Judo was first practiced in Ireland in 1952, when a Dublin man, who had reached the rank of yellow belt in England , established a club near Phoenix Park . Because it was situated in the attic of a small garage it came to be called the Loft. A class of about a dozen people practiced there, and soon a black belt was brought over from England to grade the members. During this embryonic stage the British Judo Association (BJA) regularly sent instructors and examiners to Dublin .

            In 1956 a second club was formed, on the other side of Dublin , and friendly competition commenced between the two. In 1957 the Loft moved to much larger premises, renamed Dublin Judo Club, and began in earnest to promote judo in Ireland . Over the next five years, clubs opened in Cork , Limerick , Galway , Belfast , and Derry , and in 1962 the first Dublin practitioner, S, Kavanagh, earned his black belt.

            The Irish Association (IJA) was formed in 1963 as the national governing body; it joined the EJU and IJF. The IJA is exclusively an amateur organization; there are not paid administrators.

            In 1964, when judo was admitted to the Olympics, Ireland was represented in Tokyo by one man, John Ryan, a Sligo-born black belt living in London . Ryan fought to the quarter-finales in the middleweight division, losing to Ted Boronoskis of Australia . Since then, Ireland had competed nearly every year, either in the European Championships, the World Championships, or in various international opens. In the 1972 Olympic Games, Ireland was represented by a full five-man team.

            There are approximately 65 judo clubs in Ireland today, affiliated with the IJA, and 35 more in Northern Ireland affiliated with the BJA. Approximately 10,000 people practice judo in Ireland-female players number about 35 percent-and there are an estimated 120 black belts in the country.

by John Conway