League Table

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
*Dublin Rebels	8	7	1	0	300	88	38
*Carrickfergus Knights	8	6	1	1	289	81	37
*Belfast Bulls	8	4	3	1	161	107	33
*Dublin Dragons	8	3	5	0	91	229	30
Cork Admirals	8	3	5	0	124	281	27
University of Limerick Vikings	8	0	8	0	35	213	21

[2]

Playoff Results

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	Semi-Finals
15.08.2004	Dublin Rebels	38	Dublin Dragons	12
15.08.2004	Carrickfergus Knights	23	Belfast Bulls	0
	Shamrock Bowl XVIII
29.08.2004	Carrickfergus Knights	22	Dublin Rebels	24

[2]

Regular Season Results

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	Week 1
29.02.2004	UL Vikings	5	Cork Admirals	19
	Week 2
07.03.2004	Dublin Dragons	8	UL Vikings	7
	Week 3
21.03.2004	Belfast Bulls	0	Carrickfergus Knights	19
	Week 4
28.03.2004	UL Vikings	9	Dublin Dragons	18
	Week 5
04.04.2004	Dublin Rebels	50	UL Vikings	0
08.04.2004	Cork Admirals	13	UL Vikings	0
	Week 6
18.04.2004	UL Vikings	0 #	Dublin Rebels	30
18.04.2004	Belfast Bulls	20	Dublin Dragons	12
	Week 7
25.04.2004	Carrickfergus Knights	47	UL Vikings	7
25.04.2004	Dublin Dragons	26	Cork Admirals	12
	Week 8
09.05.2004	UL Vikings	7	Belfast Bulls	28
09.05.2004	Carrickfergus Knights	42	Dublin Rebels	14
	Week 9
16.05.2004	Cork Admirals	0	Carrickfergus Knights	60
	Week 10
23.05.2004	Dublin Rebels	12	Dublin Dragons	6
06.06.2004	Belfast Bulls	30	Cork Admirals	0 #
	Week 11
13.06.2004	Cork Admirals	12	Dublin Rebels	88
	Week 12
20.06.2004	Dublin Dragons	0	Belfast Bulls	35
20.06.2004	Dublin Rebels	26	Carrickfergus Knights	12
	Week 13
04.07.2004	Carrickfergus Knights	20	Belfast Bulls	13
	Week 14
11.07.2004	Dublin Rebels	52	Cork Admirals	0
	Week 15
18.07.2004	Cork Admirals	68	Dublin Dragons	20
	Week 16
25.07.2004	Dublin Dragons	0	Carrickfergus Knights	66
	Week 17
01.08.2004	Carrickfergus Knights	21	Belfast Bulls	21
	Week 18
08.08.2004	Belfast Bulls	14	Dublin Rebels	28

[2]

5 Pts Win / 4 Pts Tie / 3 Loss / 0 Pts Forfeit #

Report

The 2004 IAFL season featured 6 teams as Divisions 1 & 2 from 2003 were merged into one 11-man League, with Belfast Bulls & UL Vikings making the step up from the 8-man Division 2, and only Craigavon Cowboys remaining as an 8-man team with 2nds teams.

Dublin Rebels and Carrickfergus Knights again proved the top teams, losing only to each other as the Rebels finished on 7-1 and the Knights on 6-1-1. Joining them in the playoffs were the Belfast Bulls, with an impressive 4-3-1 record in their first season in this level, and the Dublin Dragons who finished ahead of Cork Admirals on a tie-breaker, both teams finishing 3-5. UL Vikings struggled and finished bottom, losing all 8 matches.

The Semi-Finals finished with predictable wins for the Dublin Rebels (38-12 against Dublin Dragons) and Carrickfergus Knights (23-0 over Belfast Bulls), and Shamrock Bowl XVIII proved a thriller, with the Rebels edging the contest 24-22 in a see-saw battle, which was the closest margin of victory since the Dublin Celts beat the Antrim Bulldogs 7-6 in 1989.

References

Websites

[1] Irish American Football Association (2003) IAFL Logo [Internet] Available from: http://americanfootball.ie/iafl/images/logo.gif [Accessed 11 December 2017]

[2] Irish American Football Association (2004) 2004 LEAGUE TABLE, FIXTURES & RESULTS [Internet] Available from: http://www.americanfootball.ie/iafl/2004results.htm [Accessed 24 September 2016]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Cillian Smith, Michael Smith and Ralph Schmeer of the Irish American Football Association and Irish American Football Officials Association, and Sean Douglas, Dublin Rebels.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 4 March 2019

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2019

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

• 

• 

League Table

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pts
Carrickfergus Knights	6	5	1	0	170	26	10
Dublin Rebels	6	5	1	0	185	39	10
Cork Admirals	6	1	5	0	68	182	2
Dublin Dragons	6	1	5	0	36	212	2

[3][4]

Playoff Results

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	Semi-Final
27.07.03	Dublin Rebels	56	Cork Admirals	8
	Shamrock Bowl XVII		(Greystones)
10.08.03	Carrickfergus Knights	12	Dublin Rebels	24

[3][4]

Regular Season Results Division 1

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	Week 2
30.03.2003	Carrickfergus Knights	20	Dublin Rebels	14
	Week 3
06.04.2003	Dublin Dragons	28	Cork Admirals	14
	Week 4
20.04.2003	Dublin Rebels	34	Dublin Dragons	0
	Week 6
04.05.2003	Dublin Dragons	0	Carrickfergus Knights	51
	Week 8
18.05.2003	Dublin Rebels	40	Cork Admirals	12
	Week 9
01.06.2003	Carrickfergus Knights	30	Cork Admirals	0
	Week 10
08.06.2003	Carrickfergus Knights	30	Dublin Dragons	0
	Week 11
15.06.2003	Dublin Dragons	0	Dublin Rebels	41
	Week 12
22.06.2003	Dublin Rebels	12	Carrickfergus Knights	7
	Week 13
06.07.2003	Cork Admirals	42	Dublin Dragons	8
	Week 14
13.07.2003	Cork Admirals	0	Dublin Rebels	44
	Week 15
20.07.2003	Cork Admirals	0	Carrickfergus Knights	32

[3][4]

Report

The IAFL season of 2003 followed the same format of the previous season, with a four-team 11-man IAFL Division 1, with the other three teams and 2nds teams of Division 1 teams playing in an 8-man Division 2.

Cork Admirals made the step up to Division 1 from Division 2 in 2002, and the UL Vikings made the decision to drop down to Division 2 to rebuild following their end of season collapse the previous season after their American students had gone home at the end of term.

Cork Admirals qualified for the playoffs by virtue of a win over the Dragons in an 8-man match which was played when the Dragons couldn’t field the full 11 players for their trip to Cork. The Admirals were no match for the Rebels in the Semi-Finals, losing 56-8.

Dublin Rebels and Carrickfergus Knights again dominated proceedings as in 2001, with the Rebels reclaiming the Shamrock Bowl following 2002’s disappointments. The Shamrock Bowl finished 24-12 to the Rebels against the Knights.

This was the Rebels second Shamrock Bowl victory.

References

_____________________________________________________________________________

Websites

[1] Irish American Football Association (2003) IAFL Logo [Internet] Available from: http://americanfootball.ie/iafl/images/logo.gif [Accessed 11 December 2017]

[2] Irish American Football Association (2003) Shamrock Bowl XVII Logo [Internet] Available from: http://www.americanfootball.ie/iafl/Shamrockbowllogo.jpg [Accessed 11 December 2017]

[3] Irish American Football Association (2003) 2003 Results [Internet] Available from: http://www.americanfootball.ie/iafl/2003results.htm [Accessed 24 September 2016]

Internet Archive

[4] Irish American Football Association (2003) 2003 Results [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20170817073618/http://www.americanfootball.ie/iafl/2003results.htm [Accessed 18 April 2018]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Cillian Smith, Michael Smith and Ralph Schmeer of the Irish American Football Association and Irish American Football Officials Association, and Sean Douglas, Dublin Rebels.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 4 March 2019

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2019

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

League Table

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pts
*University of Limerick Vikings	6	5	1	0	72	64	10
*Carrickfergus Knights	6	4	2	0	167	46	8
Dublin Dragons	6	2	4	0	54	95	4
Dublin Rebels	6	1	5	0	40	128	2

[2][3]

Playoff Results

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	Shamrock Bowl XVI
16.06.02	UL Vikings	0	Carrickfergus Knights	66

[2][3]

Regular Season Results

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	Week 1
17.03.2002	Dublin Rebels	0	Dublin Dragons	6
	Week 2
24.03.2002	Carrickfergus Knights	6	UL Vikings	12
	Week 3
07.04.2002	Dublin Dragons	6	UL Vikings	12
	Week 4
14.04.2002	Dublin Rebels	6	UL Vikings	12
	Week 5
21.04.2002	Dublin Dragons	6	Carrickfergus Knights	18
	Week 6
28.04.2002	Dublin Rebels	8	UL Vikings	22
	Week 7
05.05.2002	Dublin Rebels	6	Carrickfergus Knights	46
	Week 8
12.05.2002	UL Vikings	14	Carrickfergus Knights	8
	Week 9
19.05.2002	Dublin Dragons	30	UL Vikings	0 #
	Week 10
26.05.2002	Carrickfergus Knights	36	Dublin Rebels	8
	Week 11
02.06.2002	Carrickfergus Knights	53	Dublin Dragons	0
	Week 12
09.06.2002	Dublin Dragons	6	Dublin Rebels	12

[3]

2 Pts Win / 1 Pt Tie / 0 Pts Loss / x – Qualify for Shamrock Bowl

Report

The 2002 IAFL season featured the same four teams as in 2001 in Division 1, with newer teams playing in a DV8 8-man League.

The Dublin Rebels, winners of the previous Shamrock Bowl, lost their opening match in a shock win for the Dublin Dragons, and this set the scene for the rest of their season, finally getting one win in their last match with the Dragons.

The UL Vikings relied on American students for most of the season, but after they went home following the end of term, they struggled, forfeiting their last match of the season, and then getting trounced in the Shamrock Bowl, losing 66-0 to the Carrickfergus Knights, deserving winners of their third Shamrock Bowl.

References

Websites

[1] Irish American Football (2016) IAFA Logo [Internet] Available from: http://www.luckyshow.org/football/pics/IAFA.jpg [Accessed 5 June 2017]

[2] Irish American Football Association (2002) 2002 IAFL Standings/Schedule [Internet] Available from: http://www.americanfootball.ie/iafl-standings/2002-iafl-standingsschedule/ [Accessed 24 March 2014]

Internet Archive

[3] Belfast Bulls (2002) Welcome to the site of the Belfast Bulls [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20020801235005/http://www.belfastbulls.com [Accessed 8 October 2017]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Cillian Smith, Michael Smith and Ralph Schmeer of the Irish American Football Association and Irish American Football Officials Association, and Sean Douglas, Dublin Rebels.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 4 March 2019

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2019

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

League Table

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pts
*Dublin Rebels	6	5	1	0	142	32	10
*Carrickfergus Knights	6	5	1	0	174	30	10
University of Limerick Vikings	6	1	5	0	12	177	2
Dublin Dragons	6	1	5	0	20	109	2

Reference: [2]

Playoff Results

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	Shamrock Bowl XV		(Carrickfergus)
16.12.01	Carrickfergus Knights	7	Dublin Rebels	28

Reference: [2][3]

Regular Season Results

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	Week 1
30.09.2001	Carrickfergus Knights	46	Dublin Dragons	0
	Week 2
07.10.2001	Dublin Rebels	48	UL Vikings	0
	Week 3
14.10.2001	Dublin Dragons	0	Dublin Rebels	12
	Week 4
21.10.2001	UL Vikings	0	Carrickfergus Knights	34
	Week 5
28.10.2001	Carrickfergus Knights	12	Dublin Rebels	16
	Week 6
04.11.2001	UL Vikings	0	Dublin Rebels	34
	Week 7
11.11.2001	Dublin Dragons	0	Carrickfergus Knights	21
	Week 8
18.11.2001	Carrickfergus Knights	41	UL Vikings	0
	Week 9
25.11.2001	Dublin Rebels	18	Dublin Dragons	0
	Week 10
02.12.2001	UL Vikings	12	Dublin Dragons	8
	Week 11
11.12.2001	Dublin Dragons	12	UL Vikings	0
11.12.2001	Dublin Rebels	14	Carrickfergus Knights	20

2Pts Win / 1 Pt Tie / 0 Pts Loss / x – Qualify for Shamrock Bowl

Shamrock Bowl XV

Carrickfergus Knights 7 Dublin Rebels 28 – The Carrickfergus Knights were appearing in their sixth Shamrock Bowl in seven seasons, and the Rebels, a merger of the Greystones Rebels and Dublin Tigers, were appearing in their first, although many, including Brian Dennehy saw Shamrock Bowl action in 1998 and 1999 for the Tigers.

The teams were evenly matched throughout the season, both finishing on 5-1 Won-Loss Records, with the Rebels giving up Home Field Advantage with a loss on the final day of the regular season to the Knights. The Shamrock Bowl, however, was to be a Rebel victory, as Running Back Brian Dennehy scored with a 90-yard Kickoff Return from the first whistle, and then ran in the two-point conversion. Carrickfergus didn’t get a hand on him until the one-yard line and never recovered.

Rebels Quarterback Paddy Blood played the game of his life, returning from injury. With the Dublin defense winning the ball back, he drove the offense the length of the field, sweeping behind the offensive line, and finishing with a 20-yard Touchdown pass to Paraic Reddington.

The Knights recovered their composure momemtarily, as they recovered the ball from a blocked punt and Quarterback Stephen McDowell drove to the 10-yard line, where he connected on an out pattern to Wide Receiver Ron Smyth to bring them back to within one touchdown. The Extra-Point Kick was successful, making the score 14-7.

That was as close as the Knights would get for the rest of the afternoon, as the momentum was still with the Rebels. They scored again just before halftime on a half back option, as Dennehy connected with Wide Receiver Brian Martin for a 30-yard touchdown. Paddy Blood then hooked up with Dennehy for the two-point conversion.

Both teams stepped up on defense, as the Rebels hung on, comfortable and composed but not complacent. Michael Finucane and Steve Porteous were punishing Carrickfergus from the Defensive Line, and the Knights defense, playing tight as a unit, managed to halt the Rebels offense.

The Knights decided to switch to an aerial attack for the remainder of the game in the third quarter, and completed passes to Smyth and Paul McKillop. Two goal-line stands by the Rebels, with Free Safety Marcus Naylor making a crucial acrobatic tackle kept the Knights out in what was a nail-biting time for the Rebels.

The game was sealed late in the third quarter as Dennehy kept the ball for most of a 70-yard drive that culminated in him seeping in from two-yards out, making the score 28-7. That was the way the score stayed throughout the fourth quarter, as the Rebels celebrated their first Shamrock Bowl win, in a game which bode well for the future of Irish American Football, in its first season since 1999, and with a new Spring League just around the corner in 2002.

At Carrickfergus	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
Dublin Rebels			7	0	28
Carrickfergus Knights			0	0	7

Team	Scorers	Score
	1st Quarter
REB	Brian Dennehy 90yd Kickoff Return, Brian Dennehy 2XPT Run	8-0
REB	Paraic Reddington 20yd Pass from Paddy Blood	14-0
CAR	Ron Smyth Pass from Stephen McDowell, XP Kick Good	14-7
	2nd Quarter
REB	Brian Martin 30yd Pass from Brian Dennehy, Dennehy 2XPT Pass from Blood	22-7
	3rd Quarter
REB	Brian Dennehy 2yd Run	28-7

Season Report

After a break of over a year, the Irish American Football League was restarted under new administration, led by brothers Cillian and Michael Smith. There were four teams in the League, and the Dublin Rebels, a merger of the Greystones Rebels, and 1999 Shamrock Bowl Champions the Dublin Tigers, won their first Shamrock Bowl, defeating the Carrickfergus Knights 28-7 in the finale. New teams the Dublin Dragons, an offshoot of the Dublin Gladiators Flag Football team, and the University of Limerick Vikings, who had started as a Flag Football team in 1999 rounded out the four-team League.

Team Changes and League Structure and Organisation

The Irish american Football Association was set up in 2001, under the leadership of Cillian Smith, formerly of the Dublin Lightning, and his brother, Official Michael Smith. It took over the running of the League from the American Football Association of Ireland, under Image Management and Promotions, led by Jim Hutton.

There were four teams in the League in 2001, up from 3 in 1999, and two in 2000 after the Greystones Rebels and Dublin Tigers had merged and the Queens University Broncos had folded after the 1999 season. Bringing the total number of teams up to four were new teams the Dublin Dragons and University of Limerick Vikings. the teams played a balanced Home & Away schedule of 6 games each followed by the Shamrock Bowl, between the top two teams at the end of the Regular Season.

Home Venues

Team	Home Ground
Carrickfergus Knights	Woodburn, Carrickfergus
Dublin Dragons	Ringsend, Dublin
Dublin Rebels	Ringsend, Dublin
University of Limerick Vikings	UL Sports Grounds, Limerick

Report

The IAFL was restarted in Winter 2001 after a lapse of over a year, with entirely new teams, although Carrickfergus Knights had been in existence since 1994, the Dublin Rebels were a reformed Greystones Rebels & the University of Limerick Vikings had been in existence as a flag football team since 1999. The Dublin dragons joined them in a four team league, themselves also starting off in the 1990s as a flag football team: the Dublin Gladiators.

There was a big gap in the playong standards between the more established fully kitted teams (Rebels & Knights both finished 5-1) and the newer teams which grew out of flag football teams (Dragons and Vikings both finished 1-5)

The top two teams all season, the Dublin Rebels & Carrickfergus Knights met in the Shamrock Bowl, with the Rebels emerging victorious, 28-7 in Carrickfergus.

References

Websites

[1] Irish American Football (2016) IAFA Logo [Internet] Available from: http://www.luckyshow.org/football/pics/IAFA.jpg [Accessed 5 June 2017]

[2] Irish American Football Association (2001) 2001 IAFL Standings/Schedule [Internet] Available from: http://www.americanfootball.ie/iafl-standings/2001-iafl-standingsschedule/ [Accessed 24 March 2014]

[3] Irish American Football (2017) IAFL Shamrock Bowl [Internet] Available from: http://www.luckyshow.org/football/Shamrock%20Bowl.htm [Accessed 5 June 2017]

Images

[4] Dublin Rebels | Wayback Machine (2007) 2001shamrockbowl [Internet] Available from: https://web.archive.org/web/20071117020944im_/http://www.dublinrebels.com/images/2001shamrockbowl.jpg [Accessed 29 May 2020]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Cillian Smith, Michael Smith and Ralph Schmeer of the Irish American Football Association and Irish American Football Officials Association, and Sean Douglas, Dublin Rebels.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 4 March 2019

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2019

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

Final Standings

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
*Dublin Tigers	8	6	0	2	292	106	.875
*Carrickfergus Knights	8	6	0	2	232	54	.875
*Greystones Rebels	8	4	4	0	132	124	.500
*Craigavon Cowboys	8	1	7	0	71	232	.125
Queens University Belfast Broncos	8	1	7	0	66	277	.125

Note: Teams tied on winning percentage separated by points scored

Playoff Results

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	Playoffs
16.08.1998	Dublin Tigers	30	Craigavon Cowboys	0
16.08.1998	Carrickfergus Knights	40	Greystones Rebels	0
	Shamrock Bowl XIII
30.08.1998	Dublin Tigers	14	Carrickfergus Knights	22

]2][3][4]

Regular Season Results

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	Week 1
19.04.1998	Craigavon Cowboys	0	Greystones Rebels	30
19.04.1998	Queens University Broncos	0	Carrickfergus Knights	48
	Week 2
26.04.1998	Queens University Broncos	6	Greystones Rebels	12
26.04.1998	Dublin Tigers	18	Craigavon Cowboys	6
	Week 3
10.05.1998	Craigavon Cowboys	8	Carrickfergus Knights	28
10.05.1998	Greystones Rebels	6	Dublin Tigers	34
	Week 4
17.05.1998	Dublin Tigers	52	Queens University Broncos	6
17.05.1998	Carrickfergus Knights	30	Greystones Rebels	0
	Week 5
31.05.1998	Queens University Broncos	24	Craigavon Cowboys	39
	Week 6
07.06.1998	Carrickfergus Knights	20	Dublin Tigers	20
	Week 7
14.06.1998	Greystones Rebels	30	Craigavon Cowboys	0
14.06.1998	Carrickfergus Knights	32	Queens University Broncos	0
	Week 8
21.06.1998	Greystones Rebels	30	Queens University Broncos	0
21.06.1998	Craigavon Cowboys	18	Dublin Tigers	42
	Week 9
28.06.1998	Carrickfergus Knights	30	Craigavon Cowboys	0
	Week 10
19.07.1998	Queens University Broncos	0	Dublin Tigers	64
19.07.1998	Greystones Rebels	0	Carrickfergus Knights	18
	Week 11
26.07.1998	Dublin Tigers	26	Carrickfergus Knights	26
	Week 12
02.08.1998	Craigavon Cowboys	0	Queens University Broncos	30
	Week 13
09.08.1998	Dublin Tigers	36	Greystones Rebels	24

[2]

Report

Carrickfergus Knights won their second ever Shamrock Bowl, 22-14 against new team Dublin Tigers, who had been a merger of the Dublin (Gateway) Bulls and a new team called the Tigers who had set up nearby. The two teams could not be separated all year, tying both games with each other and each winning all six other games. The Dublin tigers were awarded the League Championship on Points Scored.

In the Playoffs the Tigers had beaten the Craigavon Cowboys 30-0 and the Carrickfergus Knights had beaten the Greystones Rebels, who had finished third on a 4-4 Won-Loss Record, 40-0 to set up the decider.

The other team in the League was the Queens University Belfast Broncos.

Team Changes and Association and League Structure

The League was up one team from 1997, with the Dublin Lightning refusing to play under the then American Football Association of Ireland management team (Image Management and Promotions), and being replaced by the Greystones Rebels, and Queens University. Other changes were the Portadown Panthers being replaced by a resurrection of the Craigavon Cowboys in Mid-Ulster and the Dublin Bulls merging with new team the Dublin Tigers (and taking their name). The Belfast Bulls were a seventh team who only played in a 7v7 Blitz along with the Broncos and Carrickfergus Knights.

References

Sources

[1] Naughton, L. (1998) Tigers roar. Evening Herald. Saturday, 17 October 1998. p. 29.

[2] Naughton, L. (1998) New season. Evening Herald. Saturday, 29 May 1999. p. 25.

Websites

[3] Carrickfergus Knights (1998) Full 1998 Results and League Table [Internet] Available from: http://www.sugarcube.co.uk/knight/Full_1998_AFAI_Results_and.htm [Accessed 23 May 2000]

[4] Irish american Football Association (2018) Shamrock Bowl History [Internet] Available from: http://www.americanfootball.ie/american-football/shamrock-bowl-history/ [Accessed 16 April 2018]

Images

[5] Belfast Knights Facebook (2020) Album: Shamrock Bowl XIII – Knights v Dublin Tigers [Internet] Available from: https://scontent-dub4-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/541032_229694027165043_1197421051_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&_nc_sid=e007fa&_nc_ohc=87gHzXgjW68AX8jlm-J&_nc_ht=scontent-dub4-1.xx&oh=376eebc97278cf1bba85556ab5dfa821&oe=5EF3CAE8 [Accessed 28 May 2020]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Cillian Smith, Michael Smith, Michael Brophy and Ralph Schmeer of the Irish American Football Association and Irish American Football Officials Association.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 25 February 2019

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2019

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

League Table

	P	NI W-L-T	IAFA W-L-T	PF	PA	Pct
NIAFA / IAFA
*Belfast Blitzers	5	3-0-0	4-1-0	126	71	.800
*+Dublin Celts	4	—–	3-1-0	66	31	.750
*+Craigavon Cowboys	4	1-1-0	1-3-0	0	40	.250
Coleraine Chieftains	2	0-2-0	0-2-0	0	33	.000
Carrickfergus Cougars	1	0-1-0	0-1-0	6	55	.000

*Qualify for All-Ireland Final. +Invited to Shamrock Bowl

Playoff Results

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	All-Ireland Final
08.1986	Belfast Blitzers	7	Dublin Celts	0
	Shamrock Bowl I		St. Mary’s RFC, Dublin
05.10.1986	Craigavon Cowboys	6	Dublin Celts	2

[3]

Regular Season Results

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	Week 1
01.06.1986	Dublin Celts	46	Belfast Blitzers	7
	Week 2
22.06.1986	Belfast Blitzers	24	Dublin Celts	20
	Week 4
09.08.1986	Carrickfergus Cougars	6	Belfast Blitzers	55
	Final Week		Londonderry YMCA
27.09.1986	Coleraine Chieftains	0	Craigavon Cowboys	33
	Unknown Week
1986	Dublin Celts	W	Craigavon Cowboys	L
1986	Craigavon Cowboys	0	Belfast Blitzers	40
1986	Craigavon Cowboys	L	Dublin Celts	W
1986	Coleraine Chieftains	L	Belfast Blitzers	W

All-Ireland Final Box-Score and Match Report

16 August 1986 – Belfast – Belfast Blitzers 7 Dublin Celts 0

In a game dominated by defences, Belfast Blitzers won the first Irish American Football Championship thanks to a touchdown run by George O’Neill which was converted giving them a 7-0 victory over the Dublin Celts.

At Belfast	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
Dublin Celts	0	0	0	0	0
Belfast Blitzers					7

Team	Scorers	Score
	Quarter ??
Bli	George Neill TD (PAT good)	7-0

Shamrock Bowl I Box-Score and Match Report

05 October 1986 – St. Mary’s Rugby Club, Dublin 6 – Dublin Celts 2 Craigavon Cowboys 6

Craigavon Cowboys left it late to claim victory in the first ever Irish American Football League Shamrock Bowl, with Most Valuable Player, Nigel Trimble, running in the only touchdown of the match with only four minutes remaining. The Dublin Celts had gone ahead in the first half with a safety, worth two points, in the match played at St. Mary’s Rugby Club in Templeogue, Dublin 6.

At St. Mary’s Rugby Club, Dublin 6	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
Craigavon Cowboys	0	0	0	6	6
Dublin Celts			0	0	2

Team	Scorer	Score
	1st Half
DUB	Safety	2-0
	3rd Quarter
	No scoring	2-0
	4th Quarter
CRA	Nigel Trimble TD Run	2-6

Report

The Blitzers won the IAFA Championship on points difference from the Dublin Celts as they both finished on the same record. They also won the NIAFA Championship, which included all matches played except the ones against the Dublin Celts.

At the end of the season there was a separate Shamrock Bowl arranged, which was by invite. The Dublin Celts & Belfast Blitzers were both invited but the Blitzers as both League & Cup Champions declined to take part as they considered themselves already champions. The Craigavon Cowboys took their place and beat the Celts 6-2, with a late Nigel Trimble Touchdown run.

About

There were two separate Leagues in 1986: The Northern Ireland American Football Association, where each of the Northern teams played each other twice. Belfast Blitzers won all of their matches. There was also an Irish American Football Association where each of the NIAFA games counted as well as a Home & Away series for each NIAFA team with the Dublin Celts. The NIAFA League was a League on paper only, though there were medals awarded to the winning Belfast Blitzers team.

Home Venues

Team	Venue
Belfast Blitzers	Cooke Rugby Club, Belfast
Carrickfergus Cougars	Carrickfergus RFC, Carrickfergus
Craigavon Cowboys	Shane Park, Lurgan, Craigavon

References

Websites

[1] Britball Now (2016) Results Section [1986] [Internet] Available from: http://www.britballnow.co.uk/history-index/results-section.html [Accessed 23 March 2017]

[2] Britball Now (2016) Bangor Buccaneers [Internet] Available from: http://www.britballnow.co.uk/History/Britball%20Teams/BangorBuccaneers.htm [Accessed 23 March 2018]

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

[4] Britballnow.co.uk (2019) 1986 Results [Internet] Available from: http://www.britballnow.co.uk/history-index/results-section.html [Accessed 17 August 2019]

Internet Archives

[5] Craigavon Cowboys | Wayback Machine (2017) Charles ‘Chuck’ Ebron Interview [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20170514064407/http://www,craigavoncowboys.co.uk:80/news [Accessed 10 October 2018]

Social Media

[6] Belfast Blitzers | Facebook (2019) Comments on Post by David Turner, August 12-17, 2019 [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/belfastblitzers/posts/2244208692356940 [Accessed 17 August 2019]

[7] Belfast Blitzers | Facebook (2019) Comments on Post by David Turner, September 7, 2019 [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/belfastblitzers/posts/2286790341432108?comment_id=2287705898007219&reply_comment_id=2292185984225877&notif_id=1568031304420635&notif_t=feed_comment [Accessed 9 September 2019]

Newspapers

[8] Anon. (1986) “A cracking good show for grid-iron fans” Belfast Telegraph. Tuesday, September 23, 1986. pg. 24 [Internet] Available online at the Irish Newspaper Archive at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ which is a subscription service.

[9] Anon. (1986) “American flavour” Belfast Telegraph. Friday, August 8, 1986. pg. 26 [Internet] Available online at the Irish Newspaper Archive at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ which is a subscription service.

[10] Anon. (1986) “Cowboys into ‘Shamrock Bowl'” Belfast Telegraph. Monday, September 29, 1986. pg. 18 [Internet] Available online at the Irish Newspaper Archive at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ which is a subscription service.

[11] Anon. (1986) “Cowboys triumph'” Belfast Telegraph. Monday, October 6, 1986. pg. 19 [Internet] Available online at the Irish Newspaper Archive at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ which is a subscription service.

[12] Anon. (1986) “Picture caption'” Belfast Telegraph. Monday, August 11, 1986. pg. 30 [Internet] Available online at the Irish Newspaper Archive at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ which is a subscription service.

Images

[13] Anon. (1986) “Picture by Rick Hewitt'” Belfast Telegraph. Monday, August 11, 1986. pg. 30 [Internet] Available online at the Irish Newspaper Archive at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ which is a subscription service.

[14] Anon. (1986) “Cowboys to meet Celts’”Belfast Telegraph. Saturday September 27, 1986. pg. 24 [Internet] Available online at the Irish Newspaper Archive at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ which is a subscription service.

[15] Anon. (1986) “Blitzers turn the tables”Belfast Telegraph. Tuesday June 24, 1986. pg. 28 [Internet] Available online at the Irish Newspaper Archive at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ which is a subscription service.

[16] Anon. (1986) “Cowboys into Shamrock Bowl’”Belfast Telegraph. Saturday September 29, 1986. pg. 18 [Internet] Available online at the Irish Newspaper Archive at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ which is a subscription service.

[17] Anon. (1986) “Sport in Brief: American Football” Sunday Press. August 17th, 1986. pg. 25.

[18] Anon. (1986) “Dublin Celts are Blitzed” Sunday Press. August 17th, 1986. pg. 25.

Media

[19] BBC Sport NI Facebook (2020) Video, May 20, 2020 [Comment by player at 1:00-1:10] [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/BBCSPORTNI/videos/693338128160962 [Accessed 30 August 2020]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to David Turner (Belfast Blitzers).

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 30 October 2020

(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.