medal at the European Baseball Championship tournament held at the International Baseball Centre in Ashbourne, County Meath. By winning, the team advanced to the next round of Olympic qualifying in 2019. Irish Baseball League Although the existence of baseball in Ireland is not widely known, the game has been played there since the early 1990s. What began with a few friends playing pickup games on football and rugby fields in Dublin and Greystones, soon grew into a small league. In the years since, baseball has spread throughout Ireland, and is currently played in Ashbourne, Clones, Cork, Shankhill, Greystones, Dublin and Belfast. The Irish Baseball League was founded in 1997. Participating teams come from Dublin, Ashbourne, Belfast, Clones and Greystones. Baseball Ireland is the governing body of baseball on the island of Ireland, covering both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Competing Teams Youth baseball The Irish cadet team (13–18) played in a Dutch tournament held in Alphen aan den Rijn Netherlands. In this competition they came home with a bronze medal but also much experience gained from the club BSC Alphians who won the tournament. Amsterdam Pirates got the runners-up prize. See also References External links Baseball Ireland Official website (archived 2019) Belfast Baseball Association (archived 2007) The Emerald Diamond (archived 2019) Irish National Team pitcher Cormac Eklof's blog Register of Irish-born Major League Baseball players Baseball