Irish national Australian rules football team
- Irish national Australian rules football team
The Irish national Australian rules football team represent Ireland in Australian rules football.
The team is notable as previously being crowned international champions in 2002 and is selected from the best Irish born players from the clubs of the Irish Australian Rules Football League.
Identity
The team was first nicknamed "Fianna na hÉireann" (Irish for "Fianna of Ireland") after a band of heroic warriors in Irish mythology. In 2005, it was renamed the "Green Machine". The team wears a green (one of the national colours of Ireland) guernsey with a Celtic strip featuring the Irish harp symbol.
History
The Irish team won the Atlantic Alliance Cup in 2001 to become the northern hemisphere champions.
In the following year, the team participated in the inaugural Australian Football International Cup and finished first, leaving the competition as international champions. The team benefitted from the availability of several Gaelic football players.
In 2005, Ireland finished 4th. An increasingly competitive New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the United States of America finished ahead of Ireland and the team suffered from injury and the Gaelic Athletic Association discouraging the use of Gaelic players.
The Green Machine's best and fairest player (from the 2005 International Cup) is Mike Finn.
Recently the national team played a curtain raiser at the West Coast Eagles vs Fremantle exhibition match at the Oval in London where they beat the British Bulldogs.
The Warriors finished 4th again at the 2008 Australian Football International Cup and the best and fairest player was once again Mike Finn. 3 Irish players were selected in the All-International team.
ee also
*Australian rules football in Ireland
*ARFLI
External links
* [http://www.irishwarriors.net Official website of the Irish Warriors national team]
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2010.
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