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Sport in Galway includes a diverse heritage,[ original research? ] with a history in sports ranging from horse racing, Gaelic games, soccer and rugby to sailing, basketball and motorsport.
The Galway Races, first held in the 1860s, [1] are widely known and one of the highlights of the Irish horse racing calendar. [2] The festival, held over a week, has previously recorded attendances of between 120,0000 and 149,000 people. [3] [4]
Both hurling and Gaelic football are popular in Galway city. Pearse Stadium in Salthill is the home to Galway GAA, the county's Gaelic games body. Galway's hurlers compete annually in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship for the Liam MacCarthy Cup. The Galway senior county hurling team have won the All-Ireland five times, including in 2017 when Galway lifted the Liam MacCarthy Cup for the first time in 29 years beating Waterford in the 2017 final. [5] The Galway county football team competes annually in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship for the Sam Maguire Cup. The Gaelic footballers have won the cup nine times, with the most recent being in 2001.
Galway United F.C., based at Eamonn Deacy Park (formerly Terryland Park) in the city, [6] was playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division as of the 2025 season. [7] Originally formed as Galway Rovers in the 1930s, the club was invited to enter the League of Ireland in 1977. [8] Michael D. Higgins, later President of Ireland, has served as a president of the club in a ceremonial capacity. Galway United's men's team were FAI Cup winners in 1991 and League of Ireland Cup winners in 1986 and 1997, [8] while the women's team were All-Island Cup winners in 2023 and 2024. [9]
The professional rugby union team for the province, Connacht Rugby, is based in the city and plays its home matches at the Galway Sportsgrounds. As of 2024, Connacht was playing in the United Rugby Championship (formerly Pro 12) competition and the European Rugby Champions Cup. [10] The team won the 2015–2016 Pro12 competition by defeating reigning champions Glasgow Warriors in the semi-final and four-time champions Leinster Rugby in the 2016 Grand Final. [11]
There are two senior amateur rugby union teams in Galway, Galwegians RFC and Galway Corinthians RFC, who play in the All-Ireland League. There are also two junior clubs, OLBC RFC & NUIG RFC who both participate in the Connacht Junior League. Galway Bay Rugby, established in 2007, offers "mini rugby" for children at in Galway City and its surrounds. [12]
In rugby league, the Galway Tribesmen were All-Ireland Champions in 2020, [13] and played in the first round of the 2022 Challenge Cup. [14] [15]
Rowing on the River Corrib is undertaken by a number of rowing clubs. These include, among others, the Tribesmen Rowing Club, Galway Rowing Club, Coláiste Iognáid ('The Jes') Rowing Club, St. Joseph's Patrician College ('The Bish') Rowing Club and University of Galway Boat Club. [16]
In sailing, Galway hosted a stopover in 2008–2009 Volvo Ocean Race. The city was also the finishing point of the round-the-world 2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race. [17]
There are 25m swimming pools, used by a number of competitive swimming clubs, at the Leisureland complex in Salthill and the KingFisher pools at the University of Galway and in Renmore. [18] [19]
Moycullen Basketball Club, who were competing in the Super League as of the 2022–23 season, were the first Galway club to compete at the top tier of senior basketball in Ireland. [20] While the club is situated in Moycullen, 13 km (8.1 mi) west of the city, it plays its senior home games in the Kingfisher Sports Centre at the University of Galway. [21] In 2009, Moycullen's Cian Nihill became the second Galway man to represent Ireland at senior level, being selected 20 years after Oranmore/Maree's James Burke lined-out for the national team. [22] As of 2023, Titans Basketball Club were the only club representing Galway in the (second tier) National League. [23]
Professional boxing events have occurred in the city since Galway native Kieran Molloy "[brought] professional boxing back to Galway" in 2023 for the first time since Coleman Barrett main evented in 2009. [24] In 2024, Thomas O'Toole "main evented" at Leisureland in Galway. [25]
The Galway Greyhound Stadium, which opened in 1927 and shares some facilities with the Connacht rugby team, hosts greyhound racing events. [26]
The Galway Lawn Tennis Club has indoor and outdoor facilities, including 9 tennis courts, 6 squash courts and 7 badminton courts, on a 3-acre (1.2 ha) site in Salthill. [27]
Galway Hockey Club, a field hockey club formed in the early 1950s, [28] is based at the University of Galway sports campus in Dangan. [29]
The official crowd figure for 2015 was almost 149,000
Galway manager Michael Moloney has hailed a wonderful week at Ballybrit and said the overall crowd figure of 122,362, up 5,642 on [2022]
Moycullen enjoy home win over [..] Team Garveys Castleisland in the Kingfisher NUIG Sports Centre on Saturday
Titans are the only Galway team competing in the Basketball Ireland InsureMyVan.ie National League