Sport in Galway includes a diverse heritage, with a history in sports ranging from horse racing, Gaelic games, soccer and rugby to rowing, motorsport, greyhound racing and others. The
Galway Races
The Galway Races (Irish: ''Rásaí na Gaillimhe'') is an Irish horse-racing festival that starts on the last Monday of July every year. Held at Ballybrit Racecourse in Galway, Ireland over seven days, it is one of the longest of all the race m ...
are known worldwide and are the highlight of the Irish horse racing calendar. Over the years it has grown into an annual festival lasting seven days.
Gaelic games
Both
hurling
Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...
and
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
are strong in Galway city.
Pearse Stadium
Pearse Stadium ( ga, Páirc an Phiarsaigh) is the principal GAA stadium in Galway, Ireland. The Galway GAA Gaelic football and hurling teams use the stadium for their home games. The stadium, amongst others in the province of Connacht, is also ...
in Salthill is the home to
Galway GAA
The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae na Gaillimhe) or Galway GAA are one of the 32 county boards in Ireland; they are responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway, and f ...
, the county's
Gaelic games
Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the ...
body. The Galway hurlers compete annually in the
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition i ...
for the
Liam MacCarthy Cup. Despite having won the cup only 5 times in their history, Galway is considered as one of the top teams in the Championship.
The footballers compete annually in the
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship for the
Sam Maguire Cup, though being less successful than the hurlers in recent years, the footballers have won the cup 9 times with the most recent being in
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
.
Soccer
Galway United F.C.
Galway United Football Club (Irish: ''Cumann Peile Ghaillimh Aontaithe'') is an Irish association football club based in Galway. They play in the League of Ireland First Division.
They were founded as Galway Rovers F.C. during the 1930s. They m ...
is based in the city and currently plays in the
League of Ireland First Division
The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. Th ...
. The team plays its home games at
Eamonn Deacy Park
Eamonn Deacy Park, formerly known as Terryland Park, is an association football stadium in the Republic of Ireland based in the Terryland district of Galway. It is owned by the Galway Football Association and is the home ground of both Galway ...
. The club was formed in 2013 as a phoenix club under the name Galway F.C and first competed in the
2014 season.
The original incarnation of the club,
Galway United
Galway United Football Club (Irish language, Irish: ''Cumann Peile Ghaillimh Aontaithe'') is an List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Galway. They play in the League of Ireland Fi ...
(1937-2011), first competed in the League of Ireland since 1977, then known as ''Galway Rovers''.
Michael D. Higgins, later elected
President of Ireland
The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces.
The president holds office for seven years, and can ...
in 2011, served as a president of the club in a ceremonial capacity. Following struggles with debts, the club became defunct at the end of the
2011 season. The Galway United Supporters Trust (GUST) had been servicing many debts of the company and were able to keep the club afloat for the 2011 season, with it having been effectively abandoned by its directors. GUST withdrew their support for the team and applied to join the
2012 League of Ireland
The 2012 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 28th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division featured 12 teams. Sligo Rovers were champions, winning their first top league title since 1976–77. Drogheda United finis ...
as a community enterprise, rather than as a private company, which the old club had been. This application was not successful, however.
Galway F.C. was formed the following year from a merger of GUST with representatives of the
GFA, and
Mervue United
Mervue United A.F.C. is an Irish association football club based in Mervue, Galway. Their senior men's team currently plays in the Galway & District League. The club has previously fielded teams in the Connacht Senior League, the League of Ir ...
and
Salthill Devon
Salthill Devon Football Club is an Irish association football club originally based in Salthill, Galway. Their senior team currently plays in the Galway & District League. They have previously played in the Connacht Senior League, the A Champi ...
, two other clubs in the city, who had competed in the First Division since 2009 and 2010 respectively.
Galway United
Galway United Football Club (Irish language, Irish: ''Cumann Peile Ghaillimh Aontaithe'') is an List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Galway. They play in the League of Ireland Fi ...
have won the
FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...
once in 1991 and the
League of Ireland Cup twice in 1986 and 1997, making them the regions most successful club at pro/semi pro level.
Rugby
The professional rugby union team for the province,
Connacht Rugby
Connacht Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Connachta) is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Con ...
, is based in the city. They play in the
Pro14 and as of 2014, in the
Rugby Challenge Cup
The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...
. The team plays their home matches at the
Galway Sportsgrounds.
Two senior amateur
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
teams in Galway,
Galwegians RFC
Galwegians Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club in Galway, Ireland. The Galwegians senior side plays in Division 2B of the All-Ireland League, the Irish domestic club competition.
Galwegians field over 16 teams including Senior, Junior (S ...
and
Galway Corinthians RFC, play in the
All-Ireland League.
In
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
the Galway Tribesmen have been All-Ireland Champions and in 2022 entered the
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...
.
Individual sports
In 2012 and 2013, the players tour championship grand final of snooker was held at the Bailey Allen Hall in Galway, but the event moved to Preston, England for the 2014 edition.
Golf
There are several golf courses that serve Galway city. Bearna Golf Club, Galway Golf Club, Cregmore Golf Club and Galway Bay Golf Resort are all situated within of the city centre.
Tennis
The Galway Lawn Tennis Club, in the Salthill area of the city, has facilities for tennis, squash and badminton spread over 22 courts.
Swimming
Nearby
Salthill has a 25m competitive swimming pool in the Leisureland complex and three competitive swimming clubs (i) Shark Swimming Club, (ii) Laser Swimming Club and (iii) Galway Swimming Club train there. There is also a
handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...
and
racketball club while there are several martial arts clubs throughout the city. There is a 25m pool at NUI, Galway as well as one at Renmore's KingFisher Club.
Sailing/Rowing
Sailing on both sea and lake are popular, as is
rowing in the River Corrib with seven clubs providing the necessary facilities and organising rowing competitions. These clubs include: Gráinne Mhaol Rowing Club, Tribesmen Rowing Club, Galway Rowing Club,
Coláiste Iognáid
Coláiste Iognáid SJ ( en, link=yes, Ignatius College), a bilingual secondary school, is located on Sea Road in Galway, Ireland. It was founded in 1645 and has had numerous locations over the years before its current home. The college is a co- ...
('The Jes') Rowing Club,
St Joseph's Patrician College
St. Joseph's Patrician College, often known as "The Bish", is a secondary school in the West Ireland city of Galway. Founded by the Patrician Brothers, a religious order, it has approximately 800 students on roll and, in recent years, has ha ...
('The Bish') Rowing Club,
NUI Galway Boat Club and Cumann Rámhaiochta Choláiste na Coiribe.
In 2009
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
hosted a stopover on the
Volvo Ocean Race and the city was finishing point of the round-the-world competition in July 2012.
Greyhound Racing
Near the city centre, on College Road, the
Sportsground has greyhound races every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. It was refurbished by the Irish Greyhound Board,
Bord na gCon
Greyhound Racing Ireland ( ga, Rásaíocht Con Éireann, formerly ga, Bord na gCon) is an Irish semi-state body charged with regulating and promoting Greyhound racing in Ireland. The organisation has been active in developing the sport in Irela ...
, and the facility is shared with the
Connacht rugby team.
Motor Sports
In motorsport, the annual
Galway International Rally
The Galway Rally, Galway International Rally is an annual motorsport tarmac rallying event held in Galway, Ireland. Promoted and organised by Galway Motor Club, the rally was first ran in 1971. The Galway International Rally is the oldest Int ...
was the first international rally to be run in the Republic of Ireland in 1971. Throughout its history it has attracted star drivers from all over the world. The 2007 event was won by twice World Rally Champions
Marcus Grönholm
Marcus Ulf Johan Grönholm (born February 5, 1968) is a Finnish former rally and rallycross driver, being part of a family of the Swedish-speaking population of Finland lineage. His son, Niclas Grönholm, is an upcoming FIA World Rallycross Champ ...
and
Timo Rautiainen. The organisers and promoters of the event is the
Galway Motor Club. The club also host
Galway Summer Rally
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
since 1978.
The
Galway International Rally
The Galway Rally, Galway International Rally is an annual motorsport tarmac rallying event held in Galway, Ireland. Promoted and organised by Galway Motor Club, the rally was first ran in 1971. The Galway International Rally is the oldest Int ...
takes place at the beginning of February, and the
Galway Summer Rally
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
at the end of August every year.
Basketball
Moycullen Basketball Club have been a flagship basketball club in Galway for a number of years and currently compete in the Superleague, the top division in Irish basketball. They are the first Galway or Gaeltacht team to ever compete in the Superleague which is a semi-professional league. The club is situated west of the city but plays its senior home games in NUI Galway. Between Moycullen and Oranmore/Maree Club numerous Irish youth international players have been produced over the last 10 years, who have represented Ireland at European basketball championships. In 2009, Moycullen's Cian Nihill became the first Galway man to represent Ireland at senior level since Oranmore/Maree's James Burke achieved the same feat 20 years previously. In 2007/2008 Maree won the U-18 men's national cup while Moycullen won the U-20 national title. In the 2010/2011 season Oranmore/Maree Basketball Club's 1991 Men's team retained an undefeated record of over 100 games to go and claim the only National Championship trophy remaining, the U-20 Men's national cup. Titans Basketball Club and Oranmore/Maree Basketball Club both represent Galway in the national league, Ireland's second highest division.
Hockey
Galway Hockey Club have both men's and ladies' hockey teams with a vibrant youth section and is based at the Regional Sports Centre in Dangan.
Galway Bay Lightning have a gold division team, while NUIG have a silver division team competing in Inline Hockey Ireland's national league.
Aussie Rules
The City's first
Aussie Rules Club, the Midwest Magpies were formed in January 2010 and play in the Premiership in the Australian Rules Football League of Ireland. The club has had limited success in its first year, but has already had some of its players selected to play on Ireland's Aussie Rules National Team, the Irish Warriors.
See also
*
References
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