I guess this has been done to death, but I have to say that I can't really blame Irish people for following UK soccer.
I'm not your model soccer fan by any stretch of the imagination[1], but I have been to games in both Cork and the UK, and in all honestly the difference between them is vast. I mean, I've nearly dozed off at a couple of City matches, and a lot of the rest of the time I was getting eye strain from looking into the sun when the ball was hoofed to Pluto.
You can't really blame the players for that, because you can hardly expect serious talent with the wages that are on offer. But I honestly can't blame Irish people for watching better soccer on the telly either. And you couldn't deny in a thousand years it's not better soccer...
adam
[1] But I'm consistent, you have to give me that! :D