Ireland

 

Aussie Rules in Ireland continues to grow at a steady pace. In three years the number of clubs have grown from two to eight, far greater development than anyone could have predicted.

The controlling body is the Australian Rules Football League of Ireland (ARFLI). Teams:

• Belfast Redbacks
• Dublin Demons
• Leeside Lions
• Drogheda Dockers
• Midland Tigers
• South Dublin Eagles
• Limerick Saints
• Clare Crows

 

History

The Australian Rules Football League of Ireland (ARFLI) was formed in October 2000 after the first Irish grand final between the Dublin Demons and the Belfast Redbacks. Aussie Rules had arrived in Ireland almost exactly a year previously when Australian football clubs were simultaneously formed in Dublin and Belfast. Colm Cronin laid much of the early groundwork.

The two clubs recruited and trained throughout winter and played a number of British clubs in challenge matches in early spring. The Demons then travelled to London in April 2000, where they took part in the FSS Cup - BARFL's pre-season competition. They finished third out of twelve teams in their first ever competitive games and people sat up and took notice that Aussie Rules had arrived in the Emerald Isle. The Demons and Redbacks then played out a best of three series which resulted in the Demons being crowned Ireland's first Aussie Rules Champions.

After this match Michael Currane (ARFLI Chief Executive Officer) and Ciaran O'Headhra, who had both been actively involved with the Dublin club from the start, decided that it was time to take the sport to the next level in Ireland. Working in close collaboration with the existing clubs in Dublin and Belfast they set up the Australian Rules Football League of Ireland. They wanted to see the game develop and saw the huge potential for the sport to be a success in Ireland due to the obvious similarities with Gaelic Football.

ARFLI spent the following few months promoting the game and assisting with the formation of new clubs. The Leeside Lions (based in Cork City) were the next team to be formed (by Brian Currane and Diarmuid Griffin). The Lions had a great debut year with the club contesting both domestic finals. The Lions were quickly followed by the Drogheda Dockers (founded by Justin Stubbs) and the Midland Tigers (based in Mullingar and founded by Paul Ryan and Tom Leavy).

ARFLI had grown to five club clubs in as many months - Belfast Redbacks, Dublin Demons, Leeside Lions, Drogheda Dockers and Midland Tigers.

In 2001 ARFLI had two major domestic competitions, the ARFLI Super 9's and the ARFLI Premiership.

The ARFLI Super 9's is a nine-a-side competition played on regular Gaelic Football fields. It was designed to help the new clubs adapt to Aussie Rules, gain some experience and allow for maximum participation for all players. The use of the GAA pitches also made it easier on the clubs in that it is extremely difficult to find space to have a full size Australian football oval. The competition was a huge success with two of the new teams (Leeside Lions and Midland Tigers) making it through to the final which was played at O Rathailligh Park (Louth's county GAA Grounds) in Drogheda towards the end of May. This game was won by the Tigers in an exciting contest.

The ARFLI Premiership commenced on 16 June 2001 and was a 14-a-side competition played on a home and away basis. After a very close competition, the final took place in September in James Park, Kilkenny and was contested between the Dublin Demons and the Leeside Lions. ARFLI brought the final to Kilkenny as part of their efforts to spread the game and as a result there is now a team being formed in the marble city - the Kilkenny Bulldogs. The Demons won a hard fought contest to win their second flag in a row and the ARFLI Premiership Cup 2001.

The first ever Fosters Aussie Rules Australia Day Challenge Cup took place on January 26 2002 in Ennis as part of a big Australia Day celebration. The game was contested by the Leeside Lions and the Dublin Demons with the Cork based side deservedly winning their first piece of silverware in a very close game. The first ever "Outonthetown.ie" Auscamp took place earlier on the same day in Ennis where ARFLI introduced their Auskick programm to local children.

The future of the sport looks bright in Ireland and ARFLI continues to grow. In 2002 there are new clubs being formed in the following areas: Kilkenny, Galway, Limerick, a second team in Dublin and Clare.

An Irish National team headed to London between October 6-15, 2001 to take part in the Atlantic Alliance Cup - a five nations International competition with USA, Canada, Great Britain and Denmark providing the opposition. A final squad of 24 players, whittled down from 60 over a three month training period, made the trip. Ireland, playing their first ever competitive International matches won all their games in the round robin series and went on to record a historic win against Denmark (pre-tournament favourites) in the Grand Final. This was a huge achievement for such a young league against teams from leagues that had been established for over ten years. The team was coached by Darren Fitzpatrick, who now lives in Kilkenny and who previously played with the AFL's Western Bulldogs.

The game in Ireland is played predominantly by Irishmen who come from a variety of sporting backgrounds such as Gaelic football and rugby. There are a few Australians involved (more so in Dublin), which is essential in skills development and showing the Irish boys how the game should be played correctly. The prospect of being recruited by one of the top AFL clubs is also very attractive and draws a lot of younger players to the sport.

 

Irish players in the AFL

Several young footballers have been brought over from Ireland to try out for Australian Football and this has been dubbed "The Irish Experiment." Of the group, Jim Stynes, with the 1991 Brownlow Medal, 4 Best and Fairests for Melbourne, 264 games and the record for the longest number of consecutive games (244), has been the outstanding player. However Sean Wight (89), Brian Stynes (2) and Paul Early (1) all played senior games for Melbourne.

In 1988, St Kilda recruited Irishman Dermott McNicholl. His report read: ''Dermott McNicholl, 22, County Cork, Ireland. Unsighted but this will be rectified by recruiting officer next year.'' McNicholl played three games with the Saints.

With the advent of rookie lists AFL clubs were more prepared to put their toe in the water and Melbourne drafted Kevin Devine, the Swans drafted Tadhg Kennelly and the Western Bulldogs drafted Bernie Collins.

Kennelly proved to be a potential star and played 8 senior games off the rookie list. In 2002 he was elevated to the senior list.

 

ARFLI Premiers

2002	Leeside Lions
2001	Dublin Demons
2000	Dublin Demons

 

International Matches

2001	Ireland 18.16 (124) d. Great Britain 2.3 (15)
2001	Ireland 9.9 (63) d. USA 4.5 (29)
2001	Ireland 8.9 (57) d. Denmark 1.4 (10)
2001	Ireland 7.21 (63) d. Canada 1.5 (11)
2001	Ireland 6.12 (48) d. Denmark 3.1 (19)
2002	Ireland 7.14 (56) d. Canada 4.7 (31)
2002	Ireland 5.6 (36) d. Samoa 4.5 (29)
2002	Ireland 7.7 (49) d. USA 6.3 (39)
2002	Ireland 15.8 (98) d. South Africa 3.3 (21)
2002	Ireland 4.10 (34) d. New Zealand 3.2 (20)
2002	Ireland 7.9 (51) d. PNG 2.7 (19)

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