While the world of sports is not particularly something I would say I know a bunch or care a bunch about, but living in Ireland sports is a huge part of the culture. The Irish really care about their sports, and I have learned to care about them too.
So here is the basic run down. You have three main sports that are played here. There is hurling, rugby, and their version of football. Hurling and football are both part of the GAA, or the Gaelic Athletic Association. The GAA is a non-profit organization that is volunteer based. I think this is one of the two biggest differences between the American sports world and the Irish.
In the states, all of our sports have a professional league. There is the NBA, MLB, NFL, and so on and so forth. When we teach our kids to play sports we cling to the hope that they will be good enough to go pro because, let’s be honest, the money professional sports players in the US make is enough to support a nice lifestyle for anyone three times over. It is so much less about the love of the game and so much more focused on money and getting noticed by recruiters. In the GAA, money is not the point of playing. The point of playing is for the love of the sport and the pride in one’s homeland.
Photo by: Diarmuid Greene
The one sport in Ireland that does have to ability to go pro is rugby. The way rugby is set up is that there are five amateur leagues across the country, and if you are good enough to go higher than the amateurs there are four professional teams. In Limerick where I am living, the professional team is Munster. One thing I find interesting about the system of rugby is that for the most part players play for the professional team closest to where they are from. The players do not hold out for higher paying contracts, there is no draft, and players are not traded between teams like they are cattle. It really is kind of cool.
While the structure and heart behind the sports here in Ireland are different than what it is back home, there is one main thing sports in the US and Ireland have in common and that is that they bring people together. Early on in the semester my American friends and I went into the city and sat in a pub to watch the Munster rugby game. The environment was so friendly and full of excitement just like I was in a sports bar back home watching Sunday night football. Whether it is American sports or Irish, cheering on the local sports team is an awesome way to connect with others and have some mighty craic!
A Day in the Life 