“Ireland: The Contemporary Home of Sport”

Playing sports is a popular activity all over the globe, and many nations such as New Zealand, Canada and Brazil favour specific sports.

However, Ireland has one of the most devoted fan bases for sports and one of the most active betting markets in the world to boot, something you would expect to see in a nation which favours so many different types of sports.

When browsing through the popular sports in Ireland, bookmakers you can find the latest games of the Irish premier division with Dundalk being the favourites for the first match of the league against UC Dublin.   According to reports made in 2022, around forty-two  percent of Ireland’s population enjoy sports and sporting events in pubs and bars. A number which will only continue to grow given the development of sport. With so many sports such as golf, Gaelic football, and cycling becoming more popular as time goes on, it’s no wonder we are seeing more rising stars within Irish sports. Within this article, we’ll be taking al look at some of the most promising stars within the Irish Sporting Community who are sure to make waves in 2023.  

Sarah McAuley – Hockey

    Sarah McAuley established herself as a top performer in hockey. Cementing her name within the top echelons of the sport in recent years with some amazing feats in 2021, during the Tokyo Olympics.  She also  kept up these performances in 2022, with some stellar efforts during the 2022 hockey world cup. Given how much enthusiasm McAuley has for the game, it is reasonable to anticipate that the year 2023 will be one of the most successful of her career.  

Jaime Mullins – Football

    When he was just 16 years old, Jamie Mullins broke records in the League of Ireland by becoming the  youngest ever goalscorer for Bohemians. Those who saw this event felt they had seen a very precious talent.   In 2022, he continued his career  in football by making 32 appearances for Bohemians, 17 of which were in the League of Ireland. We have seen him play a lot of great matches throughout last year, Proving to be a rising talent, he has already begun to make a number of moves in his career, the most recent signing a deal with Brighton that could  last until 2025.  

Israel Olatunde – Sprinting

    Israel Olatunde’s accomplishments in Irish sports may leave you speechless, and he is now being hailed as the fastest man in Irish history.   Despite the fact that Olatunde has been showcasing his abilities since 2018, he really came into his own during the 2022 European Athletics Championships. At the 2022 European Athletics Championships, Olatunde ran 10.19 seconds in the 100-metre preliminaries on August 15. This time was a new personal best and set a new national record for athletes under the age of 23. The next day, in the final, he placed sixth by running a new Irish record of 10.17 seconds. His  presence in the 100-metre final at the European Athletics Championships was historic for the entire Irish nation

 KatTaylor – Boxing

Katie Taylor isn’t a newcomer when it comes to sport. Starting her career as a footballer before dipping her toes into the world of boxing, in her 22 fights, she has never faced a single loss, neither by knockout nor by decision. In terms of victories she has won six matches by knockout and sixteen by points decision, making her a true force to be reckoned with

Conor McManus – Gaelic Football

As the last candidate on this list, we’ve chosen Conor McManus, another promising Irish footballer on the up-and-up who is making some major moves within the GAA National football league. He’s even being named one of the best Gaelic footballers of all time. McManus has been one of the greatest scoring players across the nation because of his persistent attacking abilities and superior talent, thanks to which he was responsible for some of the most exciting GAA Scores of recent years. McManus’s performance throughout the last decade has been nothing but exemplary, with plenty of memorable matches from 2015 all throughout until this very day. Considering he is now 35 years old, we might not be seeing much of him for much longer, so we are excited to see him play this season, as we never know which one might be his last.