The Real Irish Republican Army, or Real IRA (RIRA), was a dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that aimed to bring about a United Ireland. It formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional IRA by dissident members, who rejected the IRA's ceasefire that year. Like the Provisional IRA before it, the Real IRA saw itself as the only rightful successor to the original Irish Republican Army and styled itself as simply "the Irish Republican Army" in English or Óglaigh na hÉireann in Irish. It was an illegal organisation in the Republic of Ireland and designated as a proscribed terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Irish dance refers to a group of traditional dance forms that originate in Ireland, encompassing dancing both solo and in groups, and dancing for social, competitive, and performance purposes. Irish dance in its current form developed from various influences such as earlier native Irish dance, English country dancing and later possibly French quadrilles, as it became popular in Britain and Ireland during the 19th century. Dance was taught by "travelling dance masters" across Ireland in the 17th and 18th centuries, and separate dance forms developed according to regional practice and differing purposes. Irish dance became a significant part of Irish culture, particularly for Irish nationalist movements. From the early 20th century, a number of organisations promoted and codified the various forms of dance, creating competitive structures and standardised styles. Irish dancers who compete for competitive reasons dance in a dance style that is more modern than traditional Irish dance. It is mainly done solo, but there is some team dancing in groups of 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 16 and even numbers onwards.
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is one of the oldest golf clubs in the world. It is a private members-only club based in St Andrews in Scotland. It was previously known colloquially as "The R&A", but in 2004, a new organisation known as The R&A was spun off, assuming the club's functions as one of the governing authorities of the game and organiser of tournaments such as The Open Championship. Despite this legal separation, one of the club's objectives remains to contribute, through its members, to the governance, championship organisation, and golf development roles now carried out by The R&A.
The Rugby Football League (RFL) is the governing body for rugby league in England. Founded in 1895 as the Northern Rugby Football Union following 22 clubs resigning from the Rugby Football Union, it changed its name in 1922 to the Rugby Football League.
A Feis or Fèis is a traditional Gaelic arts and culture festival. The plural forms are feiseanna and fèisean. The term feis is commonly used referring to Irish dance competitions and, in Scotland, to immersive teaching courses, specialising in traditional music and culture. In Scottish Gaelic, the accent is important because there is a difference of meaning and pronunciation between feis and fèis — the word feis means sexual intercourse.
British Canoeing is a national governing body for canoeing in the United Kingdom. Established in 1936 as the British Canoe Union, in 2000 it federalised to become the umbrella organisation for the home nation associations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In 2015 it took on the name British Canoeing and amalgamated the former BCU, Canoe England and GB Canoeing.
Miss United Kingdom is a title held by the highest-ranked contestant from the UK in the Miss World pageant. The winner sometimes competes at Miss International the following year under the Britain or United Kingdom banner. From 1958 to 1999, Miss United Kingdom was a national beauty pageant held to choose a representative for the Miss World Pageant. In 1999, Scotland and Wales had their own contestants at Miss World, and in 2000, England and Northern Ireland sent their own representatives. The existing organization now runs the Miss England competition.
Pitch and putt is an amateur sport very similar to, and derived from, golf, where the hole length is typically up to 90 metres (100 yd) and just 2–3 clubs are typically used. The game was organised and developed in Ireland during the early 20th century, before expanding through the 1940s, and is now played in dozens of countries. The international governing bodies of the sport include the Federation of International Pitch and Putt Associations (FIPPA) and the International Pitch and Putt Association (IPPA).
The English Bridge Union or EBU is a player-funded organisation that promotes and organises the card game of duplicate bridge in England. It is based at offices in Aylesbury. The EBU is a member of the European Bridge League and thus affiliated with the World Bridge Federation, which promulgates the laws of the game.
Field hockey in Great Britain is governed by Great Britain Hockey. The organisation focuses on international competition only.
The R&A is the collective name of a group of companies that together play a significant role within the game of golf. Historically, "the R&A" was a colloquial name for the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews; in 2004, the club spun off its previous governance and tournament organisation roles into the current R&A group, with the club itself reverting to a private members-only club. The R&A is based in St Andrews in Scotland. The R&A is the sole owner of three subsidiary companies: R&A Rules Limited, R&A Championships Limited, and R&A Group Services Limited.
The British Freediving Association is an organisation established in the United Kingdom during 1999 to promote the safe practice of both competition and recreational freediving. It is the British affiliate of AIDA International. The BFA is the sole body that selects teams for international competitions conducted by AIDA International and ratifies any UK record attempts.
The Amateur Athletic Association of England or AAA is the oldest national governing body for athletics in the world, having been established on 24 April 1880. Historically it effectively oversaw athletics throughout Britain and Ireland. Its role changed to support regional athletic clubs within England alone. This role was effectively taken over by England Athletics in 2005 and the Amateur Athletic Association of England was absorbed into that organisation. It is now concerned with the development of young athletes and has taken on the role of safeguarding the history of the sport and still awards trophies to elite athletes.
The Gold Cup is the premier open British contract bridge competition for teams of four. It was first contested in the 1931/32 season, making it one of the oldest contract bridge tournaments anywhere. The event was run by the British Bridge League through 1999 and subsequently by Bridge Great Britain, a newly formed not-for-profit organisation. Except for 1933/34 the format has always been single-elimination (knock-out).
The Camrose Trophy or "The Camrose" is an annual bridge competition among open teams representing the home nations of Great Britain and Ireland: England (EBU), Northern Ireland (NIBU), Republic of Ireland (CBAI), Scotland (SBU) and Wales (WBU). As such it is the open teams-of-four component of the "Home Internationals" organised by Bridge Great Britain.
AFL Europe is the regional governing body for Australian rules football in Europe. As of 2018, it organises the AFL Europe Championship and the Euro Cup, and previously managed the European Legion representative team as well being responsible for the organisation of the ANZAC Cup, Fitzpatrick Cup and AFL Europe Champions League.
The Great Britain women's national basketball team represents Great Britain in international women's basketball. The current governing body for the Great Britain team was formed by the national basketball organisations of England, Scotland and Wales on 1 December 2005 in order to provide a competitive team for international competition. This structure does not include the basketball association of Northern Ireland; Northern Irish players normally represent the Ireland women's national basketball team, though they are also eligible to compete for Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Olympic Games.
The British Bridge League (BBL) was founded in 1931 by A. E. Manning Foster. It formerly selected bridge teams to represent Great Britain in European and World competitions and organised the Camrose Trophy, the Gold Cup, the Portland Cup and the Lady Milne Trophy.
AFL England is the governing body for Australian Rules Football in England. It was formed in 2012 to succeed AFL Britain with the aim to be more effective in governing the game in England, as both Scotland and Wales had developed their own autonomous bodies.
