Flag of Ireland

International Flag Football

Ireland International Flag Football

Ireland has been playing International Flag Football since 1997 at least, when friendlies against England were arranged. These continued until 2007. In 2009 the European Flag Football Championships were held in Belfast, with Ireland entering a team. In 2010 Ireland’s Under 13s (a Coed team) entered the European Championships for the first time and returned in 2012, along with an Under 15s team (also Coed). in 2013 the Senior team again entered the Championships.  2016 was a significant year for Irish Flag Football, when, a year after the establishment of the Irish Flag Football League, an International Series was held in Gormanston, Co. Meath, featuring Ireland as well as European National Teams and the Ramstein Mayhem club side from Germany. 

International Club Flag Football

Irish teams have been playing International matches since the first charity bowl in the 1980s in aid of GOAL (an Irish International Development Agency) – the GOAL Heroes v RTE Raiders. Following on from that the Drimnagh Cycos played in the Anglo-Irish Flag Football Challenge for 9 years against the Leicester Europa Eagles, and then another charity event, the Irish-American Flag Football Classic, was held between two teams representing the US Ambassador’s Residence (Phoenix Park Pirates) and the American Embassy (Dublin 8s).

The Celtic Bowl was held in 2015 between 8 Irish teams and two Scottish teams to celebrate the 30th anniversary of American Football in Ireland. In 2016 Ireland hels an International Tournament featuring National Teams and also the Ramstein Mayhem from Germany. In 2017-18, the Kaiserslautern Screaming Eagles entered one of the Four IAFA Blitzes, which has been included here in the Irish International Club Flag Football section.