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In Ireland, hockey, golf, rowing, cricket, rugby union and Olympic target shooting are organised in an all-island basis, with a single team representing the whole of Ireland in international competitions. Other sports, such as soccer and netball, have separate organizing bodies in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The many sports played and followed in Ireland also include horse racing, show jumping, greyhound racing, basketball, fishing, handball, motor sport, target shooting and tennis.〔 As Northern Ireland is a constitute nation of the United Kingdom it also sends a Northern Ireland Team to the Commonwealth Games. At the Olympic Games, a person from Northern Ireland can choose to represent either Ireland or Great Britain. Gaelic football is the most popular sport in Ireland in terms of match attendance, and in 2003 accounted for 34% of total sports attendances at events in the Republic of Ireland, followed by hurling at 23%, soccer at 16% and rugby at 8%,〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=The Economic and Social Research Institute )〕 and Initiative's ViewerTrack study measuring 2005 sports audiences showed the sport's highest-profile match, the All-Ireland Football Final, to be the most watched event of the nation's sporting year.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Initiative’s latest ViewerTrack™ study shows that in Ireland GAA and soccer still dominate the sporting arena, while globally the Superbowl was the most watched sporting event of 2005 )〕 Gaelic football is the most played team sport in Ireland. Soccer, hurling, golf, aerobics, cycling, swimming and billiards/snooker are the other sporting activities with the highest levels of playing participation in the Republic of Ireland.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Sports Participation and Health Among Adults in Ireland )Published 2004: p22〕 == Gaelic football == As well as being known as "football", the sport may be referred to as ''Gaelic football'' or ''Gaelic'', if confusion might otherwise arise with soccer. Though it has existed for centuries in Ireland as Caid, Gaelic football was formally arranged into an organised playing code by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in the late nineteenth century. It is the most popular sport in Ireland in terms of match attendance – in the senior football championship in the summer, attendance is upwards of 80,000 for the most prestigious fixtures.〔(【引用サイトリンク】format=PDF )〕 The game is played at underage, minor (under 18), under 21 and adult levels. All players are amateur, although players at a high level may receive income from sources such as sponsorship and grants. Every Gaelic footballer plays for a local club or parish team, and the best are chosen for the inter-county sides. County players may be chosen to play in inter-provincial Railway Cup games or for the 'International Rules' team to face Australia. However, the main national competitions are the inter-county All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and National Football League, also known as the NFL. A Gaelic football year starts with pre-season competitions and the NFL. In early summer, the Championship begins. Each of the four provinces has its own tournament, and teams which are knocked out must do well in the 'qualifiers' if they are to gain a spot along with the four Provincial Champions in the All-Ireland quarter-finals. The All-Ireland Senior Football final is traditionally held on the third Sunday in September. Kerry are football's most successful team, with 37 All-Ireland senior titles. There are many rivalries within the game in Ireland – an example is that between Dublin and Meath. Other notable teams include Cork and Kerry. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sport in Ireland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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