Four Nations American Football International Friendly – Great Britain Lions 22 Ireland Fighting Irish 0 – 17 March 1995

17 March 1995 – Saffron Lane, Leicester, England.

Great Britain Lions 22 Ireland Fighting Irish 0

The Ireland Fighting Irish, playing in their first Full International went down 22-0 to the Great Britain Lions,  who scored on two passing plays to Mark Cohen & Joe Greenidge before sacking the Irish QB for a Safety.

The GB Lions added a run from Nigel Flemming to make it 22-0 at the end.

The 1995 Irish squad was chosen after trials in November 1995. Tragically, Irish CoachDave Curran, died only hours after the trials in Belfast and Dublin. Coach Curran had been Offensive Co-Ordinator for the Ireland team, and had previously been a coach for 25 years in America, and had been Head Coach of both the Dublin Celts and Dublin Tornadoes, both multiple Shamrock Bowl winners.

This was the first International Match without Coach Curran, and took place in Leicester, on St. Patrick’s Day, 17 March 1995.

At Saffron Lane, Leicester, EnglandQ1Q2Q3Q4Total
Irish Leprechauns    0
Great Britain Bulldogs    22
Great Britain Bulldogs 22 Ireland Fighting Irish 0 Box-Score 18 March 1995 Reference: [2]
TeamScorersScore
GBMark Cohen 28 yd TD Rec from Ian Ure (XP no good)0-6
GB Joe Greenidge 4yd TD Rec from ?? (Kevin Hurst XP Kick)0-13
GBSafety – Dave Samuel sacked Irish QB in endzone0-15
GB Nigel Flemming 9yd TD Run (Rex Harrisson XP Kick)0-22
Irish-Leprechauns-0-GB-Lions-22-1995-David-Sweetman

GB Lions 22 Ireland 0 (Photo courtesy David Sweetman)[3]

Ireland Roster 1995

PlayerPositionTeam
Offense
Patrick CullenQuarterbackCraigavon Cowboys
Brian SuttonQuarterbackDublin Tornadoes
Eddie GogginsQuarterbackBath Gladiators (Eng)
Phil McGowanRunning BackDublin Tornadoes
Mark BanksRunning BackCarrickfergus Knights
G WoodsRunning BackRockingham Rebels (Eng)
Liam McManusRunning BackRockingham Rebels (Eng)
Micky ColemanRunning BackRockingham Rebels (Eng)
G GrahamTight EndCarrickfergus Knights
Padraig ReddingtonTight EndDublin Tornadoes
Mark HaffertyWide ReceiverBelfast Spartans
Mark RutherfordWide ReceiverDublin Tornadoes
Leigh KellyWide ReceiverLondon Rockets (Eng)
Brian DennehyWide ReceiverDublin Tornadoes
Neil CallahanOffensive LineCraigavon Cowboys
Phil WoodyardOffensive LineDublin Tornadoes
Denis SoroghanOffensive LineDublin Tornadoes
Alan O’BrienOffensive LineDublin Tornadoes
Brian McEvillyOffensive LineDublin Celts
Richard EarlOffensive LineRedbridge Fire (Eng)
Eamonn DunleavyOffensive LineLondon Rockets (Eng)
Gerry McManusOffensive LineBirmingham Bulls (Eng)
Defense 
Terry BeattieDefensive LineBelfast Spartans
John JonesDefensive LineDublin Tornadoes
Gareth BoydDefensive LineCardiff University (Wal)
Martin RogersDefensive LineDublin Celts
Tom CreggDefensive LineMilton Keynes Pioneers (Eng)
N McCabeDefensive Line
R McCabeDefensive Line
E QuinlavinDefensive Line
Mark HarrisLinebackerCarrickfergus Knights
Danny O’CallaghanLinebackerDublin Tornadoes
Paul ClarkLinebackerDublin Tornadoes
Robbie WalkerLinebackerCarrickfergus Knights
Kevin DuffyLinebackerSouthern Seminloes (Eng)
Mark ElsdenLinebackerRockingham Rebels (Eng)
David McGrathDefensive BackDublin Tornadoes
Connor LeonardDefensive BackDublin Tornadoes
Andrew MitchellDefensive BackBrighton B-52s (Eng)
Tony HennessyDefensive BackRockingham Rebels (Eng)
Paddy PatersonDefensive BackCraigavon Cowboys
Erin MaxwellDefensive BackCarrickfergus Knights
Mark DevlinDefensive BackLurgan Area Raiders
Ireland National American Football Team Roster 1995 References :[1; 5]

Coaches

Coach / ManagerName
Head CoachKurt Smeby
Assistant CoachStaurt Smith
Assistant CoachMark Gayton
Assistant CoachTom Smith
Assistant CoachEddie Kelly
Assistant CoachBrian Sutton
Assistant CoachFrancis Loughlin
ManagerDoug Platten
ManagerDave Wakefield
Ireland National American Football Team Coaches & Managers 1995 References :[1; 5]

References

Internet Archive

[1] Dublin Tornadoes (1997) History of the Team [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/19970618100359/http://fiachra.ucd.ie/~alan/tornado.html [Accessed 20 March 2018]

Websites

[2] Britball Now (2016) 1992-1995 GB Lions [Internet] Available from: http://www.britballnow.co.uk/history-index/gb-lions-historical-index/1992-5-gb-lions.html[Accessed 12 November 2019]

[3] Britball Now (2016) GB Lions 22 Ireland 0 [Internet] Available from: http://www.britballnow.co.uk/_Media/1995gbvirelanddavidsweefz4_med.jpeg [Accessed 12 November 2019]

Newspapers

[4] Hubbuck, Colin (1994) “Irish Tragedy: Offensive boss Curran dies hours after national trials” First Down. November 5, 1994. pg. 22

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 American Football Archive

Last Updated: 16 May 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.

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