World Footy News

This weekend will see the year's first 18-a-side clash for the England Dragonslayers, when the reigning EU Cup champions run onto the pitch at Albert Road, home of the North London Lions. Their opposition? Fronting up in the emerald green will be the Irish Exiles, a side of the best Irishmen playing the game in England.

Sussex Swans captain Ronan Moran is fronting the team, with players drawn from Sussex, Birmingham and Southampton in the ARUK National League, the West London Wildcats in the AFL London, and the Edinburgh Bloods up in Scotland.

WorldFootyNews.com spoke with Moran and ARFLI president Ciaran O'Hara about the Exiles, their plans and their significance for Irishmen playing Aussie Rules around the globe.

Moran moved from Dublin to Brighton last year to study Pharmacy. Moran says "I did'nt start playing Aussie Rules until I moved to Brighton, when myself and a number of my Irish teamates were introduced to the Sussex Swans, and then competed in the Southern Walkabout League."

"I had been to Australia at the age of 16 and had been at a number of AFL games. At the time my brother was playing international rules for the Irish under 18s squad, so to visit the GABBA, the MCG, the Telstra Dome and the Subiaco Oval was a great experience."

"When I was in University in Dublin, a mate of mine had a footy so we always used to go kicking, but it wasnt until I joined the Swans that I began playing competitively. It was a great experience to win the Titanic Cup on my debut and to take over the captaincy later on in the same season."

"So far, the exiles team consists of players from the West London Wildcats, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Southampton and of course the Sussex Swans. Brian Clarke has undertaken the task of putting the squad together and I must say he's doing a great job at handling what must be a very difficult task, as many of us Irish boys have never played with or against each other, although some of us are from the same club."

"I have not heard of any plans to set up a 'London Irish' club, but it certainly could happen in the future. There are a number of Irish players playing around London, and with the current economic climate in Ireland there are more and more Irish people moving to London to find work, and with many lads with backgrounds in gaelic football, I can see more and more Irish guys playing in the ARUK in the future."

ARFLI president Ciaran O'Hara has also been in contact with the Exiles, telling WorldFootyNews.com that "Aussie Rules Europe, ARUK and members of the Exiles team approached us many months back and we gave them our blessing. We have stated that this is categorically not the Irish National team, but we are in favour of any initiative which encourages the playing of Australian Football by Irish Nationals."

"We have also let them know that in the event players are of a high enough standard and are interested in doing so, we will consider players on the Exiles team for selection on future Irish Warriors squads. It is our intention to attend the Anzac Sports Challenge annually and we will be able to assess some of these players over the course of the tournament."

"We have not had any contact with other Irish clubs such as the Vancouver Harps, but again we are delighted to see them involved in Australian Football. We would be glad to hear from Irish Players anywhere in the world, we hope that those who get to play for the Irish Warriors are genuinely the strongest Irish players out there, so if we hear from Coaches or directly from players about a talented Irish player we want to know so that we can consider them for selection and include them in our player base."

"Equally we hope that all Irish players playing in overseas leagues - be it in Britain, Canada, USA or Australia choose to continue in the sport with one of our clubs when they return home to Ireland."

On October 3rd, the same day the Irish Warriors are playing a test match in Dublin, the Irish Exiles will be traveling to Zagreb to wear the green at the EU Cup. As Moran explains, "Our coach at the Sussex Swans at the time, Mr Ian Minns, thought it would be a good idea to enter a squad in Croatia, and with the support of Ciaran, Brian and Phil (Porublev) the green light to enter was given. Some of the guys playing on Saturday have already confirmed their availability to play in Croatia and hopefully one or two more will confirm this week. There will be a small number also traveling from Ireland.

The Irish Exiles concept has a long history in British sport, with the London Irish rugby club having been founded more than 110 years ago, and whilst we don't have exact figures in front of us, anecdotal evidence suggests that besides the Australians, the nationality most widely represented playing Aussie Rules outside Australia are the Irish.

On Canada's west coast, the Vancouver Harps this year even entered a stand-alone team in the BCAFL, and WFN has recently fielded a few stories about an Irish women's footy club playing in the Sydney Women's AFL under the name Bondi Shamrocks, and a Melbourne Irish club under discussion in the VAFA.