Irish Sporting Events 2012

Sporting events will form an important part of any year in Ireland, from the major horse racing festivals on home soil to the English football league. 2012 has a bumper crop of events coming up, both in Ireland and abroad. And many will touch the tourist as well – be it by Dublin filling up during the Six Nations, by pubs devoting all screens to soccer during Euro 2012 or by the build-up to the GAA hurling or football championships.

Here are the main events to look forward to in 2012, please note that joining in is strictly optional (but that you'll have no chance to do otherwise in many pubs around the country):

January 2012

Rugby – Pro12 games involving Leinster, Munster, Connacht and Ulster
Rugby – Heineken Cup games involving Leinster, Munster, Connacht, Ulster and London Irish

February 2012

Rugby – Six Nations
Rugby – Pro12 games involving Leinster, Munster, Connacht and Ulster
Soccer – Friendly Northern Ireland vs. Norway (29th)

March 2012

Horse Racing – Cheltenham Festival (UK, 13th to 16th)
Rugby – Six Nations
Rugby – Pro12 games involving Leinster, Munster, Connacht and Ulster

April 2012

Horse Racing – Cork Easter Meeting (7th to 9th)
Horse Racing – Fairyhouse Irish Grand National (9th)
Horse Racing – Punchestown Festival (24th to 28th)
Rugby – Pro12 games involving Leinster, Munster, Connacht and Ulster
Rugby – Heineken Cup games (potentially) involving Leinster, Munster, Connacht, Ulster and London Irish

May 2012

Rugby – Pro12 games involving Leinster, Munster, Connacht and Ulster
Rugby – Heineken Cup final (potentially) involving Leinster, Munster, Connacht, Ulster and London Irish (Twickenham, 19th)
Soccer - Friendly Ireland vs. Bosnia-Herzegowina (26th)

June 2012

Cycling – Tour de France
Horse Racing – Bellewstown Festival (starting 29th)
Horse Racing – Irish Derby (The Curragh, starting 29th)
Soccer – Friendly Netherlands vs. Northern Ireland (2nd)
Soccer - Friendly Hungary vs. Ireland (Budapest, 4th)
Soccer – Euro 2012 Ireland vs. Croatia (Poznan, 10th)
Soccer – Euro 2012 Spain vs. Ireland (Gdansk, 14th)
Soccer – Euro 2012 Italy vs. Ireland (Poznan, 17th)

Should Ireland (against all odds) succeed in getting through to the next round in Euro 2012, another game will be played on either June 23rd or 24th (quarter-finals in Donetsk and Kiev). Pending an improbable (but by then not totally impossible any more) win in the quarter-finals, Ireland would have to fight again in the semi-finals either in Donetsk on June 27th or in Warsaw on June 28th. Should any of this happen ... expect the Irish to go totally mental and head east in droves.

July 2012

Cycling – Tour de France
Gaelic Football – Munster Championship Final (8th)
Gaelic Football – Connacht Championship Final (15th)
Gaelic Football – Leinster Championship Final (22nd)
Gaelic Football – Ulster Championship Final (22nd)
Horse Racing – Irish Derby (The Curragh, ending 1st)
Horse Racing – Bellewstown Festival (ending 1st)
Horse Racing – Killarney Festival (16th to 19th)
Horse Racing – Galway Festival (starting 30th)
Hurling – Leinster Championship Final (8th)
Hurling – Ulster Championship Final (8th)
Hurling – Munster Championship Final (15th)
Soccer – Euro 2012 Final (Kiev, 1st)

The London 2012 Olympic Games will run from July 27th to August 12th – while medal hopes for Ireland are not exorbitant, there might be the odd win. One firm favourite for Olympic glory is Katie Taylor (boxing).

August 2012

Horse Racing – Galway Festival (ending 5th)
Horse Racing – Tramore Festival (16th)
Horse Racing – Bellewstown Festival (22nd to 23rd)
Horse Racing – Killarney Festival (starting 29th)

September 2012

Gaelic Football – All-Ireland Championship Final (23rd)
Horse Racing – Killarney Festival (ending 1st)
Horse Racing – Galway Festival (9th to 11th)
Horse Racing – Listowel Harvest Festival (17th to 23rd)
Hurling – All-Ireland Championship Final (9th)
Soccer – World Cup Qualifier Kazakhstan vs. Ireland (7th)
Soccer – World Cup Qualifier Russia vs. Northern Ireland (7th)
Soccer – World Cup Qualifier Northern Ireland vs. Luxembourg (11th)

October 2012

Athletics – Dublin Marathon (29th)
Soccer – World Cup Qualifier Ireland vs. Germany (12th)
Soccer – World Cup Qualifier Faroe Islands vs. Ireland (16th)
Soccer – World Cup Qualifier Portugal vs. Northern Ireland (16th)

November 2012

Horse Racing – Down Royal Festival (2nd to 3rd)
Horse Racing – Punchestown Festival (17th to 18th)
Soccer – World Cup Qualifier Northern Ireland vs. Azerbaijan (14th)

December 2012

Horse Racing – Fairyhouse Festival (1st to 2nd)