How relevant are counties to the social life of England?

I live in Ireland, and people very much with their county, especially since Gaelic sports are played between county teams. I often wonder how much importance the English place upon their counties. I know that cricket is played at inter-county level, but other than that, do counties have much importance to the English? I love all the old proverbs and sayings like "Sus won't be druv", and would like to think they do...