Sport in Northern Ireland
The Milk Cup is a successful international youth tournament held annually in Northern Ireland, in which clubs and national teams from anywhere in the world may compete.
Northern Ireland's international team, despite a poor run of form in the late 1990s and first few years of the 21st century, and a corresponding slump in the FIFA World Rankings, enjoyed great success in the early and mid-1980s and recently had a revival in their fortunes under manager former Lawrie Sanchez, with home wins over Spain and England.
The IRFU is divided into four branches which represent the four provinces of Ireland: Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht.
Competitions have taken place since the late 19th century with the modern day Inter-provincial Championship between Munster, Leinster, Ulster and Connacht first contested in 1920.
European Cup games are generally well supported in all the provinces with sell outs the norm and massive crowds in Dublin's Lansdowne Road for the Quarter and Semis which Ulster have won and Munster and Leinster have reached.
Ireland international games sell out against all but the weakest opposition, and with the team playing at Croke Park this year the attendances may reach 80,000.
Every four years the British and Irish Lions go on tour with players from Ireland as well as England, Scotland and Wales.
Hurling teams from have found it difficult to make an impact against the top counties from the South, with Antrim GAA the most successful.
The Irish team was fairly strong in the mid and late 19th century, and sent several touring parties abroad, but development of the sport was adversely affected first by the Gaelic Athletic Association's ban on its members taking part in "foreign" sports and then by the creation of the Irish Free State; many of the best cricketers in Ireland had been British soldiers and civil servants and their withdrawal led to a decline in the overall standard of the game.
Interest in Irish cricket was also generated by the national team's startling victory over West Indies in 1969; they did it again on 17 June 2004.
The sport is organised on an all-island basis and is overseen by the Cricket Ireland, founded in its present incarnation in 1923.
The 2007 World Cup which was held in the West Indies was a very successful tournament for the Irish Cricket team.
Ireland tied the match with Test Cricket playing team Zimbabwe and shocked Pakistan by defeating them on St. Patrick's Day.
[10] However due to ongoing financing and sponsorship issues affecting the Ulster Grand Prix the future of the meeting continues to remain open to question, with the last running of the event occurring in 2019.
[19] Road racer Joey Dunlop was voted as Northern Ireland's greatest ever sportsperson in a Belfast Telegraph poll, ahead of footballer George Best.
During his career he took five consecutive Formula I World Championships, 26 Isle of Man TTs, 13 wins at the North West 200 and 24 victories at the Ulster GP, and attracted support from both the Protestant and Catholic communities.
Between 2010 and 2015 Graeme McDowell, Darren Clarke and Rory McIlroy won 25% of the titles in Major Championships.
The team's roster has featured Northern Irish born players such as Mark Morrison, Graeme Walton and Gareth Roberts among others.
[32] Geraldine Heaney, an Olympic gold medalist and one of the first women inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame, competed internationally for Canada but was born in Northern Ireland.
Prominent Northern Irish boxers include Carl Frampton, Ryan Burnett, Wayne McCullough and Paddy Barnes, among others .
Pro Wrestling Ulster hosts IPPV's and events in Northern Ireland showcasing local, national and former WWE talent.
Former WWE NXT UK star Tucker takes training sessions in Titanic's school The Yard.
