From Cup semi-finals and World Championship action to club GAA, interprovincial rugby, elite road running and rallying, there is plenty of live sport taking place around the island this weekend.
Here are nine events worth having on the radar from Friday 21 to Sunday 23 August.
1. Linfield v Cliftonville – Windsor Park, Friday, 7:45 pm
One of the biggest rivalries in Northern Irish football gets the weekend underway as Linfield welcome Cliftonville to Windsor Park.
The game is the Friday night fixture in the third round of the NIFL Premiership season, with the remainder of the weekend’s top-flight programme taking place on Saturday afternoon.
2. Moorefield v Naas – Cedral St Conleth’s Park, Friday, 7:45 pm
The Kildare Senior Football Championship provides our first club GAA selection of the weekend.
Moorefield and Naas meet in the opening round of Group D at Cedral St Conleth’s Park in Newbridge. Both clubs will have ambitions of being involved at the business end of the championship later in the autumn, making this an intriguing opening-night encounter.
3. Club Orange Women’s FAI Cup Semi-Finals – Athlone and Cork, Saturday
Four clubs remain in contention for one of the major prizes in Irish women’s football, with both Club Orange Women’s FAI Cup semi-finals taking place on Saturday.
Holders Athlone Town host Galway United at Athlone Town Stadium, while Cork City welcome Shelbourne to Turner’s Cross.
Athlone have won three of the last four editions of the Cup, while Galway are seeking to reach their first final. Cork City last lifted the trophy in 2017, with Shelbourne winners as recently as 2022 and 2024.
The winners progress to the final at Tallaght Stadium on Sunday, 27 September, giving both games genuine knockout jeopardy and making the double-header one of the standout sporting occasions of the weekend.
4. World Ultimate Club Championships Finals – University of Limerick, Saturday
One of the most significant international sporting competitions hosted in Ireland this summer concludes in Limerick.
The WFDF World Ultimate Club Championships have been taking place since last Saturday, with 136 teams representing 38 nations competing across Open, Women’s and Mixed divisions. More than 650 games are being staged across the University of Limerick and Crescent Comprehensive before the world titles are decided at UL on Saturday.
Ultimate is a seven-a-side, non-contact game played with a flying disc. Players score by completing a pass to a teammate in the opposition end zone and cannot run while holding the disc.
Most unusually, the sport is self-officiated, without referees even at World Championship level, with players operating under the Spirit of the Game.
We have a separate Sport for Business feature this weekend looking in greater depth at the sport and at what staging an event of this scale means for Limerick.
5. The Warriors Run – Strandhill, Co Sligo, Saturday, 2:30 pm
One of the great traditional challenges on the Irish running calendar celebrates its 40th edition in Strandhill.
The Warriors Run covers 15km from the beachfront, up Knocknarea, around Queen Maeve’s Cairn and back down into Strandhill.
It combines road and mountain running, with steep climbs, rough terrain and a rapid descent before the finish beside the Atlantic. Entries have sold out for this year’s race, which gets underway at 2:30 pm on Saturday.
6. Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship – Belfast and Galway, Saturday
The final regulation round of the Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship takes place on Saturday before all four provinces head to Galway for Finals Day next weekend.
Ulster face Leinster at Affidea Stadium at 2:30 pm, with Leinster looking for the victory that will guarantee their place in the final.
At 4:15 pm, Connacht host defending champions Munster at Dexcom Stadium. Both matches will be shown live through the Spórt TG4 YouTube channel.
Finals Day takes place at Dexcom Stadium on Saturday, 29 August.
7. August Racing at The Curragh – Co Kildare, Saturday
The Curragh stages another of its key August Flat racing fixtures on Saturday, continuing a busy summer programme at Irish racing’s headquarters.
The meeting forms part of the Curragh’s August programme and offers another opportunity to see leading Irish horses, trainers and jockeys in action before attention switches towards the Irish Champions Festival next month. The Curragh’s official 2026 calendar confirms racing on Saturday, 22 August.
8. Condor Executive Antrim Coast 5K and Half Marathon – Larne, Sunday
This could provide some of the highest-quality sporting performances anywhere on the island this weekend.
The 5K starts at 9:00 am, before the Antrim Coast Half Marathon at 11:00 am, on a course which sweeps through Larne and onto the Antrim Coast Road.
The Half Marathon carries World Athletics Elite Label status and this year’s field includes athletes from more than 30 countries.
Among the headline names are Kenyan star Isaia Lasoi, who has run 58:10 for the distance, two-time Olympic medallist Galen Rupp, and Ireland’s Hiko Tonosa. The women’s field includes leading Ethiopian, Kenyan, Ugandan, British and American internationals.
There are also international representative teams from Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales, adding an additional competitive dimension to the event alongside the thousands of mass-participation runners.
9. Bluebird Care Galway Summer Rally – East Galway, Sunday
Motorsport rounds out the selection with a major day on the roads of East Galway.
The Bluebird Care Galway Summer Rally is headquartered at the Shearwater Hotel in Ballinasloe and has attracted crews from Ireland, Britain, Canada, the United States and Australia.
The rally will cover approximately 110 kilometres of competitive stages, with organisers expecting to reach the maximum 150-car entry.
In addition to forming part of the Motorsport Ireland National Rally Championship, the scale of the entry and travelling support should provide a sizeable boost to tourism and hospitality in Ballinasloe and the wider East Galway area over the weekend.
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