Sports in Dublin

Ireland is recognized as the home of the world's best golf courses and Dublin has a lot of these magnificent golf courses. Golf is an individual sport and can be called as gentleman or gentle lady's' game. It is a quiet and sophisticated sport. We see that there is a set of social rules that all golfers have to follow so; we can say that playing golf is just like having and practicing good table manners. The golf courses in Dublin can surely be marked as magnificent places for golf lovers to spend their holidays with fun and etiquettes. Dublin offers a broad variety of world famous golf courses to play. Almost all of these courses are appropriate for beginners and experts both. The ideal time for Golfing in Ireland is during the summer season. The most important Irish tournament of international level is the Murphy's Irish Open Golf Tournament, which attracts thousands of sports lovers to watch.

Horse racing on a top class horse in the lush green wide lands is every adventurous man’s dream. Dublin is fairly known for its high breed horses and thrilling race-courses. These world class race-courses provide entertainment and exercise to the riders and the spectators. Horse racing is a popular historical game of Dublin, now it has become a great business as well.

Greyhound racing is an electrifying spectator sport and a multi-million money industry. It was introduced in Ireland in 1927 and since the day it was started, it is growing. Today, this sport has become an essential part of the lives of millions of people. Dublin holds its own identity in the world of Greyhound Racing.

Hurling is the national game of Ireland. This out door sport is considered to be the fastest game on grass. It is also described as the “field Hockey in the air”. It is a unique blend of hockey, soccer, rugby, football, and lacrosse. This rough and tough game is very much famous in Ireland. Equipment to play hurling is a ball and a stick almost similar to hockey. The stick to play hurling is called hurly and it is made of hard wood while the ball is made of hard leather. This game needs physical energy and active attitude. This sport requires 15 players at a time. The objective is to make score like any other sport.

Gaelic Football is the traditional game in Ireland. Gaelic football is the sister game of Hurling. This field sport is a mixture of Australian Rules football, soccer and rugby. It is a fast game and requires a lot of energy. But it is an easy game to learn; men and women of any age can play and enjoy it. The field for this game is rectangular; usually 13 players are enough to participate. It only involves a ball almost similar to soccer ball but heavier in weight.

Soccer is another prominent sport in Ireland after the native games. Winter is considered to be the best season to play this game. Foot ball or soccer has a huge circle of fans in Ireland especially after the remarkable performance of Irish team in the Football world cup of 2002. Ireland has three levels of soccer teams which are; Youth League, Junior Football and Irish league.

Rugby is an exciting game. Irish people eagerly prop up the mature and international rugby. Dublin is the hub of Rugby in Ireland. A very special attention is given to this sport, as it is an energetic sport and flourishing day by day. Dublin has produced the world's finest players of Rugby in last few years.

The list does not ends here… there are a lot of other games like water sports, cycling, angling and hiking. Dublin is a unique place; this city was voted Europe’s fourth most popular city break destination. The shoreline of Dublin Bay always welcomes the visitors and locals for windsurfing, sailing and fishing. The lush green magnificent mountains around the city receive the hikers whole heartedly to enjoy their walks in tranquil atmosphere. This place also invites the bicyclers. The attitude of this city is warm and friendly for those who are interested in work outs. This is why we see that Dublin’s calendar is full of sporting events whole year round.