Sport in Ireland

As beautiful as the scenery of Ireland is, as rich as her history and as breathtaking her ancient sites, monuments and homes all are, sometimes people don't go there for the scenery; sometimes they don't even go there for the whiskey! Sometimes people are really just desperate to see one of Ireland's sporting matches played on home ground, and travel there for that express purpose. You don't have to have gone to Ireland only to see the sport to enjoy it, though; even the casual tourist may find it enjoyable to take a day off from sightseeing to take in a match, and cheer for a team.
Possibly the best-known Irish sport is rugby. A fiercely competitive, full-contact sport, rugby really has to be seen to be appreciated. Rugby is also the sport that unites all of Ireland; North and South come together in this one thing, men from all over the island donning their country's colors to play as one Irish team. There is a fierce national pride inherent in the sport, and to take the chance to watch a match is to really get a glimpse of a truly Irish pastime.
If rugby's not your thing, however, there are still plenty of other sports to interest. You may be intrigued by the Irish sport of hurling, something that is very vaguely reminiscent of lacrosse in terms of the types of equipment used. Hurling, however, is a strictly Irish pastime, and can be traced back over 2000 years. If hurling does not interest, you may instead want the chance to take in some Gaelic football, which is often described as a fast sort of mix of rugby and soccer, or even camogie, a ladies' sport that is a slight variation on the aforementioned sport of hurling.
Whichever type of match you do decide to take in -you may even decide to try them all!- a day spent taking in the wonders and the glories of Ireland's sports and games is a day well spent.
Colm Brady is Director of Business Development for Thrifty Car Rental Ireland and has worked with Thrifty since 2000. Colm is continually developing the companies business through both the traditional and online channels. Among the websites that are currently under the Thrifty Umbrella are: Information about Ireland, and Irish Car Rentals.
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