Gaelic Football is without a doubt the biggest sport in Ireland. Every place in the Republic anyway has a club near by, and every town/village/area with people living has a team. It gives a real sense of community. Yeah, the crowds are good but have gone down alot in recent years due to the recession and all that. Funny you mention AFL, My brother actually played some game for his company in the stadium where the Perth team play, West Coast Eagles is it? You can't throw the ball at all, and both Gaelic and especially Hurling require alot of skill. Seeing as it was made in the 1800's, Rugby and Football weren't exactly big then, in fact if you watched 'Green is the Colour' Rugby was non existent in Ireland and Soccer was only popular in the North. Each to their own though, and I also like the fact that you won't get a no score draw in GAA.