- Leagues
- AFI American Football Ireland Timeline, Capitol Bowl, CGL Combined Gridiron League Duke Premier Division Irish Conference Preseason, CGL Combined Gridiron League Irish Conference Preseason, International American Football Friendlies, Irish American Football League, Irish American football League Festivals, Irish American Football League National Conference, Irish American Football League Playoffs, Irish American Football League Preseason, Irish American Football League Regular Season, Irish American Football League Tara Conference, Irish American Football League Tara Conference Preseason, Irish Football Friendlies v English teams
- Seasons
- 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989
Irish American Football League Preseason 1986
| Pos | Team | W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | Net Pts | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dublin Celts | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 46 | 7 | 39 | W1 |
| 2 |  Belfast Blitzers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.500 | 53 | 46 | 7 | W1 |
| 3 |  Carrickfergus Cougars | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 |  Coleraine Chieftains | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 |  Craigavon Cowboys | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 46 | -46 | L1 |
Irish American Football League - All Games Standings 1986
| Pos | Team | W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | Net Pts | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belfast Blitzers | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0.778 | 179 | 85 | 94 | W3 |
| 2 | Dublin Celts | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0.500 | 81 | 44 | 37 | L2 |
| 3 | Craigavon Cowboys | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0.400 | 39 | 88 | -49 | W2 |
| 4 | Coleraine Chieftains | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 33 | -33 | L3 |
| 5 | Carrickfergus Cougars | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 6 | 55 | -49 | L1 |
Irish American Football League Regular Season 1986
| Pos | Team | W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | Net Pts | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belfast Blitzers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 95 | 6 | 89 | W3 |
| 2 | Craigavon Cowboys | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.500 | 33 | 40 | -7 | W1 |
| 3 | Dublin Celts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Coleraine Chieftains | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 33 | -33 | L2 |
| 5 | Carrickfergus Cougars | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 6 | 55 | -49 | L1 |
IAFL Tara Conference Preseason 1987
| Pos | Team | W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | Net Pts | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Craigavon Cowboys | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 26 | 0 | 26 | W1 |
| 2 | Dublin Celts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 |  Jordanstown Jaguars | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 |  NI Giants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 |  Bangor Buccaneers | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.000 | 2 | 33 | -31 | L2 |
| 6 |  Belfast Spartans | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.000 | 19 | 59 | -40 | L2 |
IAFL Tara Conference 1987
| Pos | Team | W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | Net Pts | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dublin Celts | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 246 | 64 | 182 | W10 |
| 2 | Craigavon Cowboys | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0.800 | 258 | 59 | 199 | W3 |
| 3 | NI Giants | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0.700 | 152 | 72 | 80 | W2 |
| 4 | Bangor Buccaneers | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0.400 | 67 | 221 | -154 | W1 |
| 5 | Belfast Spartans | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0.300 | 45 | 175 | -130 | L4 |
| 6 | Jordanstown Jaguars | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0.200 | 15 | 74 | -59 | L3 |
AFAI Irish American Football League National Conference 1988
| Pos | Team | W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | Net Pts | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dublin Celts | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 99 | 13 | 86 | W4 |
| 2 | Belfast Blitzers | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.667 | 57 | 29 | 28 | W2 |
| 3 | Craigavon Cowboys | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.333 | 35 | 42 | -7 | L2 |
| 4 |  Dublin Tornadoes | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0.250 | 58 | 82 | -24 | L3 |
CGL Combined Gridiron League Duke Premier Division Irish Conference Preseason 1989
| Pos | Team | W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | Net Pts | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dublin Celts | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 25 | 0 | 25 | W1 |
| 2 | Belfast EC Spartans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | East Antrim Cougars | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Craigavon Cowboys | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 20 | -20 | L1 |
Dublin Celts Players List 1985
| # | Player | Team | Position | TD | FG | Safety | PAT | 2XP | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Kevin Kelly | Dublin Celts | Quarterback | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Ray Mooney | Dublin Celts | Nose Tackle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Dermot Fitzsimons | Dublin Celts | Running back | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Martin Murphy | Dublin Celts | Running back, Wide receiver | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 28 | Joe Moore | Dublin Celts | Running back | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Glen Webster | Dublin Celts | Running back, Wide receiver | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Bryan Durance | Dublin Celts | Middle linebacker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Tom Hobbs | Dublin Celts | Guard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | John Morrissey | Dublin Celts | Quarterback | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | Steve Kavanagh | Dublin Celts | Defensive Back | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 54 | Ger Breen | Dublin Celts | Tight end | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 57 | Tony Mason | Dublin Celts | Linebacker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 58 | Paul Seery | Dublin Celts | Outside linebacker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 59 | Dave McCabe | Dublin Celts | Outside linebacker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 63 | Owen Quigley | Dublin Celts | Guard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 68 | Philip Woodyard | Dublin Celts | Center | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 69 | Fran Guerin | Dublin Celts | Offensive tackle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 71 | Tommy Kennedy | Dublin Celts | Defensive tackle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 72 | John Walsh | Dublin Celts | Defensive tackle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 75 | Noel Doolan | Dublin Celts | Nose Tackle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 87 | Steve Collins | Dublin Celts | Tight end | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 88 | Alan Kelly | Dublin Celts | Linebacker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 89 | Declan Doherty | Dublin Celts | Wide receiver | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 95 | Fergus Cullen | Dublin Celts | Offensive tackle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 99 | Dave Collins | Dublin Celts | Defensive end, Defensive tackle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dublin Celts Players List 1986
| # | Player | Team | Position | TD | FG | Safety | PAT | 2XP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Downey | Dublin Celts | Quarterback | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kevin Sharkey | Dublin Celts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Carlos De La Garza | Dublin Celts | Defensive tackle | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 26 | Martin Murphy | Dublin Celts | Running back, Wide receiver | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Glen Webster | Dublin Celts | Running back, Wide receiver | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Bryan Durance | Dublin Celts | Middle linebacker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 64 | James O’Neill | Dublin Celts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 69 | Fran Guerin | Dublin Celts | Guard, Offensive tackle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dublin Celts Players List 1987
| # | Player | Team | Position | TD | FG | Safety | PAT | 2XP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grattan Hood | Dublin Celts | Running back | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Andy Olszewski | Dublin Celts | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Ian Biddulph | Dublin Celts | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 26 | Martin Murphy | Dublin Celts | Running back, Wide receiver | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Joe Moore | Dublin Celts | Running back | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 75 | Noel Doolan | Dublin Celts | Nose Tackle | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 89 | Declan Doherty | Dublin Celts | Wide receiver | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dublin Celts Players List 1988
| # | Player | Team | Position | TD | FG | Safety | PAT | 2XP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ray Hickey | Dublin Celts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 26 | Martin Murphy | Dublin Celts | Running back, Wide receiver | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 69 | Fran Guerin | Dublin Celts | Guard, Offensive tackle | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 89 | Declan Doherty | Dublin Celts | Wide receiver | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Season report 1986
Dublin Celts won their first two friendly preseason games 14-0 versus Wirral Wolves and 16-14 versus Newcastle Senators, two highly-ranked teams in the British American Football League.
They then proceeded to defeat Belfast Blitzers 46-7 in the first leg of the Capitol Bowl before losing the second leg 20-24 in Belfast. This was Dublin Celts first ever defeat, although they did take home the Capitol Bowl on aggregate (66-31).
On the 6th of July, in celebration of American Independence Day (4th of July), the Celts won the Jack Daniels Summer Bowl in Dublin, a four team Tournament played with a rolling clock and four 20 minute quarters. The Celts defeated Coleraine Chieftains in the Semi-Finals and Belfast Blitzers in the Final.
The Celts played the Belfast Blitzers in the All-Ireland Championship Final on August 16th 1986, losing 0-7, and the Blitzers won the League also but a post-season Bowl game was arranged for the first week in October which the Blitzers declined to take part in as they considered themselves already Champions.
The Dublin Celts lost this game, the first ever Shamrock Bowl, 2-6 to the Craigavon Cowboys.
Note: For the Standings (as is currently known by Eirball) for the 1986 season please see below the References Section.
Logo references
[36] Dublin Celts American Football Team Facebook Page (2016) Photo by Joseph Greene August 28, 2016 [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1421158977901127&set=gm.269427200117075&type=3&theater&ifg=1 [Accessed 3 July 2018]
REFERENCES
[1] Miriam Lord (1986) “Crunch: but could they handle Moss Keane?” Irish Independent. Monday, March 17, 1986. pg. 7
[2] BritballNow (2017) British and Irish sides Friendly results against foreign opposition [Internet] Available from: http://www.britballnow.co.uk/History/UKClubsForeignOppo.html [Accessed 16 November 2017]
[3] James Mulcahy (1986) “Savage Celts” Irish Independent. Thursday, March 27, 1986. pg. 9.
[4] BritballNow (2017) Newcastle Senators [Internet] Available from: http://www.britballnow.co.uk/History/Britball%20Teams/NEWCASTLESENATORS.htm [Internet] [Accessed 25 June 2021]
[5] Irish American Football League (2002) Other Events [Internet] Available from: http://americanfootball.ie/iafl/otherevents02.htm [Accessed 20 March 2018]
[6] Anon. (1986) “Cowboys into Shamrock Bowl” Belfast Telegraph. Monday, September 29, 1986. Pg. 18.
Past Copies of the Belfast Telegraph are available to view online at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/
[7] Anon. (1986) “American Football comes to Dublin” Irish Press. Wednesday, November 12, 1986. Pg. 11. [Past Copies of the Irish Press are available to view online at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ ]
[8] Anon. (1986) “Today’s sport” Irish Press. Wednesday, Friday, November 28, 1986. pg. 22 [Past Copies of the Irish Press are available to view online at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ ]
[9] Anon. (1986) “Marlboro on the march” Irish Press. Wednesday, Friday, November 28, 1986. pg. 17 [Past Copies of the Irish Press are available to view online at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/ ]
[10] Sean Moloney (1986) “Shamrocks from USA are playing to win” Evening Herald. Saturday, November 29, 1986. pg. 6.
WEBSITES
[11] Britball Now (2016) History of the Game in Ireland [Internet] Available from: http://www.britballnow.co.uk/history-index/ireland/history-of-the-game-in.html [Accessed 02 October 2016]
[12] Britball Now (2008) UK Clubs Against Foreign Opposition [Internet] Available from: http://www.britballnow.co.uk/History/UKClubsForeignOppo.html [Accessed 16 November 2008]
[13] Semi-Pro Football (2017) Eastern Football League Champions [Internet] Available from: http://www.semiprofootball.org/minor/champs/eastfl.htm [Accessed 16 November 2017]
SOURCES
[14] Kevin Sharkey (2020) “The Dublin Celts” Word Document shared by John Gunning on Facebook Messenger with permission.
References
[1] Anon (1986) “Crunch: but could they handle Moss Keane?” Irish Independent. Monday, March 17, 1986. pg. 7
Past copies of the Irish Independent are available to view online at: https://www.irishnewsarchive.com/
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¬if_id=1568031304420635¬if_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]
SOCIAL MEDIA
[1] 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]
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to Kevin Sharkey (Dublin Celts, Dublin Lightning and North Kildare Reapers)
ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT
Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the
Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive
Last Updated: 4 January 2023
(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2020-2023
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.