Gaelic footballSome of the most common sports that you will come across in Ireland include golf, hockey and cricket among others. In the discussion below, we have outlined a few games that attract many players and match attendance.

Gaelic Football

Gaelic football commonly known as football is one of the most popular sports in Ireland. Despite it existence in the country for many centuries, Gaelic football began attracting the attention of most citizens after the formation of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Gaelic football has the highest number when it comes to match attendance than any other sport in Ireland. In fact at one point, it attracted over 80, 000 fans. The game features underage, under 18 as well as under 21 and adults players. All players taking part in this game are amateurs although we have some who earn income from grants and sponsorship offered by different organizations and government. Each of the players can play either the parish or any local club of their choice. The football year in Ireland begins with preseason before the teams enter into the NFL competitions. Each province organizes its tournament and any team knocked out of the championship must do its best so that it can catch up during the Ireland quarterfinals.

Association Football

Association has the highest number of live spectators in the country of Ireland. The football association of Ireland (FAI) and Irish Football Association (IFA) are the national bodies in charge of managing association football in republic of North Ireland and Northern Ireland respectively.

Hurling

Hurling is yet another sport organized by the Gaelic Athletic Association in Ireland. Hurling that tops the list of the fastest games in the world comes second in terms of match attendance. The game has a close relation to hockey as well as shinty. The major difference between this game and the two sports is that when playing the game, the ball rarely reaches the ground. In addition, hurling requires a large pitch and the players are very fast.

Rugby Union

Rugby union has many players as well as supporters in the country of Ireland. The game is more popular in the urban areas of Cork, Limerick and Dublin among others. The establishment of professional teams taking part in this sport has greatly promoted it within the country.

Athletics

Athletics Ireland is the body that manages Athletes in the country. The game involves field as well as track events supported by fans across the nation. Athletics Ireland has supported many athletes to winn medals at international level such as Denis Horgan who won shot putt for over thirteen times during the AAAs.