Far from not only familiarity, but also from the roaring AFL grounds and crowds we call home in Australia, there’s a different kind of footy culture thriving.
Leeside Lions Football Club (Photo: Facebook)
You may know Australian Rules Football (AFL) to be just that, an Australian game for Australians, but internationally, in the heart of Cork, Ireland, live the Leeside Lions.
The Lions are one of four teams making up AFL Ireland, which is a growing organisation with combined leagues from all over the country, bringing the unique game that Australians know and love to international shores, building communities in the process.
Founded in 2001, the league has both a men’s and women’s division and runs during the warmer months of the year, between May and September mark
The competition is made up of four core clubs; the Leeside Lions, South Dublin Swans, Belfast Redbacks, and the Galway Magpies.
Throughout the season, teams play off against each other twice each season, one home-one away.
The team that finishes first on the ladder automatically qualifies for the grand final, whilst second and third battle it out in a preliminary final for the remaining grand final spot.
There currently European countries with their own leagues.
With the winners of each league getting the chance to play off against other countries and teams in the AFL Europe Champions League, which consists of teams of 14 playing in a one-day tournament held in a different country each year.
The standard?
“High,” says former Leeside Lion premiership player Andrew O’Neill.
“Most of the boys who play are Irish locals who have grown up playing Gaelic football, and I mean it’s pretty similar, we also had some guys who lived in Australia before, so they helped us pick it up somewhat fast, it’s very competitive.”
“The mateship and commitment the boys have when playing is great to be a part of.”
Andrew started his footballing journey back in 2022 whilst studying, playing for his university team, the Cork Institute of Technology (CIOT), and hasn’t looked back, and has since moved to Australia, continuing his journey at a local level for the Scarborough Football Club.
“At first I started playing footy with the boys for a laugh and a chance to have a beer after, but it just went crazy from there and we became very passionate.”
Not being a home-grown sport in Ireland, the game of AFL is played on Gaelic football pitches, a slightly smaller and differently shaped ground, making the game slightly different.
Andrew’s teammate at both CIOT and the Lions, James Daly, says the lack of “real” ovals doesn’t make the competition standard slip.
“AFL isn’t what it is back home […] here, we play our games on Gaelic football pitches, it’s smaller and quicker, but it’s fun and you have to work bloody hard.”
Andrew and James’ team, the Lions, have gone head-to-head with the best of the best around the continent, including the Wandsworth Demons from London, a team Andrew describes as “stacked” with experienced Australians and even some former Victorian Football League (VFL) players.
“We’ve been runners-up at the Champions League the past two years, playing against people who have played high levels in Australia, is a bit tough playing them when you have a team full of Irish boys, who have maybe 2 years’ experience max.”
For Aussies studying or living abroad or even just curious about AFL Ireland or Europe, it’s easy to get involved, James says.
“Why wouldn’t you give it a crack? it’s pretty easy to get involved, and all the teams are really welcoming, it’s pretty much the more the merrier.”
With the game growing beyond Australia, with not a lot of coverage, it’s leagues like AFL Ireland and Europe that shed a very positive light on the potential future of AFL becoming a global game.
