International Flag Football Challenge – Ireland 27 England 7 – 6 May 2000

Enda Mulcahy

4 years ago

Ireland 27 England 7 – Dublin – 6 May 2000

Ireland 27 England 7 – While it was billed as Ireland’s first ever International Flag Football match, this was not the case, however it was to be memorable nonetheless, with Quarterback Aidan Kelly putting in an impressive preformance to marshall Ireland to a 27-7 triumph. Ireland opened the scoring on their second drive in the First Half with a 25-yard run by Brian Dennehy. Steve Gleeson added the extra point to make it 7-0. England replied almost immediately with their Quarterback Martin Brown connecting with Lawrence Tallon (Fen Harriers) on their next play from scrimmage, who sprinted 70 yards to the endzone. Midway through the First Half Ireland retook the lead when Brian Dennehy added a 20-yard reception and run. Padraig Reddington caught a 10-yard Touchdown Pass from Aiden Kelly and also addec the extra point to put Ireland 20-7 up at halftime.

England pressed hard after the break but failed on numerous occasions to convert possession deep in the Irish half to scores, with Stephen Dunne pull in two interceptions and Al Burke and Padraig Reddington combining for three sacks. Ireland took control of the game late in the Second Half, following Liam Farrell’s 20-yard Touchdown in the dying minutes, to make the final score 27-7. Ireland’s Coach Ian McGuinness was pleased with the win considering it was Ireland’s first ever match (since the Irish American Football Association was resurrected). The match was to become an annual affair with Ireland travelling to England for a return fixture in 2001.

At Dublin	H1	H2	Total
England	7	0	7
Ireland	20	7	27

International Flag Football Challenge – Ireland 27 England 7 – 6 May 2000 [Reference: 1-2]

Team	Scorers	Score
	1st Half
IRL	Brian Dennehy 25 Run (Steve Gleeson 1xpt)	7-0
ENG	Lawrence Tallon 65 Pass from Martin Brown (Ben Armstrong 1xpt)	7-7
IRL	Brian Dennehy 20 Pass from ??	13-7
IRL	Padraig Reddington 10 Pass from Aiden Kelly (Padraig Reddington 1xpt)	20-7
	2nd Half
IRL	Liam Farrell 20 yd TD (PAT good)	27-7

International Flag Football Challenge – Ireland 27 England 7 – 6 May 2000 [Reference: 1-2]

Ireland Team Roster

Name	Team	Position
Coaches
Ian McGuinness	Drimnagh Cycos	Coach
Players
Aiden Kelly	Drimnagh Cycos	Quarterback
Brian Dennehy	Dublin Rebels	Running Back / Wide Receiver
Liam Farrell	Drimnagh Cycos
Padraig Reddington	Drimnagh Cycos	Wide Receiver / Defensive Line
Steve Gleeson
Al Burke		Defensive Line
Stephen Dunne	Drimnagh Cycos	Cornerback

International Flag Football Challenge – Ireland Team Roster – 6 May 2000 [Reference: 1-2]

England Team Roster

Name	Team	Position
Players
Lawrence Tallon	Fen Harriers	Wide Receiver
Marton Brown		Quarterback
Ben Armstrong

International Flag Football Challenge – England Team Roster – 6 May 2000 [Reference: 1-2]

References

Newspapers

[1] Anon. (2000) “Kelly Comes to Ireland’s Aid” First Down May 11-17, 2000. Pg. 20

Websites

[3] BritballNow (2003)Britball Match Reports 2000-05-06 Ireland v England – [Internet] Available from: http://www.britballnow.co.uk/History/Match%20reports/20000506IreEng.htm [Accessed 27 June 2018]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Liam Farrell & Peter Mullen, (Drimnagh Cycos) & Fiona Corrigan, Caoimhe Mullaney, Alan Delaney and John Kane

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American & World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 30 November 2020