Ireland

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has extended its primary sponsorship deal with telecommunications firm Three through to 2016.

International Cycling Union (UCI) president Pat McQuaid has rubbished claims that he cannot be a member of two cycling federations under the governing body’s rules.

The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) has become the latest sports organisation to embrace ball tracking technology, with Specsavers opticians set to sponsor the use of Hawk-Eye at Dublin’s Croke Park stadium.

The Irish Rugby Football Union’s (IRFU) efforts to launch a bid for the 2023 Rugby World Cup have been boosted with the support of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA).

Belfast and Dublin, the capital cities of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, respectively, have landed the opening exchanges of the 2014 Giro d’Italia cycling event, it was announced on Thursday.

Public-service broadcaster RTÉ has retained Ireland’s rights to rugby union’s Six Nations Championship through a new deal running until 2017.

ESPN Caribbean has acquired the rights for International Cricket Council (ICC) events and the Champions League Twenty20 through to 2015 in a deal with ESPN STAR Sports (ESS).

Dublin has secured the right to host the 2013 Heineken Cup final, the showpiece game of European club rugby union.

Philip Browne, the chief executive of the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), has confirmed that a bid for the 2023 Rugby World Cup is under consideration by the country’s sport stakeholders.

Cricket Ireland has announced details of a new commercial programme that will underpin its ultimate goal of becoming a full Test nation by 2020.

The European Tour has elected to celebrate the success of Northern Irish golf by announcing the return of the Irish Open to the country for the first time in almost 60 years.

Telecommunications company 02 has extended its shirt sponsorship deal with Ireland’s national rugby union team through to 2016.

The Celtic League, the rugby union competition that features teams from Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Italy, has signed up Rabobank as its new title sponsor.

Cider producer Magners has confirmed it will end its title sponsorship of the Celtic League at the end of the current season.

Eircom has replaced telecommunications rival Vodafone as the new lead sponsor of the Gaelic Athletic Association’s (GAA) All-Ireland Football Championship.

Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom has vowed to fight the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) controversial decision to axe associate teams from the 2015 World Cup, and has refused to rule out legal action.