There is an unusually rich choice of live sport around Ireland this weekend, ranging from world-class golf and Olympic sailing to American college football, League of Ireland rivalry and one of the biggest nights of the greyhound racing year.
Here are six worth getting out of the house for between Friday and Sunday.
1. KPMG Women’s Irish Open – The K Club
Friday 28 to Sunday 30 August | Palmer South Course, Straffan
The first KPMG Women’s Irish Open at The K Club provides the chance to see a genuinely international field at close quarters, with Leona Maguire, Charley Hull and a record Irish contingent among those competing.
The Palmer South is hosting the championship for the first time, and the move to Kildare is another significant step in the growth of an event that has been attracting ever-stronger crowds throughout tournament week. The championship concludes on Sunday afternoon, making either weekend day particularly attractive for a visit.
2. ILCA 7 Men’s World Championship – Dún Laoghaire
Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 August | Dublin Bay
Ireland is staging an Olympic-class sailing World Championship and this weekend brings it to its conclusion.
More than 140 sailors from 45 nations have been competing from the National Yacht Club and Royal St George Yacht Club, with Ireland’s Finn Lynch very much involved at the sharp end of the competition.
Saturday brings the final fleet racing before Sunday’s decisive programme, when the leading sailors will battle for the world title on Dublin Bay.
3. Aer Lingus College Football Classic – Aviva Stadium
Saturday 29 August | 17:04
One of the biggest single sporting occasions of the Irish weekend sees the TCU Horned Frogs face the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Aviva Stadium.
Thousands of supporters are travelling from the United States for an event that has become an important annual fixture on Dublin’s sporting and tourism calendar.
The spectacle surrounding a major US college football game remains unlike almost anything else staged in Irish sport and makes this one of the standout live experiences of the weekend.
4. Drogheda United v Dundalk – Sullivan & Lambe Park
Friday 28 August | 20:00
Friday night offers one of the most intense local rivalries in the League of Ireland.
Drogheda United against Dundalk carries additional importance in the points race at the business end of the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division season.
The Louth derby has been selected for live television, but the atmosphere inside Sullivan & Lambe Park should provide a considerably better argument for being there in person.
5. BOYLE Sports Irish Greyhound Derby Quarter-Finals – Shelbourne Park
Saturday 29 August | Evening
The field in the 2026 BOYLE Sports Irish Greyhound Derby is down to its last 24 contenders on Saturday night as the competition reaches the quarter-final stage at Shelbourne Park.
There are four quarter-finals, with only three progressing from each race towards next weekend’s semi-finals.
There is added entertainment through the Celebrity Commentator Challenge, with former Dublin footballer Diarmuid Connolly and Cork dual star Eoin Cadogan putting their newly acquired race-calling skills to the test.
6. Waterford Senior Hurling Championship Final – Fraher Field
Sunday 30 August | 14:30
For something very different from the international events dominating Dublin and Kildare, head south to Dungarvan.
Ballygunner face Fourmilewater in the Waterford Senior Hurling Championship Final at Fraher Field.
Ballygunner’s extraordinary dominance of Waterford hurling gives every county final involving them a compelling storyline: can the champions continue their run or can Fourmilewater produce the result that changes the established order?
Golf Ireland and KPMG, Aer Lingus and the College Football Classic, Irish Sailing, The FAI and Drogheda United; the GAA, BOYLE Sports and Greyhound Racing Ireland and are full members of Sport for Business. AIB are partners of our Gaelic Games coverage.
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