Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has officially confirmed that all sporting activity will be allowed to return in ten days.
The acceleration in plans of the government's roadmap to re-open Ireland means that phase three, beginning on June 29, will include a return for all sporting activities.
The announcement also means that gyms around Ireland can be allowed to open, providing government guidelines can be implemented.
And outdoor gatherings of up to 200 people can be permitted from June 29, while it's expected that will be increased to 500 in the fourth phase from July 20.
The previous plan was for partial contact sports such as GAA and football to return from July 20, while full-contact sports such as rugby and the opening of gyms were pinned for August 10.
However, it's not expected that all sporting bodies will immediately return at the end of the month.
Before tonight's announcement, the GAA were planning for a return to club competitions from July 31 - with inter-county games planned from October.
In football, the FAI have already allowed teams to return to training in select groups, with the League of Ireland in line to restart at the beginning of August.
The IRFU too have set a restart date, with provinces returning to action this week, August 22/23 has been pinpointed for inter-provincial clashes to be played out.
In a statement tonight, the IRFU said: "The IRFU welcomes the announcement from government today which permits the return of sport from the 29th June.
"Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the IRFU, the provinces and the clubs have illustrated their commitment to the safety of its players and volunteers.
"The process of implementing the appropriate public health measures in our clubs has accelerated in recent weeks and we are committed to returning to rugby safely.
"The IRFU in consultation with the provinces will assess the latest update from the Irish government and will communicate with clubs in due course.
"Clubs operating in Northern Ireland will be updated based on the NI Executive Coronavirus Recovery Plan."
