t popular athletics events in the country.
Rugby league is represented by the Ireland national rugby league team and administered by Rugby League Ireland (who are full member of the Rugby League European Federation) on an all-Ireland basis. The team compete in the European Cup (rugby league) and the Rugby League World Cup. Ireland reached the quarter finals of the 2000 Rugby League World Cup as well as reaching the semi finals in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. The Irish Elite League is a domestic competition for rugby league teams in Ireland.
The profile of Australian rules football has increased in Ireland due to the International rules series that take place annually between Australia and Ireland. Boxing has also gained in popularity as a result of the international success of boxers such as Bernard Dunne and Andy Lee. Baseball and basketball are also emerging sports in Ireland, both of which have an international team representing the island of Ireland. Other sports which retain a strong following in Ireland include cycling, greyhound racing, horse riding, motorsport, and softball.
Society
The receding influence of the Catholic Church has led to Ireland becoming an increasingly secularised society. Contraception was controlled in Ireland until 1979. In 1983, the Eighth Amendment recognised "the right to life of the unborn", subject to qualifications concerning the "equal right to life" of the mother. The case of Attorney General v. X subsequently prompted passage of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments, guaranteeing the right to have an abortion performed abroad, and the right to learn about "services" that are illegal in Ireland but legal abroad. The prohibition on divorce in the 1937 Constitution was repealed in 1995 under the Fifteenth Amendment.
Discrimination based on age, gender, sexual orientation, marital or familial status, religion, race or membership of the travelling community is illegal in Ireland. The
