Irish experiment
Encyclopedia
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
clubs, in bringing Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
sportspeople to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
to play Australian Rules Football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
professionally (particularly Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
ers due to similarities between the sports
Comparison of Australian rules football and Gaelic football
A Comparison of Australian rules football and Gaelic football is possible because of the games' similarities and the presence of International Rules Football, a hybrid code developed to allow players from both codes to participate in tests....
).
The Irish Experiment began in the mid-1980s as an informal project of the Melbourne Football Club
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
. Despite its initial success, enthusiasm for the project lapsed until the 2000s, when it again became ongoing and currently increasing due to globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
and professionalism in sport.
The highest profile product of the experiment to date has been Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
and Brownlow Medal
Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
recipient Jim Stynes
Jim Stynes
James "Jim" Stynes OAM is an Irish former professional Australian rules footballer who is currently a businessman, philanthropist, writer, youth worker, qualified teacher and chairman of Melbourne Football Club since 2008....
, who was an early recruit. Irishman Tadhg Kennelly
Tadhg Kennelly
Tadhg Kennelly is an Irish sportsperson known for his top level careers in both Gaelic football and Australian rules football....
was a key player in the Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
2005 AFL Grand Final
2005 AFL Grand Final
The 2005 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Sydney Swans and West Coast Eagles, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 2005. It was the 109th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League, staged to...
victory. Former hurler Setanta Ó hAilpín
Setanta Ó hAilpín
Setanta "Carlos" Ó hAilpín is an Australian-Irish sportsman. He was a hurler with the Cork senior team before becoming a professional Australian Rules footballer. He is of mixed Irish and Rotuman background...
is the best known current product of the experiment, while the highest profile Gaelic footballer to sign an AFL contract is Tommy Walsh
Tommy Walsh (Kerry footballer)
Tommy Walsh is an Irish sportsman who is currently playing Australian Football in the Australian Football League with the Sydney Swans. He has played Gaelic football at club level with the Kerins O'Rahilly's club team and at inter-county level with the Kerry senior football team...
.
Over the years experiment has attracted media and public interest in both Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Australia.
Early interactions between the VFL/AFL and GAA
In 1967, Harry BeitzelHarry Beitzel
Harry Beitzel is an Australian sports broadcaster and media personality best known for his contribution to Australian rules football.-Umpiring career:...
drew inspiration from watching the 1966 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the premier competition in Gaelic football, is a series of games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association and played during the summer and early autumn...
final on television and formed an Australian side, nicknamed "The Galah
Galah
The Galah , Eolophus roseicapilla, also known as the Rose-breasted Cockatoo, Galah Cockatoo, Roseate Cockatoo or Pink and Grey, is one of the most common and widespread cockatoos, and it can be found in open country in almost all parts of mainland Australia.It is endemic on the mainland and was...
s", to play the game against an Irish side
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
. The next year he organised The Australian Football World Tour, a six-match series with games played against Irish teams in Ireland, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and United States of America. What followed was the beginning of regular interaction between the two codes which was to become the hybrid code of International Rules Football
International rules football
International rules football is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed to facilitate international representative matches between Australian rules football players and Gaelic football players....
.
Beginnings of the Irish Experiment
Ron BarassiRon Barassi
Ronald Dale Barassi, Jr AM is a former Australian rules football player and coach. During a long and decorated career, Barassi has been one of the most important figures in the history of Australian football. His father, Ron Barassi, Sr., was the first Australian footballer killed at Tobruk during...
, drawing comparisons between Australian rules football and Gaelic football
Comparison of Australian rules football and Gaelic football
A Comparison of Australian rules football and Gaelic football is possible because of the games' similarities and the presence of International Rules Football, a hybrid code developed to allow players from both codes to participate in tests....
was of the opinion that Gaelic Footballers could provide a previously untapped pool of potential Australian Rules players. At the time, Australian Rules was, with the introduction of the Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
, increasing its national focus and emerging from a semi-professional sport to a fully professional one. As a result, wealthy Victorian clubs were scouting the country far and wide for new talent to gain an advantage in the sport's premier competition. In 1982, Barassi (then the Melbourne
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
VFL club coach) and his recruiting team including Melbourne's Barry Richardson traveled to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, looking for young, tall, and talented players.
The first recruit was Sean Wight
Sean Wight
John Phillip "Sean" Wight was a Scottish-Australian Australian rules footballer in the VFL/AFL.He is a member of the Melbourne Football Club Hall of Fame and was named as one of the 150 Heroes of the club during the club's 150th celebrations.The 185 cm tall, 85 kg Wight played for the...
. Further advertising resulted in the recruitment of a "tall, skinny lad", Jim Stynes
Jim Stynes
James "Jim" Stynes OAM is an Irish former professional Australian rules footballer who is currently a businessman, philanthropist, writer, youth worker, qualified teacher and chairman of Melbourne Football Club since 2008....
. Both Wight and Stynes, still very much learning the game, played together in the club's 1987 night premiership. While Stynes captured the Melbourne reserves best and fairest that year, he also involved in an embarrassing event which cast doubts on the Irish experiment. His lack of understanding of the rules single-handedly cost Melbourne a berth in the 1987 VFL Grand Final
1987 VFL Grand Final
The 1987 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 26 September 1987. It was the 91st annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine...
. The infamous Preliminary Final incident in which he ran over the mark before the siren made him and the Irish experiment the focus of Melbourne media. The mistake awarded Hawthorn’s Gary Buckenara
Gary Buckenara
Gary Buckenara played Australian rules football for the Hawthorn Football Club in the VFL during the 1980s.Buckenara first played senior football for Subiaco in the WAFL from 1979 to 1981. Subiaco agreed to lease him for three years for $210,000 and after a court case began his career at Hawthorn...
a 15 metre penalty which resulted in a winning goal to qualify for the Grand Final. Despite the setback, Stynes and Wight were both to improve in the following seasons and become regular senior players.
Other clubs watched the Irish experiment's mixed bag of success and failure warily. St Kilda was the only other club to attempt to convert a gaelic footballer, Dermot McNicholl
Dermot McNicholl
Dermot "Spoofer" McNicholl , from Glenullin, is an All Star winning former Irish Gaelic footballer who played for Derry in the 1980s and 1990s. He was part of Derry's 1993 All-Ireland Championship winning side, also winning Ulster Senior Football Championships in 1987 and 1993. He usually played in...
. McNicholl's decision to return home after 3 matches with the club helped to fuel the notion that the Irish experiment would attract few stayers.
Despite the Melbourne Football Club's enthusiasm for the Irish experiment and early success with some Irish players, the majority of players from the Irish Experiment did not fare as well. Most failed to meet expectations, not make VFL level, and many instead returned home to Ireland.
Wight and Stynes both featured in the 1988 VFL Grand Final
1988 VFL Grand Final
The 1988 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and the Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1988. It was the 92nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to...
. However despite high expectations Melbourne was convincingly thrashed by Hawthorn
Hawthorn Football Club
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
, then the dominant club of the era. Hawthorn's emerging champion Dermott Brereton
Dermott Brereton
Dermott Hugh Brereton is a former Australian rules football player in the Australian Football League, regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation. Of Irish descent , he is known for his aggressive style of play. Brereton kicked 464 goals and played in five Premierships for during...
, of Irish descent, dominated from centre-half forward with a haul of 5 goals.
A much improved Jim Stynes won the Brownlow Medal
Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
in 1991, elevating him in the elite category of players for many years to come. However the rare successes were increasingly seen as "one offs" and other clubs showed little enthusiasm with the "hit and miss" strategy. Melbourne, the trailblazer club was not translating recruitment into onfield success and was fast losing financial resources that were required to sustain international recruitment. As a result, few AFL clubs recruited Gaelic footballers played at the highest level in the 1990s. Even the recruitment of Jim Stynes' brother Brian yielded just a handful of unimpressive senior games.
With the increasing professionalism of the AFL competition, some clubs continued to speculate about the overseas talent pool. Kevin Sheedy in particular conducted a series of his own experiments with overseas players from various sporting backgrounds, but did not include Ireland or gaelic football. Despite generating media publicity, none of these experiments were ultimately successful and increasingly sections of the Australian media began to mock the idea of international recruitment.
2000s revival
The Irish experiment lay dormant for many years until Melbourne once again began to take an interest in it. The Sydney Swans followed with the recruitment of Tadhg KennellyTadhg Kennelly
Tadhg Kennelly is an Irish sportsperson known for his top level careers in both Gaelic football and Australian rules football....
through its rookie list. Kennelly was an almost overnight success, being nominated for the AFL Rising Star award in his first season and widely hailed by the media. As a result other clubs began to show a much keener interest in Irish talent.
With access to additional resources, AFL clubs began to spend more time and effort in identifying and training athletic and talented rookies. Collingwood, Carlton and Brisbane
Brisbane Lions
The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
in particular began to show an interest and hold scouting sessions and tryouts for Irish players.
Carlton followed and its experiments with Setanta and Aisake Ó hAilpín began to bear fruit and attract significant media interest in both Australia and Ireland. These experiments were of particular note, as for the first time a club was looking to other sports than gaelic football, by identifying talented hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
athletes with the right ingredients to become AFL players.
2007 onwards
With Gaelic footballer Colm BegleyColm Begley
Colm Begley is a Gaelic footballer from Ireland. He has also played Australian rules football for the St Kilda Football Club and Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League .-Recruitment:...
's rapid conversion at Brisbane and Martin Clarke
Martin Clarke
Martin 'Marty' Clarke is a Gaelic footballer from Cranfield Point, County Down, Northern Ireland. He is also an Australian rules footballer for Collingwood in the Australian Football League.- Underage :...
's successful AFL debut, media commentators hailed a new era for the Irish experiment. During the 2007 AFL season several AFL clubs began sending talent scouts to Ireland.
In March 2008, it was revealed by the media that the AFL had considered a radical proposal to launch an Irish-dominated team in Sydney's western suburbs, which would perform before an international audience under the Celtic brand name. The "Sydney Celtics" plan was first put to AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou
Andrew Demetriou
Andrew Demetriou is the chief executive officer of the Australian Football League and a former Australian rules footballer. He is the youngest son of Greek-Cypriot immigrants and, before becoming a VFL player, he worked in the dental import industry...
in early 2007 by Gaelic Players Association executive Donal O'Neill. It was said that the proposal originated at the International Rules series in Ireland in late 2006 where O'Neill put forward a plan to purchase an AFL licence in Sydney. However, the AFL later dismissed it as simple speculation.
Mid 2008, the interest of clubs reached a peak and Tadhg Kennelly and Jim Stynes spoke out about the increasing recruitment activity. AFL player manager Ricky Nixon
Ricky Nixon
Ricky L. Nixon is a former Australian rules footballer in the VFL/AFL and now a high profile Australian sports agent. He is currently serving a two year suspension following an investigation by the AFL Players Association Accreditation Board.-Football career:Recruited from Golden Square in the...
set up recruitment networks in Ireland to complement those already in place by clubs such as Collingwood, Carlton and Brisbane. Nickey Brennan
Nickey Brennan
Nickey Brennan is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Conahy Shamrocks and with the Kilkenny senior inter-county team in the 1970s...
, GAA
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
boss spoke out against the recruitment activity in June 2008. The AFL and GAA had ongoing discussions about putting limits on the recruitment of players.
Despite the rise of former hurler Setanta Ó hAilpín in the AFL, recruitment interest in Ireland began to wane in mid 2010. Several Irish players canceled their rookie contracts to return home, others were delisted after brief bouts in the various state leagues. With a media circus
Media circus
Media circus is a colloquial metaphor, or idiom, describing a news event where the media coverage is perceived to be out of proportion to the event being covered, such as the number of reporters at the scene, the amount of news media published or broadcast, and the level of media hype...
surrounding the recruitment of Karmichael Hunt
Karmichael Hunt
Karmichael Neil Matthew Hunt is an Australian professional multi-code football player, currently playing Australian rules football for the newly formed Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League ....
to the Gold Coast Football Club and Israel Folau
Israel Folau
Israel Folau is a professional Australian rules footballer currently listed with the Greater Western Sydney Football Club in the Australian Football League . He previously played Rugby league for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League from 2007 to 2008 where he broke the record for most...
to the Greater Western Sydney Football Club focus began to shift to other sports, particularly rugby football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
as a potential source of talent. With the success of Canadian rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player Mike Pyke
Mike Pyke
Michael Anthony Patrick Pyke is a Canadian dual-code football player.He is best known in his homeland as a rugby union player, who played for Canada's national side and French Top 14 squad US Montauban.Pyke is currently a professional Australian rules footballer with the Sydney Swans.-Early...
's conversion and many other players transitioning at junior level the AFL and commentators began to speculate that professional rugby league players might make an easier transition to the AFL due to coming from a high-contact professional sport involving an oval ball.
List of Irish sportsmen linked with the VFL/AFL
This list includes any player who at minimum (regardless of whether he ever went to Australia or played actual VFL/AFL matches) meets any one of the following criteria:- a) brought to Australia by an AFL club
- b) spent time training with an AFL club
- c) played in an AFL club's affiliated state league club or AFL practice match
- d) offered an AFL contract by a club
- e) listed on an AFL rookie or senior list
| Bolded VFL/AFL club names indicate that this Irish sportsman was the first player associated with that club |
| Irish sportsmen formerly associated with VFL/AFL club highlighted in blue played at least one game at VFL/AFL senior level |
| Irish sportsmen highlighted in green are currently on an AFL senior list |
| Irish sportsmen highlighted in yellow are currently on an AFL rookie list |
| Year linked with AFL | Player | GAA | Initial VFL/AFL club | Draft status | VFL/AFL Debut | VFL/AFL Matches | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Stuart Magee Stuart Magee Stuart Magee is a former Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne and Footscray in the VFL.... |
South Melbourne Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney... |
rookie | 1962 | 216 | South Melbourne Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney... and Footscray Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne... in the VFL Australian Football League The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football... . |
|
| 1982 | Sean Wight Sean Wight John Phillip "Sean" Wight was a Scottish-Australian Australian rules footballer in the VFL/AFL.He is a member of the Melbourne Football Club Hall of Fame and was named as one of the 150 Heroes of the club during the club's 150th celebrations.The 185 cm tall, 85 kg Wight played for the... |
Kerry Kerry GAA The Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry... |
Melbourne | rookie | 1985 | 150 | Melbourne's first Irish recruit. Had a serviceable career at Melbourne. |
| 1983 | Paul Earley Paul Earley Paul Earley is a former Irish sportsman who played Australian rules football for Melbourne in the Victorian Football League and Gaelic football for Roscommon GAA.... |
Roscommon Roscommon GAA For more details of Roscommon GAA see Roscommon Senior Club Football Championship or Roscommon Senior Club Hurling Championship.The Roscommon County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Roscommon GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games... |
Melbourne | 1984 | 1 | Returned to Ireland. | |
| 1984 | Jim Stynes Jim Stynes James "Jim" Stynes OAM is an Irish former professional Australian rules footballer who is currently a businessman, philanthropist, writer, youth worker, qualified teacher and chairman of Melbourne Football Club since 2008.... |
Dublin Dublin GAA Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association , or Dublin GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Dublin. The county board is also responsible for the Dublin inter-county teams... |
Melbourne | rookie | 1987 | 264 | Won the Brownlow Medal Brownlow Medal The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game... in 1991. Inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2003. Still holds the AFL record for consecutive games played. |
| 1985 | James Fahy | Dublin | Melbourne | Returned to Ireland. | |||
| 1987 | Dermot McNicholl Dermot McNicholl Dermot "Spoofer" McNicholl , from Glenullin, is an All Star winning former Irish Gaelic footballer who played for Derry in the 1980s and 1990s. He was part of Derry's 1993 All-Ireland Championship winning side, also winning Ulster Senior Football Championships in 1987 and 1993. He usually played in... |
Derry Derry GAA The Derry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Derry GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland. It is responsible for Gaelic games in the GAA county of Derry, which covers virtually the same territory as the former administrative county of Londonderry... |
St Kilda | 1988 National Draft 1988 VFL Draft The 1988 VFL National Draft was the third annual National draft held by the Victorian Football League . It consisted of a pre-season draft and a national draft.... (Pick 99) |
1990 | 3 | St Kilda's first Irish player returned to Ireland in 1990 because his university refused to let him defer his course any longer. |
| 1988 | Tom Grehan | Roscommon | Melbourne | Stayed with the Demons for 2 years. | |||
| 1989 | Niall Buckley | Kildare Kildare GAA For more information see Kildare Senior Club Football Championship or Kildare Senior Club Hurling Championship.The Kildare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association , or Kildare GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kildare... |
Melbourne | 1989 National Draft 1989 VFL Draft The 1989 VFL Draft was the fourth annual National Draft held by the Victorian Football League as the main method for the 14 teams to recruit players for the 1990 season. It consisted of a trading period, pre-draft selections, the main national draft and the 1990 pre-season draft and a... (Pick 77) |
Returned to Ireland. | ||
| 1989 | Colin Corkery Colin Corkery Colin Corkery is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club Nemo Rangers and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team from 1993 until 2004.-Club:... |
Cork | Carlton Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897... |
Carlton's first Irish recruit returned to Ireland in 1992. | |||
| 1989 | Colm McManamon | Mayo Mayo GAA The Mayo County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Mayo GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Mayo and the Mayo inter-county teams.-History:... |
Geelong Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also... |
Returned to Ireland in 1992. | |||
| 1990 | Brian Stynes Brian Stynes Brian Stynes is an Irish Gaelic footballer who played for Dublin and now resides in Australia. He Attended De La Salle College, Churchtown,Dublin-Australian rules football career:... |
Dublin | Melbourne | rookie | 1992 | 2 | Younger brother of Jim Stynes. |
| 1990 | Anthony Tohill Anthony Tohill Anthony Tohill is an Irish retired Gaelic footballer who played for Derry in the 1990s and early 2000s. He was part of Derry's 1993 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winning side, also winning two Ulster Championships and four National League titles with the county. Tohill won four All Star... |
Derry Derry GAA The Derry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Derry GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland. It is responsible for Gaelic games in the GAA county of Derry, which covers virtually the same territory as the former administrative county of Londonderry... |
Melbourne | Broke his leg playing Aussie Rules and returned to Ireland in 1991. | |||
| 2000 | Nicholas Walsh | Cavan Cavan GAA The Cavan County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Cavan GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Cavan... |
Melbourne | 2001 AFL Draft 2001 AFL Draft The 2001 AFL Draft consisted of a national draft, a rookie draft, a pre-season draft and a trade period. The AFL Draft is the annual draft of players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League .In 2001 there were 83... (rookie) |
Spent three years in Australia. Injured and delisted in 2003. | ||
| 2001 | Kevin Devine | Dublin | Melbourne | 2001 AFL Draft 2001 AFL Draft The 2001 AFL Draft consisted of a national draft, a rookie draft, a pre-season draft and a trade period. The AFL Draft is the annual draft of players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League .In 2001 there were 83... (rookie) |
Injured then delisted in 2002 | ||
| 2001 | Tadhg Kennelly Tadhg Kennelly Tadhg Kennelly is an Irish sportsperson known for his top level careers in both Gaelic football and Australian rules football.... |
Kerry | Sydney Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney... |
2001 AFL Draft 2001 AFL Draft The 2001 AFL Draft consisted of a national draft, a rookie draft, a pre-season draft and a trade period. The AFL Draft is the annual draft of players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League .In 2001 there were 83... (rookie) |
2001 | 176 | Sydney's first Irish player was also the first to win an AFL premiership medallion (in 2005) and his much celebrated AFL career led to renewed interest in Irish recruitment. Retired from AFL early in a bid to win the 2009 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final 2009 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final The 2009 All-Ireland Football Final was the 122nd All-Ireland Final and the last football match of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship 2009 played between Cork and Kerry on 20 September 2009 in Croke Park, Dublin. Kerry won by a score of 0-16 to 1-09. It was their 36th All-Ireland SFC... which he did before deciding to return to Australia and resume his career at the Swans in 2010. |
| 2001 | Bernie Collins | Cork | Western Bulldogs Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne... |
2001 AFL Draft 2001 AFL Draft The 2001 AFL Draft consisted of a national draft, a rookie draft, a pre-season draft and a trade period. The AFL Draft is the annual draft of players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League .In 2001 there were 83... (rookie) |
The Western Bulldog's first Irish recruit never played a senior game | ||
| 2002 | Declan O'Mahoney | Dublin | Sydney | 2003 AFL Draft 2003 AFL Draft The 2003 AFL Draft was the 2003 instance of the AFL Draft, the annual draft of talented players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League... (rookie) |
Delisted later the same year. | ||
| 2004 | Setanta Ó hAilpín Setanta Ó hAilpín Setanta "Carlos" Ó hAilpín is an Australian-Irish sportsman. He was a hurler with the Cork senior team before becoming a professional Australian Rules footballer. He is of mixed Irish and Rotuman background... |
Cork | Carlton | 2004 AFL Draft 2004 AFL Draft The 2004 AFL Draft, concerning player acquisitions in the 2004/05 Australian Football League off-season, consisted of a trade period, a national draft, a pre-season draft, and the elevation of rookies... (rookie) |
2005 | 72 | Better known as a hurler Hurling Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and... |
| 2004 | Aisake Ó hAilpín Aisake Ó hAilpín Aisake Faga Ó hAilpín is an Irish Australian sportsperson. He grew up in Cork and played hurling and Gaelic football with Na Piarsaigh. Ó hAilpín played Australian rules football with the Carlton Football Club between 2005 and 2008... |
Cork | Carlton | 2004 AFL Draft 2004 AFL Draft The 2004 AFL Draft, concerning player acquisitions in the 2004/05 Australian Football League off-season, consisted of a trade period, a national draft, a pre-season draft, and the elevation of rookies... (rookie) |
Brother of Setanta Setanta Ó hAilpín Setanta "Carlos" Ó hAilpín is an Australian-Irish sportsman. He was a hurler with the Cork senior team before becoming a professional Australian Rules footballer. He is of mixed Irish and Rotuman background... , another hurler who remained on Carlton's list as late as 2008 after which he was de-listed. He returned to Ireland in 2009, and returned to Melbourne in 2011, where he currently plays in the EDFL Essendon District Football League The Essendon District Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the north-west suburbs of Melbourne, which was established in 1930.The EDFL consists of 24 senior clubs, 10 clubs in A Grade and 14 clubs in B Grade... . |
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| 2005 | Seán Cavanagh Sean Cavanagh Seán Cavanagh is a four-time All Star-winning Tyrone Gaelic footballer. He has won All-Ireland championships for Tyrone at Minor level and three times at Senior level, and has captained Ireland at the International Rules Series.... |
Tyrone Tyrone GAA The Tyrone County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Tyrone GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Tyrone. The county board is also responsible for the Tyrone inter-county teams.... |
Brisbane Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996... |
Would have been Brisbane's first Irish recruit had he accepted the club's offer of an AFL contract. | |||
| 2006 | Cathal Corr Cathal Corr Cathal Corr is an Australian rules footballer with the Coburg Tigers in the Victorian Football League.Corr was born in Ireland and moved to Australia at the age of 10... |
St Kilda | 2005 AFL Rookie Draft 2005 AFL Draft The 2005 AFL Draft was the 2005 instance of the AFL Draft, the annual draft of talented players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.The 2005 Draft consisted of a pre-season draft, a national draft, a trade period... |
2006 | The St Kilda rookie played for Coburg Tigers Coburg Tigers Coburg Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club based in Coburg, a northern suburb of Melbourne, and currently playing in the Victorian Football League. Coburg have an alignment in place with the AFL's Richmond Football Club which saw the Coburg club change its... in the Victorian Football League Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association... |
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| 2006 | Colm Begley Colm Begley Colm Begley is a Gaelic footballer from Ireland. He has also played Australian rules football for the St Kilda Football Club and Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League .-Recruitment:... |
Laois Laois GAA The Laois County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Laois GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Laois and the Laois inter-county teams.-History:... |
Brisbane | 2006 AFL Draft 2006 AFL Draft The 2006 AFL Draft is a recent national draft of the Australian Football League. The AFL Draft is the annual draft of talented players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.... (rookie) |
2006 | 30 | Brisbane's first Irish player made a rapid conversion which stunned the Australian media. Played his first AFL game just weeks after his arrival in Australia, however was eventually delisted by Brisbane but given a second chance by St Kilda Decided to return to Ireland after the 2009 AFL season and was delisted. |
| 2006 | Martin Clarke Martin Clarke Martin 'Marty' Clarke is a Gaelic footballer from Cranfield Point, County Down, Northern Ireland. He is also an Australian rules footballer for Collingwood in the Australian Football League.- Underage :... |
Down Down GAA The Down County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Down GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Down... |
Collingwood | 2006 AFL Draft 2006 AFL Draft The 2006 AFL Draft is a recent national draft of the Australian Football League. The AFL Draft is the annual draft of talented players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.... (rookie) |
2007 | 46 | Clarke was Collingwood's first Irish recruit, and was very successful upon debut in 2007. He returned to play Gaelic football for Down in 2010, and will return to play Australian football for Collingwood in 2012. |
| 2007 | Brendan Murphy | Carlow Carlow GAA The Carlow County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Carlow GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Carlow and the Carlow inter-county teams.-Gaelic football:... |
Sydney | 2007 AFL Draft 2007 AFL Draft The 2007 AFL Draft consisted of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2007/08 Australian Football League off-season. These were trade week, the National Draft, the Pre-Season Draft and the Rookie Draft.- Trades :... (rookie) |
In August 2009, Murphy decided to return to Ireland after injuries hindered his attempt to adapt to the new code. Sydney Swans coach Paul Roos expressed their disappointment at his decision and their hope that he might be persuaded to reconsider a return to the club. | ||
| 2007 | Kevin Dyas Kevin Dyas Kevin Dyas is a Gaelic footballer from County Armagh and former player with Australian Football League team Collingwood.-Gaelic Football:Dyas was an outstanding underage talent captaining Armagh GAA Minors to an Ulster Title in 2005... |
Armagh Armagh GAA The Armagh County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Armagh GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Armagh... |
Collingwood | 2007 AFL Draft 2007 AFL Draft The 2007 AFL Draft consisted of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2007/08 Australian Football League off-season. These were trade week, the National Draft, the Pre-Season Draft and the Rookie Draft.- Trades :... (rookie) |
Informed the club of his decision to return to Ireland and Gaelic football in 2009. | ||
| 2007 | Pierce Hanley Pierce Hanley Pearce Hanley is an Australian rules footballer playing with the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League . He is a former Gaelic footballer who played for Mayo GAA and Ballaghaderreen Gaelic Athletic Association clubs.... |
Mayo | Brisbane | 2007 AFL Draft 2007 AFL Draft The 2007 AFL Draft consisted of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2007/08 Australian Football League off-season. These were trade week, the National Draft, the Pre-Season Draft and the Rookie Draft.- Trades :... (rookie) |
2008 | 12 | Promoted to Brisbane's senior list for 2010 |
| 2007 | Michael Shields Michael Shields (footballer) Michael Shields is an Irish sportsperson. He plays Gaelic football with his local club St. Finbarr's and has been a member of the Cork senior inter-county team since 2006.-Club:... |
Cork | Carlton | 2007 AFL Draft 2007 AFL Draft The 2007 AFL Draft consisted of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2007/08 Australian Football League off-season. These were trade week, the National Draft, the Pre-Season Draft and the Rookie Draft.- Trades :... (rookie) |
Returned to Ireland halfway through the season saying the game was "not for him." | ||
| 2007 | Conor Meredith | Laois | North Melbourne | 2008 AFL Draft 2008 AFL Draft The 2008 AFL Draft consisted of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2008/09 Australian Football League off-season. These were Trade Week , the National Draft , the Pre-Season Draft and the Rookie Draft... (rookie) |
Arrived at Brisbane where he was first trialled by the Lions, but drafted by North Melbourne Football Club North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world... in the draft to become the club's first Irish recruit. Left the club in 2010. |
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| 2008 | Kyle Coney Kyle Coney Kyle Coney is an Irish Gaelic footballer from Northern Ireland. He won an All-Ireland Minor Football Championship medal with Tyrone in 2008, also winning Ulster Minor Championships with the county in 2007 and 2008... |
Tyrone | Sydney | 2008 AFL Draft 2008 AFL Draft The 2008 AFL Draft consisted of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2008/09 Australian Football League off-season. These were Trade Week , the National Draft , the Pre-Season Draft and the Rookie Draft... (rookie) |
Signed a two year contract with the Swans but returned to Ireland after two months, saying that "this is where I want to be playing football". | ||
| 2008 | Brian Donnelly | Louth Louth GAA The Louth County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Louth GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Louth. The county board is also responsible for the Louth inter-county teams.... |
Adelaide | 2008 AFL Draft 2008 AFL Draft The 2008 AFL Draft consisted of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2008/09 Australian Football League off-season. These were Trade Week , the National Draft , the Pre-Season Draft and the Rookie Draft... (rookie) |
Adelaide's first Irish recruit: progress was hampered by injury problems and he decided to leave the club in 2010 to return to Ireland. | ||
| 2008 (August) | Michael Quinn Michael Quinn (footballer) Michael Quinn is a former Gaelic footballer turned professional Australian rules footballer currently playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League .... |
Longford Longford GAA The Longford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Longford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Longford... |
Essendon Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... |
2008 AFL Draft 2008 AFL Draft The 2008 AFL Draft consisted of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2008/09 Australian Football League off-season. These were Trade Week , the National Draft , the Pre-Season Draft and the Rookie Draft... (rookie) |
2009 | 8 | Essendon's first Irish AFL player surprised many, as he was possibly the shortest ever Irish recruit. Played in the 2009 NAB Cup 2009 NAB Cup The 2009 NAB Cup is the Australian Football League pre-season competition that was played before the Australian Football League's 2009 Premiership season begins. It culminated with the Final on 13 March 2009 played between Geelong and Collingwood and was won by Geelong... and debuted in Round 2, 2009 for Essendon. On debut took the record from Martin Clarke for the quickest time to convert between codes. |
| 2008 (August) | Ian Ryan Ian Ryan (gaelic footballer) Ian Ryan is a Gaelic footballer from County Limerick, Ireland. He has played with the Limerick team since 2008. In his first year at senior level he helped Limerick to a famous won 4-12 to 4-03 over Meath a game in witch he scored 3-07. He finished the year with 3-20 from 4 games. He was later... |
Limerick Limerick GAA The Limerick County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Limerick GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Limerick... |
Essendon | Trained with Essendon in Australia, but turned down offers of a contract due to his preference for Gaelic football. | |||
| 2008 | Carl Dias | Dublin | Adelaide | Trialled in Australia by Adelaide but not offered a rookie contract | |||
| 2008 (August) | Ciarán Sheehan Ciarán Sheehan Ciarán Sheehan is an Irish sportsperson. He plays Gaelic football and hurling with his local club Éire Óg, his divisional side Muskerry and has been a member of the Cork senior football team since 2009.... |
Cork | Carlton | Trialled in Australia by Carlton. Turned down offers of a contract. | |||
| 2008 (August) | Zach Tuohy Zach Tuohy Zach Tuohy is an Australian rules footballer for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League. Tuohy previously played Gaelic football.... |
Laois | Carlton | 2009 AFL Draft 2009 AFL Draft The 2009 AFL Draft consists of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2009/10 Australian Football League off-season. These were the Trade Week , the National Draft , the Pre-Season Draft and the Rookie Draft .- Trades :In the lead up to the trade week many high profile players such as... (rookie) |
2011 | Offered 2 year rookie contract, and made his senior debut in 2011. | |
| 2008 (August) | Chrissy McKaigue Chrissy McKaigue Christopher "Chrissy" McKaigue is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Derry.McKaigue is a dual player and plays club football and hurling for Robert Emmet's Slaughtneil. In football he can play as a defender or a forward. He plays as a half forward in hurling.-Personal life:McKaigue is from... |
Derry Derry GAA The Derry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Derry GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland. It is responsible for Gaelic games in the GAA county of Derry, which covers virtually the same territory as the former administrative county of Londonderry... |
Sydney | 2009 AFL Draft 2009 AFL Draft The 2009 AFL Draft consists of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2009/10 Australian Football League off-season. These were the Trade Week , the National Draft , the Pre-Season Draft and the Rookie Draft .- Trades :In the lead up to the trade week many high profile players such as... (rookie) |
Hurler and footballer offered a rookie contract Trialled in Australia by Sydney. Signed a rookie contract in September 2009. | ||
| 2008 (August) | Niall McKeever Niall McKeever Niall McKeever is a professional Australian rules football player at the Brisbane Lions. He was taken at pick #67 in the 2010 Rookie Draft, after having played for Antrim in the Gaelic Athletic Association. McKeever made his debut in Round 14, against .... |
Antrim Antrim GAA The Antrim County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Antrim GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Antrim. The county board is also responsible for the Antrim inter-county teams... |
Brisbane | Trained with Richmond's senior squad in Melbourne. Was also linked to North Melbourne before signing a rookie contract with the Brisbane Lions. | |||
| 2008 (August) | James Kielt James Kielt James Kielt is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Derry. He plays his club football for Pádraig Pearse's Kilrea. He plays as a forward for both club and county.-Playing career:-Inter-county:... |
Derry | St Kilda | Trained with both St Kilda and North Melbourne. | |||
| 2008 (December) | Tommy Walsh Tommy Walsh (Kerry footballer) Tommy Walsh is an Irish sportsman who is currently playing Australian Football in the Australian Football League with the Sydney Swans. He has played Gaelic football at club level with the Kerins O'Rahilly's club team and at inter-county level with the Kerry senior football team... |
Kerry | St Kilda | 2009 AFL Draft 2009 AFL Draft The 2009 AFL Draft consists of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2009/10 Australian Football League off-season. These were the Trade Week , the National Draft , the Pre-Season Draft and the Rookie Draft .- Trades :In the lead up to the trade week many high profile players such as... (rookie) |
A high profile talent and who after several offers accepted an invitation to train with St Kilda in Melbourne but withdrew, leaving open the possibility of a future contract with an AFL club. Finally agreed to sign for St Kilda in 2009. | ||
| 2009 | David Moran David Moran David Moran is an Irish Gaelic footballer with Kerry GAA at under-21 and Senior levels. Moran is the son of the famous former Kerry player and manager Denis 'Ogie' Moran.-Playing career:... |
Kerry | St Kilda | ||||
| 2009 | Ger Cafferkey | Mayo | St Kilda | Offered 2 year rookie contract. | |||
| 2009 (June) | Paul Cribbin | Kildare | Collingwood | 190 cm teenager trialled in Australia by Collingwood. Agreed to join the club in 2010 | |||
| 2009 | Sean O'Kennedy Seán O'Kennedy Seán O'Kennedy was an Irish dual player. He played both hurling and Gaelic football with the Wexford senior inter-county teams in both codes in the 1900s and 1910s.-Teams:... |
Donegal | Collingwood | Training in Melbourne with the club. | |||
| 2009 | Jamie O'Rielly | Down | Richmond Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,... |
2009 AFL Draft 2009 AFL Draft The 2009 AFL Draft consists of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2009/10 Australian Football League off-season. These were the Trade Week , the National Draft , the Pre-Season Draft and the Rookie Draft .- Trades :In the lead up to the trade week many high profile players such as... (rookie) |
2010 | 3 | Richmond's first Irish signing. |
| 2009 | James McCarthy | Dublin | North Melbourne | Training in Melbourne with the club. | |||
| 2009 | Barry Reilly | Cavan | North Melbourne | Training in Melbourne with the club. |
See also
- List of players who have converted from one football code to another
- Comparison of Australian rules football and Gaelic footballComparison of Australian rules football and Gaelic footballA Comparison of Australian rules football and Gaelic football is possible because of the games' similarities and the presence of International Rules Football, a hybrid code developed to allow players from both codes to participate in tests....