, greyhound racing, basketball, fishing, motorsport, boxing, tennis, hockey, golf, rowing, cricket, and rugby union.
[1] Gaelic football, hurling, golf, aerobics, cycling, swimming and billiards/snooker are the other sporting activities with the highest levels of participation in the Republic of Ireland.
County players may be chosen to play in inter-provincial Railway Cup games or for the 'International Rules' team to face Australia.
[citation needed] Hurling and camogie are both included on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
[16] Camogie, played exclusively by women, is similar to hurling although a smaller sliotar is used, there is the option to hand-pass into the goal, and the dress code requires players to wear a skort.
[citation needed] Rounders (Irish: cluiche corr) is regulated by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is similar to baseball.
Points ("rounders") are scored by the batting team by completing a circuit around the field through four bases[citation needed] Association football is a popular sport in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland but while international matches play before large crowds, and are passionately followed, domestic league games typically attract smaller attendances.
[18] 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".
Due to the financial incentives abroad, most of Ireland's top players, such as Damien Duff, John O'Shea, Aiden McGeady and Jonny Evans, play in the leagues of larger European countries, particularly in England and Scotland.
[citation needed] 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.
The country's most successful boxers include Steve Collins, Bernard Dunne, Barry McGuigan, Michael Carruth, Ryan Burnett, Andy Lee, John Duddy, Carl Frampton, Kellie Harrington and Katie Taylor.
As of 2023, large-scale professional boxing events have not taken place in Ireland since a 2016 gangland shooting at a weigh-in at the Regency hotel in Dublin.
In the late 20th and early 21st century, notable athletes have included Ron Delany, Mary Peters, John Treacy, Eamonn Coghlan, Sonia O'Sullivan and Robert Heffernan.
These sports include show jumping, eventing, dressage, endurance riding, para-equestrian, polo and carriage driving.
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.
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.
[39] 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).
In addition to multiple European championships, at the 2024 Summer Paris Olympics, McClenaghan won gold in the Men's pommel horse.
The main Kendo event in Ireland is the annual Irish National Championships (INC) which takes place in June each year.
The country has produced many drivers who climbed the international ladder such as Derek Daly, Peter Dempsey, Tommy Byrne, Eddie Jordan and David Kennedy.
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.
[citation needed] Recreational diving started in Ireland in the early 1950s with the founding of the Belfast Branch of the British Sub Aqua Club.
[93] In the early 1960s, diving clubs in the Republic of Ireland formed the Comhairle Fo-Thuinn (CFT) (English: Irish Underwater Council).
The National Aquatic Centre was opened in Ireland in 2003 and held the European SC Championships in December 2003 – the first time the country hosted such a competition.
[citation needed] The governing body is Baseball Ireland, which oversees club play and operates an adult league established in 1997 with teams in Dublin, Greystones and Belfast.
[102] 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 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, held annually in Croke Park, usually in September.
On an international level, Ireland has had mixed fortunes, with some successes in the late 20th and early 21st century in rugby union, horse racing, show jumping, amateur boxing, and golf.
This was due to the strict policy followed by the Olympic Council of Ireland of only allowing A time athletes and swimmers to attend the games.
Other GAA facilities capable of accommodating 40,000 or more people are Semple Stadium, Thurles, Gaelic Grounds, Limerick and Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork.
