Irish experiment (Australian rules football)

Jim Stynes immortalised in bronze at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Became the first non-Australian born player to win the prestigious Brownlow Medal in 1991. With 264 AFL games, he has the record for the most of any Irishman. He represented both Australia and Ireland on several occasions.
Zach Tuohy, has played more than 250 AFL games, won an AFL premiership and represented Ireland 4 times.
Tadhg Kennelly became the first Irish AFL premiership player in 2005 and represented Ireland 6 times.
Pearce Hanley played 169 AFL games and represented Ireland twice.
Setanta Ó hAilpín went against the Gaelic Football trend and made a successful conversion from Hurling.
Laura Duryea, the first player to represent Ireland in Australian rules and play in a top-level Australian competition (AFLW), has three Australian Football International Cup Grand Final appearances and two medals.

The Irish Experiment is the popular name for the interest, primarily from VFL/AFL clubs, in bringing Irish sportspeople, particularly Gaelic footballers, to Australia to play Australian rules football professionally.[1][2] The AFL's focus on Gaelic footballers is due to the similarities between the sports.

The Irish Experiment began in the mid-1980s as an informal project of the Melbourne Football Club.[3] Despite its initial success, enthusiasm for the project lapsed until the 2000s, when it again became ongoing,[4][5][6][7] reaching a record level due to globalisation and professionalism in sport; however, it also faced significant challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]

The highest-profile product of the experiment to date has been Medal of the Order of Australia and 1991 Brownlow Medal recipient Jim Stynes, who was an early recruit in 1984, during his highly successful career he played more AFL games than any other Irish player. Tadhg Kennelly was the first to win a premiership in 2005.

Over the years, the Irish experiment has attracted media and public interest in both Ireland[4][9][10][11][12] and Australia.[13] As of 2022, five men recruited from Ireland reached 100 AFL games, though the majority have returned having experienced minimal success in Australia. Since 2018 Irish women have become a major source of talent for the professional AFL Women's competition, with almost an entire team's worth of players participating in the 2020 season. To date, a handful of these recruits have experienced accolades, including first premiership player Ailish Considine, first Irish All-Australian Orla O'Dwyer and notable goalkicker Cora Staunton.

  1. ^ Schetzer, Alana (21 September 2018). "Ireland's 'Emerald armada' set to take the AFLW by storm". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  2. ^ Boyle, Donnchadh (22 September 2022). "How a 1982 Irish newspaper ad spawned AFL's 40-year fascination with bringing Gaelic footballing talent to Oz". Irish Independent.
  3. ^ "150th Memories – The Irish Experiment". Melbourne Football Club. 1 January 2008. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2008.
  4. ^ a b "Begley warns Aussies are watching". GAA. 3 January 2006. Archived from the original on 25 April 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2009.
  5. ^ Murphy, Catherine (14 October 2008). "Blues persist with Irish experiment". AFL Media. Archived from the original on 15 October 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
  6. ^ Murphy, Catherine (11 July 2008). "Crows begin Irish experiment". AFL Media. Retrieved 3 February 2009.[dead link]
  7. ^ Broad, Ben (22 August 2008). "Cats join in the Irish experiment". AFL Media. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  8. ^ AFL’s Irish experiment faces testing time amid restricted movement Maurice Brosnan for The Guardian 19 August 2020
  9. ^ "Aussies to swoop in 'most concerted ever' trawl for Irish talent". Irish Examiner. 27 July 2007. Archived from the original on 4 December 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
  10. ^ "Brennan reveals anger at AFL scouts". RTÉ. 10 July 2008. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  11. ^ Breheny, Martin (30 October 2008). "GAA plan to curb talent flow Down Under". Irish Independent. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  12. ^ The players ensuring the ‘Irish experiment’ continues to endure as new AFL season begins from Independent.ie 15 March 2022
  13. ^ Pluck of Irish shines through in Essendon's win over Fremantle from heraldsun.com.au