The first baseball game in Ireland was held in Dublin in 1874, [1] and it continues to be played by several teams including in the Irish Baseball League. Baseball Ireland is the governing body of baseball on the island of Ireland, covering both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. [2]
The first baseball game in Ireland was played in 1874, when the Boston Red Stockings played the Philadelphia Athletics in Dublin. [3]
In 1942 and 1943, several games were played in Belfast among teams of US servicemen. [4]
The first organised baseball team in Ireland was the Tramore Sea Lions. [5] The Sea Lions were a youth team in Tramore, County Waterford. The team was organised and coached by local businessman Clive Butterworth. [6]
The success of the Tramore Sea Lions in the local community led to the creation of the Waterford Walruses, a team based in nearby Waterford City. In 1962, Clive Butterworth brought two United States Air Force baseball teams to Waterford for an exhibition game. The game was played on Waterford GAA grounds. Butterworth also brought baseball to Dublin in the early 1960s, bringing the total number of Irish baseball teams to three. Within a few years, Butterworth's declining health led to the end of organised baseball in Ireland for nearly three decades.[ citation needed ]
In 2019, the Irish American Baseball Society and Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame announced the creation of the Clive Butterworth Award. [7] The award recognises "outstanding volunteer service" among youth baseball coaches in Ireland. [7]
The Irish National Baseball Team has been in existence since 1996 and has taken part in several major baseball tournaments and tours.
Ireland played its first game in international competition in 1996 against the Czech Republic, losing by a score of 23-2. [8] Ireland's national team has won at least one game in every tournament it has entered including 1996, in Kingston upon Hull.
The Emerald Diamond , a documentary film released in 2006, chronicled the history of baseball in Ireland and the Irish National Baseball Team.
The Irish National Baseball Team won its first bronze medal at the 2004 European Championships in Germany. In August 2006, the team won the silver medal at the European Championships held in Antwerp, Belgium. They also competed in the European championships held in Vienna in Austria, Stockholm, Karlovac, Abranches, Antwerp, Barcelona and Ljubljana.
In 2018, the team won the gold medal at the European Baseball Championship tournament held at the International Baseball Centre in Ashbourne, County Meath. By winning, the team advanced to the next round of Olympic qualifying in 2019. [9]
Although the existence of baseball in Ireland is not widely known, the game has been played there since the early 1990s. What began with a few friends playing pickup games on football and rugby fields in Dublin and Greystones, soon grew into a small league. [10]
In the years since, baseball has spread elsewhere Ireland, being played in Ashbourne, Clones, County Cork, Shankhill, Greystones, Dublin and Belfast.[ citation needed ]
The Irish Baseball League was founded in 1997. Participating teams come from Dublin, Ashbourne, Belfast, Clones, Cork, Greystones and Portmarnock. Baseball Ireland is the governing body of baseball on the island of Ireland, covering both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. [11]
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| Team Name | Location | Home Field | Divisions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashbourne Giants | Ashbourne, County Meath | International Baseball Centre | A, B |
| Ashbourne Stags | Ashbourne, County Meath | International Baseball Centre | B |
| Ashbourne Titans | Ashbourne, County Meath | International Baseball Centre | B |
| Ulster Buccaneers | Belfast, Northern Ireland | Hydebank Playing Fields | B |
| Belfast Northstars | Belfast, Northern Ireland | Hydebank Playing Fields | B |
| Cork Renegades | Cork, County Cork | Brian Dillons GAA | B. C |
| Dublin Spartans | Clondalkin, County Dublin | O'Malley Fields | A, B |
| Dublin City Hurricanes | Clondalkin, County Dublin | O'Malley Fields | A, B |
| Greystones Mariners | Shankill, County Dublin | Shanganagh Park | A, B |
| Greystones Vikings | Shankill, County Dublin | Shanganagh Park | B |
| Portmarnock Red Rox | Portmarnock, County Dublin | Beechwood Sports Field | B.C |
The Irish cadet team (13–18) played in a Dutch tournament held in Alphen aan den Rijn Netherlands.[ when? ] The Irish team came home with a bronze medal, with Amsterdam Pirates receiving the runners-up prize.[ citation needed ]
The British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams: England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Beginning during the 1883–84 season, it is the oldest international association football tournament in the world and it was contested until the 1983–84 season, when it was abolished after 100 years.
Sport in Ireland plays an important role in Irish society. The many sports played and followed in Ireland include Gaelic games, association football, horse racing, show jumping, greyhound racing, basketball, fishing, motorsport, boxing, tennis, hockey, golf, rowing, cricket, and rugby union.
The Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia was a prominent National Association, and later National League, professional baseball team that played in the second half of the 19th century.
John Keane was an Irish hurler who played as a centre-back at senior level for the Waterford county team.
Rugby union is a popular team sport on the island of Ireland, organised on an all-Ireland basis, including players and teams from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Its governing body, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), was founded in 1875, making it the third oldest rugby union in the world after the RFU (England) and the SRU (Scotland), which were both founded in 1871.
The Ireland national baseball team has been in existence since 1996 and has taken part in several major baseball tournaments and tours. As in many other sports in Ireland, the team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The Irish Baseball League (IBL) is the men's league in Ireland. It started play in 1997. The season runs from March to October and are played on the weekends.
The Irish Chess Union, is the governing body for chess in Ireland since its formation in 1912. ICU is a member of FIDE since 1933 and the European Chess Union. The ICU promotes chess in Ireland and maintains the chess rating for players registered with the ICU, which are published monthly. It runs competitions such as the Irish Chess Championship and selects teams to participate in international competitions for Ireland.
The Ashbourne Cup is an Irish camogie tournament played each year to determine the national champion university or third level college. The Ashbourne Cup is the highest division in inter-collegiate camogie. The competition features many of the current stars of the game and is sometimes known as the 'Olympics of Camogie' because of the disproportionate number of All Star and All-Ireland elite level players who participate each year Since 1972 it has been administered by the Higher EducationArchived 31 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine committee of the Camogie Association. TU Dublin are the current champions, having won the Ashbourne cup in 2023.
The 2010 Ashbourne Cup inter-collegiate camogie championship was staged at the Cork IT sports complex in Bishopstown, Cork over the weekend of 20–21 February. It was won by Waterford Institute of Technology who defeated University College Cork in the final by two points, a repeat of the pairing and result, though not the margin of victory, of the 1999 final. Player of the tournament was WIT's Katrina Parrock.
The All-Ireland Junior Camogie Championship is a competition for third-tier county teams in the women's field sport of camogie and for second-string teams of first-tier counties. In accordance with the practice in GAA competitions the term junior applies to the level of competition rather than the age group.
The Camogie Association organises and promotes the sport of camogie in Ireland and around the world. The association has close ties with the Gaelic Athletic Association, but is still a separate organisation.
The 2011 Ashbourne Cup inter-collegiate camogie championship was staged at the NUIG sports complex in Dangan, Galway over the weekend of February 19–20 with the finals in Pearse Stadium, Salthill. It was won by Waterford Institute of Technology who defeated University College Cork in the final by eight points, a repeat of the pairing and result, though not the margin of victory, of the 1999 final and 2010 final. Player of the tournament was WIT's Katrina Parrock.
The 1945 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship was the high point of the 1945 season in Camogie. The championship was won by Antrim, who defeated Waterford by a six-point margin in the final.
The 2012 Ashbourne Cup inter-collegiate camogie championship was staged at the Waterford IT sports complex in Carraiganore over the weekend of 18–19 February. It was won for the fourth time in succession by Waterford Institute of Technology, after defeating University of Limerick in the final by ten points after UL's semi-final victory over Waterford's opponents in the 2010 and 2011 finals. Player of the tournament was WIT's Katrina Parrock.
The 2017 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship was the 44th edition of the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association's premier inter-county Ladies' Gaelic Football tournament. It is known for sponsorship reasons as the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship.
The 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the 18th edition of the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, the annual international youth football championship organised by UEFA for the men's under-17 national teams of Europe. The Republic of Ireland, which was selected by UEFA on 9 December 2016, hosted the tournament.
The Ashbourne Baseball Club is Ireland's largest baseball club. It is located in Ashbourne, County Meath, and draws players from the surrounding area, including Dublin. The club was created in 2009 as the Garristown Gruffalos. The club competes in the Irish Baseball League and plays in the International Baseball Centre.
The International Baseball Centre (IBC) is the home field of the Ashbourne Baseball Club and the Irish National Baseball Team. It opened in 2015. It is Ireland's only international standard baseball diamond.
Shane McNulty is an Irish hurler who plays for Waterford Senior Championship club De La Salle and at inter-county level with the Waterford senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a left corner-back.
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