Most popular Irish sport today

saiint

are you a gaelicker?

davetherave

Handegg American Football

Pherekydes

Athletics by quite a margin for me. Then Football. Not Soccer, not Gaelic football, not Rugby Football, not Aussie Rules.

After that, professional drug taking road cycling.

Lapin wrote: »

And no mention of Horse Racing or Golf.

Golf is not a sport. Horse racing is better known as gambling.

Johnny Bitte

Why are GAA and Football both listed??

Surely Football and Soccer would make more sense!

jester77

Football, hurling, rugby, soccer

Duckworth_Luas

Pherekydes wrote: »

Athletics by quite a margin for me. Then Football. Not Soccer, not Gaelic football, not Rugby Football, not Aussie Rules.

So Athletics and American football then!

jester77

Hold on now, the poll is very flawed.

GAA = hurling or football?
Football = Football or soccer?

iDave

Pherekydes wrote: »

Athletics by quite a margin for me. Then Football. Not Soccer, not Gaelic football, not Rugby Football, not Aussie Rules.

After that, professional drug taking road cycling.



Golf is not a sport. Horse racing is better known as gambling.

What? you say football, but then list all the football codes and say its not them.

LeinsterDub

Irishcrx wrote: »

the horror , a young lad from the north side of Dublin choosing Rugby INSTEAD of football

Plenty of Northside kids playing Rugby .

Max Power

Muff diving

Pherekydes

iDave wrote: »

What? you say football, but then list all the football codes and say its not them.

See Duckworth's post two before yours.

iDave

Pherekydes wrote: »

See Duckworth's post two before yours.

Refer to it as American football then or Gridiron please. No one outside America calls it football, nor does it deserve the name.

plys

Stickball is awesome to watch but I can't play it for Sh1te.
Bogball should be made a professional sport, many of the intercounty players' fitness levels would put Premier League diva's players to shame. But apart from at the top level, it is bloody awful to watch.

Rugby is still a sport for all shapes and sizes. And, there is a sense of respect for the referee unrivalled by any other sport. In my opinion, these are what differentiates rugby from other team sports.

AgileMyth

I hate the term soccer. Its American and cringey. Football is football. The other thing the animals play can be called 'gah' or 'bogball' or 'Gaelic' if you're in a fancy mood.

Don't mind rugby, its a grand sport to play. Wouldn't go to watch a game though. Stick fighting is the opposite, its ok to watch but I'm not stupid enough to play it.

AgileMyth

Lapin wrote: »

Flawed poll.

GAA isn't a sport. They administer various vastly differing sports.

And no mention of Horse Racing or Golf.
Two extremely popular sports in this country, and both are sports we excell at as a nation.

We excel at Golf? Since when?

Duckworth_Luas

AgileMyth wrote: »

I hate the term soccer. Its American and cringey. Football is football. The other thing the animals play can be called 'gah' or 'bogball' or 'Gaelic' if you're in a fancy mood.

Don't mind rugby, its a grand sport to play. Wouldn't go to watch a game though. Stick fighting is the opposite, its ok to watch but I'm not stupid enough to play it.

Soccer is an English term! Why do you use offensive terms for Irish people?

iDave

AgileMyth wrote: »

I hate the term soccer. Its American and cringey. Football is football. The other thing the animals play can be called 'gah' or 'bogball' or 'Gaelic' if you're in a fancy mood.
.

Ah great another self hating Irish person, thats all we need.

bb1234567

9959 wrote: »

I foresee some difficulty here, with the nomenclature of Irish sport.
Most Dubliners would take 'Football' to mean Association Football or 'soccer', as our rural brothers and sisters prefer.
Whereas a sizeable proportion of people from 'outside the Pale' would regard 'Football' to mean Gaelige Football, or 'Bogball' as some wags in the capital would say.

'Stick Fighting' is Stick Fighting, I don't believe that anyone now refers to it as 'Hurling', though some Dubs still say 'Hurley', which is quaint.

This should keep your thread going for a while, it shouldn't take before you hear the collective groan of the sons of Erin as they rise as one to smite the running dog lackey of the British oppressor, or something?

Stick fighting? Ive honestly never heard anyone say that ever:pac:

Pudsy33

AgileMyth wrote: »

We excel at Golf? Since when?

We have had multiple major winners in the last decade.

9959

Johnny Bitte wrote: »

Why are GAA and Football both listed??

Surely Football and Soccer would make more sense!

jester77 wrote: »

Football, hurling, rugby, soccer

Now do see OP, even our friends (tugs forelock) from the U.S. and Germany are confused.

9959

bb1234567 wrote: »

Stick fighting? Ive honestly never heard anyone say that ever:pac:

I must have made it up so.

Fishooks12

Xavi6 wrote: »

Real football.

No bogwars or D4 egg chasing for me :cool:

Real football, where petulant child like adults throw themselves on the ground weekly while showing little respect for each other or officials

Give me GAA or Rugby anyday

aidan24326

Lapin wrote: »

Flawed poll.

GAA isn't a sport. They administer various vastly differing sports.

And no mention of Horse Racing or Golf.
Two extremely popular sports in this country, and both are sports we excell at as a nation.

It's not just a flawed poll it's a useless poll. No mention at all of rugby either.

And why include boxing? We might all have cheered on Katie Taylor (in all honesty we didn't have much else to cheer for in the olympics) but most people don't really care that much about boxing, and in terms of participation it would be way down the list. I'd say as many people play tiddlywinks as ever get actively involved in boxing.

blue note

AgileMyth wrote: »

We excel at Golf? Since when?

We've always been pretty good to be fair, but we have really excelled since paddys 3 major wins in 2 years. I'd guess he 's the only guy to do that other than tiger in about 20 years.

And when you say football is football, simple as that, what do you mean? It clearly means something different to different people.

brennan1979

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Football(Soccer) has never been a "fad" in this country,its been there since before the foundation of the state,surviving even though it had the power of the Church and State against it

The Church was against soccer? In plenty of places in the country, Derry City for example, the Church was very anti - GAA and very pro soccer as the GAA was associated with radicalism and republicanism. Almost all the fee paying Catholic schools are rugby playing and the ones that even give students the opportunity to play gaelic games are in the minority.

The FAI has had three politicians as presidents of the association, all Fianna Fáil. Dev was a rugby man who wrote to the GAA on numerous occasions asking them to drop the ban.

Bogball? Take a walk around Summerhill or Ballybough on a day where Dublin are playing in Croke Park and count all the blue and navy flags on people's houses. This stuff tends to come from people who think 'Dublin' is the area between Sandymount and Killiney.

ArielAtom

AgileMyth wrote: »

I hate the term soccer. Its American and cringey. Football is football. The other thing the animals play can be called 'gah' or 'bogball' or 'Gaelic' if you're in a fancy mood.

Don't mind rugby, its a grand sport to play. Wouldn't go to watch a game though. Stick fighting is the opposite, its ok to watch but I'm not stupid enough to play it.

Association Football AKA Wendyball.

Duckworth_Luas

I expect soccer to get a bump in the poll as all the Dublin soccer fans should now be out of bed!

cowzerp

Boxing is my favourite sport but television coverage of it is not great anymore so i would watch soccer most and Football when the Leinsters/All irelands come around.

CianRyan

I think banning soccer and golf would do wonders for the country.
No more of the ****e on TV and no more ugly soccer jerseys. Sweet!

summerskin

ArielAtom wrote: »

Association Football AKA Wendyball.

Did you used to post on the BBC 606 message board by any chance??

Hidalgo

Hurling, by whatever measure of distance you prefer to use.

No other sport comes close.


soccer and Gaelic football can be very good to watch if and when they're played well, but too much of the former is played by girlie-men (at the top level) whilst too much of the latter is very negative imo.

Shout out to Yankee football (pro or college) & baseball also. Although strangely I have more patience to watch an entire live game of baseball whilst I'd be changing the channel for gridiron. maybe that's because baseball is currently in the play-offs whilst football is only nearing the halfway point of the regular season

ArielAtom

summerskin wrote: »

Did you used to post on the BBC 606 message board by any chance??

No.

ClashCityRocker

Fishooks12 wrote: »

Real football, where petulant child like adults throw themselves on the ground weekly while showing little respect for each other or officials

Give me GAA or Rugby anyday

I'd take diving and shouting at a ref over eye gouging or spear tackling, if I'm honest.

Stinicker

You forgot Womens beach volleyball

For me it is GAA, with Gaelic Football and then Hurling and a good interest in the Irish soccer team but practically zero interest in the Premier League. I'd watch every World Cup Game and the Euro's, the Champions League Final etc. a game which isn't a knockout like the World Cup or All-Ireland series in GAA just isn't worth watching.

AgileMyth

iDave wrote: »

Ah great another self hating Irish person, thats all we need.

I don't hate myself. I'm great.

Irishcrx

In terms of the poll , I put the main 4 sports that I would consider to be most popular and other - please state so that should cover anything else.

I consider Football to be football as in a game played with the ball at your feet...see football. I consider GAA to be Gaelic and Hurling and I added them as GAA as anyone I've come accross that supports one supports the other yes I know it is an association. I don't like the term 'soccer'.

If I could edit the poll, I would...but I can't.

WoollyRedHat

Cow Tipping and Tractor Racing, oh and Barrell Rolling, I was the No.1 Barrel Roller in the country back in the summer of 1995, it was a time when I was king of the world.

mcwinning

Used to be Gaelic football but the standard has dropped a lot the last 7/8 years and the toughness of the players with it. Too much soccer like behaviour. Having said that I like most team sports but my preference is...

1. Basketball
2. Rugby
3. Gaelic football
4. Soccer

Can't stand hurling, and horse racing is not a sport, the horse does 99% of the work. Does it take skill to be a jockey, yes. Is it a sport,no.

Irishcrx

mcwinning wrote: »

Used to be Gaelic football but the standard has dropped a lot the last 7/8 years and the toughness of the players with it. Too much soccer like behaviour. Having said that I like most team sports but my preference is...

1. Basketball
2. Rugby
3. Gaelic football
4. Soccer

Can't stand hurling, and horse racing is not a sport, the horse does 99% of the work. Does it take skill to be a jockey, yes. Is it a sport,no.

Ah I dunno about that , is Formula 1 a sport? Same theory could be applied, does it take skill to be a driver? yes , but the car does 90 percent of the work...as does the team building it behind the scenes.

9959

brennan1979 wrote: »

?...
Bogball? Take a walk around Summerhill or Ballybough on a day where Dublin are playing in Croke Park and count all the blue and navy flags on people's houses. This stuff tends to come from people who think 'Dublin' is the area between Sandymount and Killiney.

Yes, when Dublin are playing, but for the rest of the year it's 'The Beautiful Game' or 'The People's Game' or if you like....
THE MOST POPULAR SPORT IN THE WORLD

Hazys

For me:

1. Football (American)
2. Rugby
...
Big gap
...
3. Ice Hockey/Basketball/Soccer (depending on the season or tournament)

mcwinning

Irishcrx wrote: »

Ah I dunno about that , is Formula 1 a sport? Same theory could be applied, does it take skill to be a driver? yes , but the car does 90 percent of the work...as does the team building it behind the scenes.

My own opinion is its not. I think a sport is something where a person/group of people and their athleticism is the key determinant of success. F1 and horse racing there are obviously some physical demands, but it is either a car or horse that does the 'work'. Don't get me wrong, it takes a lot of skill and I'm not saying they are easy but stuff like those 2, darts, chess and other skills are not stuff which I consider sport.

WesternZulu

Irishcrx wrote: »

In terms of the poll , I put the main 4 sports that I would consider to be most popular and other - please state so that should cover anything else.

I consider Football to be football as in a game played with the ball at your feet...see football. I consider GAA to be Gaelic and Hurling and I added them as GAA as anyone I've come accross that supports one supports the other yes I know it is an association. I don't like the term 'soccer'.

If I could edit the poll, I would...but I can't.

I take it you've never heard of the phrase 'hurling snob'?
They have no time at all for Gaelic Football above any sport.

blue note

ClashCityRocker wrote: »

I'd take diving and shouting at a ref over eye gouging or spear tackling, if I'm honest.

Very true. The coverage of rugby is so rose tinted it's incredible. Everytime there's an awful incident like eye-gouging or a spear tackle or stamping on someone's head the media and players all rush to say that the perpetrator is not that type of player and it's out of character and he shouldn't be harshly treated. In most games there seems to be a few scuffles where there's a little dig or two thrown. The little digs are usually in the heat of the moment and I don't really mind them, but if they happened in soccer the media would be calling for a lengthy ban and would label the player as a bit of a scumbag. In GAA if a bit of a schemozzle breaks out in a Junior C match in wicklow the Indo are there to splash it on their front page, but players are practically never actually injured from these schemozzles. They are, as they say, handbags.

DEFTLEFTHAND

I think the popularity of golf has grown considerably. If you take the Irish Open for instance it sells out 20,000 for each of the four days.

Attitudes have changed in the game and the class wall has been torn down to a certain extent, of course the vast influx of new courses over the past 20 years meant that clubs couldn't be picky about who they let in anymore. Women also, with the exception of Portmarnock I'd hazard a guess that every club in Ireland now permits women members.

The sad part is during the recession many people are now canceling their memberships so this might hurt the game in the long run. It will remain popular as a spectator sport, but will the same numbers be able to play themselves on a regular basis anymore.

Irishcrx

blue note wrote: »

Very true. The coverage of rugby is so rose tinted it's incredible. Everytime there's an awful incident like eye-gouging or a spear tackle or stamping on someone's head the media and players all rush to say that the perpetrator is not that type of player and it's out of character and he shouldn't be harshly treated. In most games there seems to be a few scuffles where there's a little dig or two thrown. The little digs are usually in the heat of the moment and I don't really mind them, but if they happened in soccer the media would be calling for a lengthy ban and would label the player as a bit of a scumbag. In GAA if a bit of a schemozzle breaks out in a Junior C match in wicklow the Indo are there to splash it on their front page, but players are practically never actually injured from these schemozzles. They are, as they say, handbags.

Have to agree with you there , and I do agree that there is far too much diving and handbags going on in pro football at the moment but I'm sick to death of hearing how rugby and the likes is for 'real' men etc... That's great but I still think it's boring.

I've been playing football since I can remember and anyone who plays in the amateur leagues on a Saturday or Sunday morning will tell you the tackles do be flying in and you rarely get people moaning or crying about it and hands are always shaken afterwards , it's a differant game than what people who only watch the premiership see...Hundreds of times I've seen lads kicked , dragged , bowled over I've done it and had it done to me and the majority will always try to stay on their feet if they can't we go down.

It's just my opinion but I love the pace of the game , the tactics and the skill involved.

brennan1979

9959 wrote: »

Yes, when Dublin are playing, but for the rest of the year it's 'The Beautiful Game' or 'The People's Game' or if you like....
THE MOST POPULAR SPORT IN THE WORLD

I love football and soccer. I'm always amazed at how some (and I add some) soccer people have to denigrate the GAA to prove how much they love soccer. I love soccer too but if they stopped playing it in Ireland it would still be played in nearly every country in the world. Gaelic games are unique and if they disappeared in Ireland I think we'd lose a really important part of our culture.
As for putting up Dublin flags only when Dublin are playing well that's the time you tend to put them up I would imagine.

DEFTLEFTHAND

mickey1979 wrote: »

I think I have seen stats on this before Soccer has the highest participation and Gaelic has the highest attendance not much in difference participation wise , Rugby distant third. As you can see not a major Football fan but in Ireland I would think unlike most countries you could have the same people at all three. I also hate this bandwagon thing people like winning teams world over actually the funny thing is the die hards would not enable any sport to survive the bandwagon makes the coffers flow hence enable the sport to grow and prosper.

That is true I suppose, the bandwagoner dollar helps a sport grow and prosper. In the early years of professional rugby an interpro game would be lucky to draw a 1,000. The club game was in a better state then though and its the clubs who have suffered from the rugby boom. My worry is when the inevitable downturn in fortune comes will the bandwagoners stick with rugby.

Just to paint how bleak it once was, In the mid 90s the national team were whipping boys. Hammered by the French and English on a regular basis (notable exception in 94), also Scotland were a far superior outfit to us, Wales also suffered a dip at that time so we could somewhat compete with them. The worst I ever saw from that time though was Ireland taking a hiding from Western Samoa at home in 96.

NinjaK

Football is GAA, should have said soccer as its called in Ireland.

9959

brennan1979 wrote: »

?.... This stuff tends to come from people who think 'Dublin' is the area between Sandymount and Killiney.

If you're seriously asserting that Gaeilge Football is as popular in working-class Dublin as Football (Association), then I'm afraid the place where you live may look, sound, and even smell (not great) like Dublin, but I suggest that it's a land far more cloudier with a huge population of cuckoos.