Ireland’s remarkable influence on Australian women’s football will be celebrated on Saturday when an Irish representative team faces Australia in a historic international fixture at North Sydney Oval.
The inaugural NAB AFLW Australia versus Ireland match will be played entirely under Australian Football rules, rather than the hybrid format traditionally associated with the men’s International Rules series.
More than 40 Irish players are now attached to AFLW clubs, transforming what began as an occasional recruitment route into one of the most successful international talent pathways in women’s professional sport.
The strength of that contribution is reflected in Ireland’s 25-player squad, which includes nine players who have earned AFLW All-Australian recognition, five premiership winners, three club best-and-fairest winners and a club captain.
Among the leading names are Brisbane Lions premiership winners Orla O’Dwyer and Jennifer Dunne, Collingwood’s Sarah Rowe, North Melbourne trio Vikki Wall, Erika O’Shea and Blaithin Bogue, Gold Coast co-captain Niamh McLaughlin, Carlton’s Dayna Finn, and Geelong forward Aishling Moloney.
The geographical spread of the squad illustrates the national scale of the Irish contribution.
Players have emerged from LGFA clubs and county setups in Mayo, Tipperary, Donegal, Dublin, Kerry, Meath, Cork, Galway, Fermanagh, Offaly, Kildare, Laois, Leitrim and Clare before adapting their skills to a different code on the other side of the world.
The team will be coached by former Tipperary footballer Colin O’Riordan, who was appointed senior coach of the Sydney Swans AFLW team last December, becoming the first Irish-born senior coach in AFL or AFLW history.
He will be supported by two-time Brisbane Lions premiership coach Craig Starcevich, former Sydney Swans player Tadhg Kennelly, Fremantle’s Áine Tighe and Geelong assistant coach Elise Coventry.
Cora Staunton, whose move to the Greater Western Sydney Giants helped establish the pathway for many of the Irish players who followed her, is chair of selectors.
The match has also become an important commercial and promotional event for the AFLW.
NAB, the league’s premier partner, has secured naming rights to a fixture that has sold out North Sydney Oval, prompting the release of a limited number of additional tickets and the establishment of a waiting list.
Official watch parties will also take place across Sydney and Melbourne, extending the event beyond the stadium and targeting both established AFLW supporters and Australia’s significant Irish community.
The game will be shown nationally in Australia and worldwide on TNT Sport. It begins at 4.15 pm in Sydney and 7.15 am Irish time.
It is a first chance for Ireland’s AFLW stars to showcase their talent together in an Irish jersey.
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Image Credit: AFLW
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