League Table

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
*Dublin Celts	7	7	0	0	97	20	1.000
*Belfast Spartans	7	3	3	1	94	66	.583
*Antrim Bulldogs	8	3	4	1	119	51	.438
Dublin Tornadoes	8	3	5	0	37	156	.375
Newtownabbey Warriors	6	1	5	0	22	86	.000
Craigavon Cowboys	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Results

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	Semi-Finals
25.08.1991	Belfast Spartans	8	Antrim Bulldogs	14
	Shamrock Bowl VI
29.09.1991	Dublin Celts	66	Belfast Spartans	6

Regular Season Results

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	Week 1
11.05.1991	Dublin Tornadoes	7	Belfast Spartans	14
11.05.1991	Antrim Bulldogs	32	Newtownabbey Warriors	6
	Week 2
19.05.1991	Antrim Bulldogs	32	Dublin Tornadoes	6
	Week 3
26.05.1991	Belfast Spartans	54	Newtownabbey Warriors	6
26.05.1991	Dublin Tornadoes		Craigavon Cowboys
	Mid-Week
29.05.1991	Antrim Bulldogs	6	Belfast Spartans	6
	Week 4		2 June 1991
02.06.1991	Dublin Celts	13	Antrim Bulldogs	8#
	Week 5
09.06.1991	Dublin Tornadoes	W	Newtownabbey Warriors	L
09.06.1991	Dublin Celts	W	Belfast Spartans	L
	Mid-Week
13.06.1991	Dublin Tornadoes	12	Dublin Celts	44
	Week 6
16.06.1991	Dublin Tornadoes	6	Antrim Bulldogs	0
	Week 7
21.06.1991	Belfast Spartans	6	Antrim Bulldogs	27
	Week 8
28.06.1991	Dublin Celts	W	Antrim Bulldogs	L
	Week
11.08.1991	Newtownabbey Warriors	10	Antrim Bulldogs	0
11.08.1991	Dublin Tornadoes	6	Belfast Spartans	8
	Week
08.1991	Dublin Tornadoes	0	Dublin Celts	40
	Week ?		?
	Dublin Celts	W	Newtownabbey Warriors	L
	Belfast Spartans		Dublin Celts
	Newtownabbey Warriors		Dublin Celts
	Newtownabbey Warriors	L	Dublin Tornadoes	W
	Newtownabbey Warriors		Belfast Spartans

Report

With an All-Ireland American Football League again being played, under the authority of the American Football association of Ireland, after a year where the Dublin Celts played in the NCMMA (British Second Level) and a separate Irish League of American Football in Northern Ireland, the Dublin Celts showed their superiority with a resounding 66-6 win against the Belfast Spartans in the Shamrock Bowl. The Spartans were also using a few guest players from other All-Ireland League teams.

The Dublin Celts had gone through the season undefeated, and the Belfast Spartans and Antrim Bulldogs had both finished on 4-3-1 (Won-Lost-Tied) records, with the Dublin Tornadoes finishing in fourth on 3-5. Newtownabbey Warriors, playing their debut season following the merger of the Carrickfergus Cougars and Coleraine Chieftains, finished bottom and the Craigavon Cowboys had pulled out before the start, leaving a five-team league.

Home Venues

Team	Venue
Dublin Celts	Clontarf, Dublin
Dublin Tornadoes	Tallaght Community Centre, Tallaght, Dublin 24
Belfast Spartans	Musgrave Park, Belfast
Craigavon Cowboys
Newtownabbey Warriors
Antrim Bulldogs	Allen Park, Antrim

References

Newspapers

[2] Naughton, L. (1991) “Minority Report: Tornadoes are flying”, Evening Herald. Thursday, April 18, 1991, pg. 56.

[3] Naughton, L. (1991) “Minority Report: Look out for the Dublin Tornadoes”, Evening Herald. Thursday, May 9, 1991, pg. 55.

[4] Anon. (1991) “TODAY: AMERICAN FOOTBALL”, Irish Press. Saturday, May 11, 1991, pg. 46.

[5] Naughton, L. (1991) “Minority Report: Spartans supreme”, Evening Herald. Thursday, May 16, 1991, pg. 62.

[6] Naughton, L. (1991) “Minority Report: Tornadoes all the way”, Evening Herald. Thursday, June 13, 1991, pg. 60.

[7] Naughton, L. (1991) “Minority Report: Defensive Tornadoes do it”, Evening Herald. Thursday, June 27, 1991, pg. 59.

[8] Naughton, L. (1991) “Minority Report: CELTS STAY UNBEATEN”, Evening Herald. Thursday, July 25, 1991, pg. 55.

[9] Naughton, L. (1991) “Minority Report: Tornadoes toppled!”, Evening Herald. Thursday, August 15, 1991, pg. 44.

[10] Naughton, L. (1991) “Minority Report: CELTS TOP LEAGUE”, Evening Herald. Thursday, August 22, 1991, pg. 53.

[11] Naughton, L. (1991) “Minority Report: Tip-toe around American grid!”, Evening Herald. Thursday, September 26, 1991, pg. 91.

[12] Traynor, Jonathan (1991) “American Football: Clash of Titans!” Sunday Life May 28, 1991. pg. 46

[13] Anon. (1991) “Scoreboard: Gridiron” Sunday Life June 2, 1991. pg. 53

[14] Anon. (1991) “Gridiron: Antrim Dawgs go for walkies” Sunday Life June 9, 1991. pg. 41

[15] Anon. (1991) “American Football: Rows spoil Irish scene” Sunday Life July 28, 1991. pg. 43

[16] Berry, Lee (1992) “Moon Ready to Belt the Celts” First Down March 28, 1992. pg. 18 [Available on the Internet at Dublin Celts | Facebook (2019) Post to Page by Dermot Connolly September 8, 1992 “Blast from the past… clearing out the attic” [Internet] available from: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10219514768330762&set=pcb.975213116205143&type=3&theater&ifg=1 [Accessed 5 October 1992]

[17] Anon. (1991) “Spartans win Junior crown after thriller” Belfast Telegraph. Monday, August 26, 1991. pg. 18 [Internet] Available online at the Irish Newspaper Archive at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ which is a subscription service.

[18] Anon. (1991) “Bowl back in Dublin” Belfast Telegraph. Monday, September 30, 1991. pg. 18 [Internet] Available online at the Irish Newspaper Archive at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ which is a subscription service.

[19] Anon. (1991) “Buldogs tied up”Belfast Telegraph. Monday, August 12, 1991. pg. 18 [Internet] Available online at the Irish Newspaper Archive at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ which is a subscription service.

Websites

[1] Irish American Football Association (2018) Shamrock Bowl History [Internet] Available from: hhttp://www.americanfootball.ie/american-football/shamrock-bowl-history/ [Accessed 23 March 2018]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Ronan O’Brien & Paul O’Reilly

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy

for the Eirball | Irish North American & World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 8 February 2019

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy & Eirball 2019

You may quote this document in part provided proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved