Buy Irish this Christmas: 15 sports and fitness businesses

As part of our new series on how to buy Irish online this Christmas, here are 15 Irish sports and fitness firms you can buy gifts from online this Christmas.

In this series we are looking at businesses all over Ireland selling goods online.

With an estimated 70pc of online shopping purchases made overseas, it is vital we support Irish SMEs rocked by Covid-19 and the impact of lockdowns on footfall.

To this end we are looking at businesses in the areas of toys, food, drink, health and nutrition, sports and fitness, clothing and fashion and beauty.

501 Darts Ireland

501 Darts Ireland is your one stop shop for all thing’s darts. Based in Trim in Co Meath, 501 is Irelands’s largest dart and flight online retailer.

Notable product: Bulls Shark Pro Board

Cycle SuperStore

Cycle SuperStore began its story in 1982 when Ray Fearon set up Rays Bike shop in Rathgar, carrying out repairs and trading in used bicycles. Today, Cycle SuperStore resides at The Frameworks Building on Airton Road Tallaght, where it delivers an unrivalled cycle shopping experience.

Notable product: Womens Mountain Bike

Ed Sports

Ed Sports is Ireland’s leading hockey and cricket store with two units in Dublin. The company stock all the leading brands and provide the most comprehensive range of cricket and hockey equipment available to buy in Ireland.

Notable product: Ed Sports cricket bat

Elverys Sports 

Founded in 1847, Elverys is Ireland’s oldest sports store and offers equipment and sportswear for Gaelic games, soccer, golf, rugby, basketball and other sports. It also stocks exercise equipment such as treadmills and walkers. There are more than 50 Elverys stores across Ireland.

Notable product: Ireland rugby jersey

I-Spy 

I-Spy is an Irish mother-and-daughter line, launched in 2014, that specialises in well-fitting gym gear and activewear made to inspire women to feel confident in themselves.

Notable product: I-SPY Less Leggings 2.0

LifeStyle Sports

Life Style Sports was established in 1979 in Ireland by Quinnsworth, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods, and has 53 stores across the island. It is Ireland’s largest sports retailer stocking sporting goods and sport fashions.

Marine Electrics 

Based in Dun Laoghaire, 300 metres from Ireland’s largest marine and servicing the east coast, Marine Electrics was established for boat owners who demand quality work carried out on time, to the highest standards and to agreed prices. The company offers a wide range of equipment’s for sailors and boat enthusiasts and carries out all work to the highest standards.

Notable product: Garmin GPS 

McGuirks Golf 

McGuirks Golf has been supplying the Irish golfing market for the past 50 years and is Ireland’s leading supplier of golf equipment both in-store and online. McGuirks Golf commenced trading in Howth Golf Club in 1967 with John McGuirk PGA Professional, and now has a number of outlets across the country.

Notable product: Big Bertha B21 Driver

McSport 

McSport is Ireland’s leading and most successful independent supplier of sport and fitness equipment. In the last 40 years, McSport has evolved from a small local sports equipment shop to Ireland’s largest online retailer of sports and fitness equipment.

Notable product: HIT FITNESS G6 Indoor Cycling Bike

Peachee Collection

Peachee Collection is a luxury athleisure label by fitness enthusiast and entrepreneur Bonnie Shortall. The label is most notable for its figure accentuating, high-rise fitness leggings that hug and shape the body; making for a more comfortable over-all gym experience. Having experienced many changes in her body, Bonnie recognised a gap in the market for comfortable, confidence-building gym wear for women.

Notable product: Peachee Collection Leggings

PlayerTek 

With more runners on the road than ever before, it could be time to track all your progress. PlayerTek has developed a small physical device which weighs about 50 grams and it’s placed on your back when you exercise. It has a high-precision GPS tracker and gives accurate information relating to your activity.

Seed Golf 

Selling into more than 30 counties around the world, Carlow based Seed Golf is developing an excellent reputation among amateur golfers. The company, which was started by Australian Dean Klatt, produces quality golf balls that are aimed at amateur golfers at half the price of its competitors.

Sundrift

Cork woman Fiona Parfrey founded Sundrift in response to female backpackers consistently noticing that most backpacks are designed for men’s bodies. She set about designing her own bags after complaints from women during a five-months trip across Africa and Asia.

Notable product: Sundrift back pack

Surfdock   

Established in 1991, Surfdock is Dublin’s original surf shop and is now a second-generation family-run business. It sells wetsuits, changing robes and equipment for surfing, windsurfing, paddle boarding, open-water swimming and more.

Notable product: Surfdock surf board

West Ireland Cycling 

This is a family-run Galway bike shop that has been serving the biking needs of Galway and beyond for generations. From bikes and accessories to rentals and cycling holidays.

Notable product: Connemara Express Cycling Tour

By Stephen Larkin

Published: 3 November, 2020

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