The first baseball game in Ireland took place in Dublin in 1874. Today children and adults all over the country play baseball.
contents
- 1 story
- 2 Ireland’s national baseball team
- 3 Irish Baseball League
- 4 Irish national teams
- 5 Youth Baseball
- 6 See also
- 7 references
- 8 External Links
story
The first baseball game in Ireland was played in 1874 when the Boston Red Stockings played the Philadelphia Athletics in Dublin.
Several games were played among teams of US soldiers in Belfast in 1942 and 1943.
The first organized baseball team in Ireland was the Tramore Sea Lions. The Sea Lions were a youth team based in Tramore, County Waterford. The team was organized and coached by local businessman Clive Butterworth.
The Tramore Sea Lions’ success in the local community soon led to the formation of the Waterford Walruses, a team from nearby Waterford City. In 1962, Clive Butterworth brought two United States Air Force baseball teams to Waterford for an exhibition game that was played on the grounds played by Waterford GAA.
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Baseball program from an exhibition baseball game in Waterford, Ireland, September 1962.
Butterworth brought baseball to Dublin in the early 1960s, bringing the total number of Irish baseball teams to three.
Within a few short years, Butterworth’s deteriorating health led to the end of organized baseball in Ireland for nearly three decades.
In 2019 the Irish American Baseball Society and Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame announced the creation of the Clive Butterworth Award, recognizing outstanding volunteer service among young baseball coaches in Ireland.
Ireland’s national baseball team
Ireland played their first game in international competition in 1996 against the Czech Republic and lost 23-2. Since then, Ireland has won bronze in Germany in 2004, silver in Belgium at the European Pool B Baseball Championships in 2006 and gold in Ireland at the European Pool C Baseball Championships in 2018, despite the Irish national team Only ten years old, she has won at least one game in every tournament she has competed in, including Kingston upon Hull in 1996.
The Emerald Diamond, a 2006 documentary film, chronicled the history of baseball in Ireland and the Irish national baseball team.
Irish Baseball League
Main article: Irish Baseball League
Although the existence of baseball is not widely known in Ireland, the game has been played there since the early 1990s and what began with a few friends playing pickup games on Dublin soccer and rugby fields and Greystone’s soon developed to a small league.
In recent years baseball has spread across Ireland and is currently played in Ashbourne, Clones, Cork, Shankhill, Greystones, Dublin and Belfast.
The Irish Baseball League was founded in 1997. The participating teams come from Dublin, Ashbourne, Belfast, Clones and Greystones. Baseball Ireland is the governing body for baseball in the island of Ireland and covers both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Aerial view of O’Malley Fields in Dublin, Ireland
Competing teams
| Teamname | location | Home field | Departments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashbourne Giants | Ashbourne, County Meath | International baseball center | A, B. |
| Ashbourne Deer | Ashbourne, County Meath | International baseball center | B. |
| Belfast privateer | Belfast, Northern Ireland | Hydebank playing fields | B. |
| Belfast Northstars | Belfast, Northern Ireland | Hydebank playing fields | ONE |
| Clones comets | Clones, County Monaghan | Peace connection | B. |
| Cork cosmos | Cork, County Cork | Cork Showgrounds | B. |
| Dublin Spartans | Clondalkin, County Dublin | O’Malley Fields | A, B. |
| Dublin City Hurricanes | Clondalkin, County Dublin | O’Malley Fields | A, B. |
| Greystones Mariners | Shankill, County Dublin | Shanganagh Park | A, B. |
Irish national team
Main article: Irish national baseball team
The Irish national baseball team was founded in 1996 and has participated in several major baseball tournaments and tours.
contest
The Irish national baseball team won their first bronze medal at the 2004 European Championships in Germany. In August 2006, the Irish national baseball team won the silver medal at the European Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. They also took part in the European Championships in Vienna in Austria, Stockholm, Karlovac, Abranches, Antwerp, Barcelona and Ljubljana.
In 2018 the Irish national baseball team won the gold medal in the European Baseball Championship tournament at the International Baseball Center in Ashbourne, County Meath. With the victory, the team reached the next round of Olympic qualification in 2019.
Youth Baseball
Main article: Irish Cadet Team
The Irish cadet team (13-18) played in a Dutch tournament in Alphen aan den Rijn Netherlands. In this competition they came home with a bronze medal, but also with a lot of experience from the BSC Alphians club, which won the tournament. Amsterdam Pirates got second place.
See also
References
External links
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