Gaelic football is played on the same pitches as hurling and shares the same scoring system and team size. It has similarities with both rugby and association football, as the round, soccer-sized ball can be kicked, caught and passed by either boot or hand. However, running with the ball is only allowed if a player keeps control by tapping the ball from foot to hand every five steps. The season, which runs from early summer, is organized like hurling's, culminating in an All Ireland final at Croke Park on the third Sunday in September, a flavour of which can be gained from the excellent film shown as part of the Croke GAA Museum tour . Details of fixtures for hurling and gaelic football can be obtained from the Gaelic Athletic Association (tel 01/836 3222).

Rugby union and soccer are also extremely popular and tickets for international matches are very much in demand, especially in the Republic. The international rugby team is a joint Republic/Northern Ireland side, with home matches played at Dublin's Lansdowne Road Stadium . The main event of the year is the Six Nations Championship, a series of international games against France, England, Scotland, Wales and, latterly, Italy played in Spring. Soccer is organized on a professional basis in both the North and the Republic, though the majority of players are semi-professional, with teams competing in the Irish League and League of Ireland respectively. Standards are not especially high and Irish teams rarely progress beyond the preliminary rounds of the European competitions. Northern Ireland's international matches are played at Windsor Park, Belfast , and the Republic's at Lansdowne Road. Both international teams draw the overwhelming majority of their players from the English and Scottish leagues. The Northern Ireland side had its heyday in the 1980s, culminating in their famous 1-0 victory over hosts Spain in the 1982 World Cup, while the Republic gained a high profile and creditable international reputation in the early 1990s under the managership of the Englishman "Big Jack" Charlton - it's undoubted high point was the 1-0 defeat of Italy during the 1994 World Cup Finals. There's hope for the future too, as the Republic's youth team gained a remarkable third place in the 1997 World Finals and, uniquely, won both the under-16 and under-18 1998 European Championships. However, the most popular clubs here (and in the North) are Manchester United and Liverpool. Glasgow Celtic and Rangers are also popular in the North with support following sectarian Catholic and Protestant divisions.

Horse racing unites two Irish passions, horses and betting, and is carried out with a relaxed good humour that you shouldn't miss. Racing is concentrated around the Curragh, a grassy plain in Co. Kildare , where the classic flat-race course of the same name is located, along with Punchestown race course and many of Ireland's famous stud farms. The Irish Grand National is run at Fairyhouse in Co. Meath in April, the Irish Derby at the Curragh in June. The flat-racing season runs from mid-March to early November while National Hunt racing over jumps takes place throughout the year. Just as much fun and more easily accessible is greyhound racing . Shelbourne Park (tel 668 3502) in Dublin is the country's most prestigious venue, although there are sixteen tracks across the country. Information on meetings is available from Bord na gCon, the Irish Greyhound Racing Board (tel 061/316788).

Cycling is a hugely popular sport in Ireland, exemplified by the large crowds lining the route of the Irish sections of the 1998 Tour de France, a race won in 1987 by one of the country's sporting heroes, Stephen Roche. Another, Sean Kelly, was world number one from 1984 to 1988. There's an enormous number of golf courses here too, with major championships like the Irish Open in July. Both tourist boards produce information on where you can play and have details of holiday packages and accommodation.

Naturally, as this is an island, there are innumerable opportunities for sea angling and hundreds of lakes and rivers for fishing of the fly and game varieties. In general, the best of the sea angling takes place on the south and west coasts and Bord FA?ilte can help with information. The high spot of the fly-fishing season is the emergence of the mayfly around mid-May when anglers flock to the best brown trout spots such as: Lower Lough Erne, Co. Fermanagh; Lough Derg, Co. Clare and the Corrib system, Co. Galway. There are plenty of other possibilities, however, and, again the tourist boards can assist.

The relatively sheltered waters of the east coast see most of the sailing activity, especially in Dublin Bay and further south around Arklow and Wexford, though there are excellent opportunities, too, in West Cork and on Lough Derg, Co. Clare. The south and southwest are most popular for cruising, though the Cork coast offers many possibilities for yachting. The rougher waters of the west coast restrict the options to the areas more protected from the elements, such as Galway Bay or Killybegs, Co. Donegal. On the north coast, Lough Swilly is increasingly popular, while on the other side of the border, there are numerous boating possibilities on Strangford Lough. For further information contact the Irish Sailing Association (tel 01/280 0239). Inland waterways also offer canoeing , ranging from touring to rough- and white-water racing.

Wind-surfing and water-skiing are usually possible wherever there are good sailing waters and there are some fabulous beaches for board-surfing . Some of the best are: Barleycove beach, Co. Cork; Inch Strand and Castlegregory beach on, respectively, the south and north sides of the Dingle Peninsula. Further north, Easky, Co. Sligo offers perhaps the best of the lot, though Bundoran and Rossnowlagh beaches, Co. Donegal are close contenders. The Northern Ireland coast between Castlerock, Co. Derry and Portrush, Co. Antrim attracts hordes of board fanatics.

Situated in the path of the Gulf Stream, there are stupendous opportunities for diving off the Irish coast, from protected harbours for beginners to rocky cliff faces for the more experienced. There are plenty of places where you can learn to dive too. The Irish Underwater Council can provide details of clubs and courses (tel 01/284 4601).

The Ulster Way was the first waymarked walking trail in Ireland and it's still the longest, running a 560-mile circuit of Northern Ireland and linked to trails from Donegal and Cavan. If you don't fancy the complete trek, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board publishes information on specific shorter walks, and the route guides published by the Sports Council for Northern Ireland at House of Sport, Upper Malone Road, Belfast BT9 5LA (tel 028/9038 1222) are also useful. A variety of similar trails now exist in the Republic, ranging from walks through glens and mountains, such as the Wicklow Way, or around entire peninsulas, like the Beara and Dingle Ways. Although the walks are waymarked, you'll always need a good map as a standby. Local tourist offices and councils have produced map guides for some of the ways, as has East West Mapping, Ballyredmond, Clonegal, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford (tel 054/77835), which also sells trail guidebooks. These walks are maintained in the south by the National Waymarked Ways Committee (tel 662 1444, walsha@entemp.irlgov.ie ) who can give advice on which routes to take, while Bord FA?ilte's publication Walking Ireland is a handy introduction to easier walks in the country.

Though Ireland's mountain ranges are not especially high, there are numerous opportunities for rock-climbing , expecially in Counties Cork and Kerry - the latter's Macgillycuddy's Reeks make up for their lack of height by spectacular settings. To the east, the Wicklow Mountains are hugely popular, while the craggy splendour and coastal setting of the Mourne Mountains in Co. Down are hard to beat. The Mountaineering Council of Ireland (tel 01/450 7376, www.mountaineering.ie ) publishes a Web site, a magazine, Irish Mountain Log, plus a number of guides and offers advice on a variety of peaks.

The number of rare species visiting Ireland makes the country a birdwatching paradise. Again, the tourist boards can provide details, as can the National Parks and Wildlife Service (tel 01/661 3111), and the Irish Wildbird Conservancy (tel 01/280 4322). In the North a good contact is the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (tel 028/9049 1547) while Birdwatch Northern Ireland has been established specifically to assist north-bound ornithologists (tel 028/9069 3232). Useful Web sites relating to birdwatching in Ireland include www.indigo.ie/~hutch/birdmap.html and www.geocities.com/rainforest/2801 .