Sport in Ireland Football in 2003 accounted for 34% of total sports attendances at events in the Republic of Ireland, followed by hurling at 23%, association football (soccer) at 16% and rugby at 8%, 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. Football is the most played team sport in Ireland. Gaelic football, 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. As Northern Ireland is a constitute
Sport in Ireland province and national levels. The Ireland national team is composed of players from both Northern Ireland and the Republic, and the Irish Rugby Football Union governs the sport throughout the island. Success at international level and the establishment of four professional teams has increased interest in rugby union as a sport in Ireland. As of 2018, the Ireland national rugby union team was ranked 2nd in the World Rugby Rankings. Also in 2018, at the World Rugby Awards, Ireland were presented with a 'hat-trick' of awards, with Jonathan Sexton winning the Player of the Year, Joe Schmidt the Coach of