This report analyses participation in sport over the lifetimes of the current generation of Irish adults. It reveals strong trends. Compared with older generations, current young adults played more sport as children and are continuing to play more as adults. The mix of sports people play is changing too, with particularly strong increases in individual sports and exercise activities (swimming, gym, jogging etc.) relative to traditional team sports. In particular, Gaelic games are in relative decline – participation is merely steady, while for most other sports it is growing substantially. Looking at participation right across the lifespan also sheds light on the gender and socio-economic gaps in participation. Given similar childhood experience, men and women are as likely to take up or drop out from sport as adults. The gender gap has its roots in childhood, where boys play much more sport from a very young age. Contrastingly, the socio-economic gap also starts young but continues to widen in adulthood. Those of lower educational attainment and income are more likely to drop out and less likely to take up new sports. These differences matter, as the analysis shows that health benefits accrue to those who play sport and to a significant degree are retained by those who used to play but no longer do. Overall, the strong trends identified suggest that sports policy needs to adapt if it is keep up with the changes occurring in grassroots Irish sport
