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Each European city is besotted with football (or soccer as some others may refer to it) and Dublin is no exception. The city is home to no less than six football teams; Shelbourne FC, Bohemians FC, St Patricks Athletic FC, Shamrock Rovers FC, the University College of Dublin (UCD), and Dublin City FC. Shelbourne FC, who play in Tolka Park, are recognised as Ireland’s most successful club in UEFA’s club competitions and have achieved the most successes in Ireland over the last few years. Shamrock Rovers FC, which was founded in 1901, play in the Football Association of Ireland’s Premier Division and is regarded as the most successful club in Irish football history. Their record-breaking triumphs at the FAI Cup include six championships in a row in the 1960s.
Grounds such as Tolka Park, Dalymount Park, Richmond Park, Belfield, Whitehall, and Tallaght would regularly host club matches, while Lansdowne Road in Ballsbridge is Ireland’s national stadium and the place to go to see the national side play. If you’re serious about familiarising yourself with Irish culture however, why not combine it with football and discover Gaelic football? This is one of the world’s oldest games and also one of the most popular spectator sports in Ireland. A sort of cross between association football and rugby, Gaelic football sees fifteen players in each team go head to head. The ball is similar to a football but is somewhat heavier and with horizontal stitching rather than hexagonal. Players can hold the ball in their hands but under specific restrictions. The tackling involved is more physical than association football although less so than rugby. Final matches of Gaelec football (simply referred to as ‘football’ in Ireland) are held in Croke Park in Dublin, with over 80,000 screaming fans in attendance.
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