Scoreboard
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Festivals & Friendlies Standings
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AFAI American Football Association of Ireland Festivals & Friendlies 1988
| Pos | Team | W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | Net Pts | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 46 | 0 | 46 | W1 |
| 2 |  | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 47 | 6 | 41 | W1 |
| 3 |  | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 39 | 2 | 37 | W1 |
| 4 |  | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 22 | 8 | 14 | W1 |
| 5 |  | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 6 | 47 | -41 | L1 |
| 6 |  | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.000 | 10 | 107 | -97 | L3 |
Note: Standings Calculated automatically from results – Official Standings not kept.
Festivals & Friendlies Schedule
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AFAI American Football Association of Ireland Friendlies 1988
|
(Festival Week 1)
39 - 2N/A Belfast Blitzers vs Antrim Bulldogs |
|
(Festival Week 2)
46 - 0N/A Dublin Tornadoes vs Antrim Bulldogs |
|
(Festival Week 3)
6 - 47N/A Coleraine Chieftains vs NI Giants |
|
(Festival Week 4)
22 - 8N/A Belfast Spartans vs Antrim Bulldogs |
|
(Week 5 - Birr Vintage Festival)
2:30 pmN/A Antrim Bulldogs vs Dublin Tornadoes |
|
(Newtownards Tournament)
12:00 amN/A Coleraine Chieftains vs Belfast Spartans |
|
(Newtownards Tournament)
12:00 amN/A Antrim Bulldogs vs Belfast Spartans |
|
(Newtownards Tournament Final)
12:00 amN/A Antrim Bulldogs vs Coleraine Chieftains |
Note: Date of Dublin Tornadoes 46 Antrim Bulldogs 0 not known – 1 June 1988 an approximation only.
Report
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Map of Ireland Showing AFAI Festivals & Friendlies Teams 1988
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Recap
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While preparing to enter the Irish American Football League in 1989 the Antrim Bulldogs (also known as the A26 Bulldogs) played a series of Friendly and Exhibition matches against other AFAI teams in 1988. During May they lost 39-2 to Belfast Blitzers, then 46-0 to Dublin Tornadoes, 22-8 in July versus Labatt Spartans from Belfast before they were due to play Dublin Tornadoes again at the Birr Vintage Festival in Co. Offaly. The Festival season finished up at Newtownards where Antrim Bulldogs and Coleraine Chieftains served up a cracker of a Final at a Tournament sponsored by Labatts Brewery that also included Labatt Spartans (Belfast).
References
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Map References
– Photo by Jean Daniel Francouer on Pexels.com
[27] Vector — Labeled Color Map of Districts of Northern Ireland, United Kingdom Copyright: lara2016 [Internet] Available from: https://www.123rf.com/photo_144615978_labeled-color-map-of-districts-of-northern-ireland-united-kingdom.html?vti=lnoo9k86jx77fg2u6b-1-21 [Accessed 10 January 2022] Superimposed on Vector — Map of Ireland administrative divisions on counties level Copyright: lesniewski [Internet] Available from: https://www.123rf.com/photo_51580818_map-of-ireland-administrative-divisions-on-counties-level.html?vti=lnoo9k86jx77fg2u6b-1-1 [Accessed 10 January 2022] Combined with 1988 Irish American Football Team Logos by Enda Mulcahy for Eirball.ie [13 January 2022]
Newspapers
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[1] Anon. (1988) “Birr Vintage Festival” Nenagh Guardian. Saturday, August 13, 1988. pg. 15. Available on the Internet at the Irish Newspaper Archive: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ [Accessed 17 July 2019]
[2] Trevor Dickson (1988) “BRUTE FORCE – Picture Special by Trevor Dickson” Belfast Newsletter. October 3, 1988. pg. 9. Available on the Internet at the Irish Newspaper Archive: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ [Accessed 28 April 2023]
[3] Britball Now (2016) Historical Results [1988][Friendlies] [Internet] Available from: http://www.britballnow.co.uk/history-index/results-section.html [Accessed 12 January 2020][Actual Reference at: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.britballnow.co.uk%2FHistory%2FResults%2F1988results.xls&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK ][Accessed 13 January 2022]
[4] Anon. (1988) Antrim fall Belfast Telegraph. Tuesday, May 17, 1988, pg. 17 [Internet] Original Article Available from: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ [Accessed 13 January 2022]
Social Media
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[4] Belfast Blitzers Facebook (2021) Bellfast Blitzers Reply to Post by Enda Mulcahy [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/belfastblitzers/posts/3499692260141904?comment_id=3500244570086673&reply_comment_id=3501824573262006¬if_id=1611255704041574¬if_t=feed_comment&ref=notif [Accessed 22 January 2021]
Logo References
– Photo by Jean Daniel Francouer on Pexels.com
[5] Belfast Blitzers Facebook Page (2019) Post, August 12, 2019 at 1:31 PM [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/belfastblitzers/posts/2244208692356940?notif_id=1565921781157641¬if_t=comment_mention [Accessed 17 August 2019]
[6] Belfast Blitzers Facebook Page (2021) Post to Page by Belfast Blitzers, 5 February 2021: [Internet] Available from: https://scontent-dub4-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/146339398_3535274803250316_484236705150193506_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=2&_nc_sid=dbeb18&_nc_ohc=APIfzLRulaMAX9g3LLc&_nc_ht=scontent-dub4-1.xx&oh=72bcf54f0435a9ab26cd035a8d2cf7c7&oe=604502C2 [Accessed 5 February 2021]
[7] Dublin Tornadoes (1995) Timmy Tornado Logo [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/19961115063729im_/http://fiachra.ucd.ie:80/~alan/Icons/American/timmy.gif [Accessed 3 July 2018]
[8] Trinity Bowl 1992 Trinity 400 American Football Match Poster
[11] Dublin Tornadoes Football Helmet – Authors’ Personal Collection – Purchased at http://www.417helmets.com
About Eirball
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Acxknowledged
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Thanks to David Turner (Belfast Blitzers)
About this Document
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Prepared and maintained by Enda Mulcahy for the
Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive
Last Updated: 20 December 2025. First Published: 29 April 2023
(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2020
You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved. The Logos and Photos used in this article remain the property of the organisations and individuals which own the copyright and are used here for educational and information purposes only.