# Irish experiment (Australian rules football)

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. 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. Despite its initial success, enthusiasm for the project lapsed until the 2000s, when it again became ongoing, reaching a record level due to globalisation and professionalism in sport; however, it also faced significant challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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 and Australia. 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.

## History

One of the first gaelic footballers to convert to Australian rules was Eugene King, who arrived in Australia in 1956 and was invited to train with the Footscray Football Club however he had difficulty with the shape of the ball and did not make the grade.

### Australian Football World Tour

In 1967, Harry Beitzel drew inspiration from watching the 1966 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final on television and formed an Australian side, nicknamed "The Galahs", to play the game against an Irish side. The next year he organised The Australian Football World Tour, a six-match series with games played against Irish teams in Ireland, the United Kingdom and United States of America. What followed was the beginning of regular interaction between the two codes which was to become the hybrid code of International Rules Football.

### Beginnings of the Irish Experiment

Ron Barassi, drawing comparisons between Australian rules football and Gaelic football was of the opinion that Gaelic Footballers could provide a previously untapped pool of potential Australian Rules players. At the time, Australian Rules was, with the introduction of the Sydney Swans, increasing its national focus and emerging from a semi-professional sport to a fully professional one. As a result, wealthy Victorian clubs were scouting the country far and wide for new talent to gain an advantage in the sport's premier competition. In 1982, Barassi (then the Melbourne VFL club coach) and his recruiting team (including Melbourne's Barry Richardson) travelled to Ireland, looking for young, tall, and talented players.
The first recruit was Sean Wight. Wight was part of an Under-19 VFL premiership side just weeks after his arrival from Ireland in 1983 and was widely hailed for his rapid conversion, though others who joined him had much less success. Further advertising resulted in the recruitment of a "tall, skinny lad", Jim Stynes. Both Wight and Stynes, still very much learning the game, played together in the club's 1987 night premiership. While Stynes captured the Melbourne reserves best and fairest that year, he also involved in an embarrassing event which cast doubts on the Irish experiment. His lack of understanding of the rules arguably cost Melbourne a berth in the 1987 VFL Grand Final. The infamous Preliminary Final incident in which he ran over the mark before the siren made him and the Irish experiment the focus of Melbourne media. The mistake awarded Hawthorn's Gary Buckenara a 15-metre penalty which resulted in a winning goal to qualify for the Grand Final. Despite the setback, Stynes and Wight were both to improve in the following seasons and become regular senior players.
Wight and Stynes both featured in the 1988 VFL Grand Final. However, despite high expectations, Melbourne was convincingly thrashed by Hawthorn, then the dominant club of the era. However, Stynes was voted best on field for the Demons.
At the end of the 1988 season, Victoria Football Association (VFA) club Prahran enticed Dermot McNicholl, who had starred in two previous International rules series, to move to Melbourne. Two weeks later, St Kilda drafted him with the 99th selection in the 1988 VFL draft. In the same draft, Melbourne recruited two more Irish players, Jim Stynes' brother Brian and Tom Grehan. McNicholl spent the 1989 season playing for Prahran, before injury forced him to miss the first half of the 1990 season, after which he recovered and made his senior debut for St Kilda. He played three senior games before returning to Ireland to complete his university studies.
A much-improved Jim Stynes won the Brownlow Medal in 1991, cementing his place as a future Melbourne and AFL Hall of Famer. However, the rare successes were increasingly seen as "one-offs", and other clubs showed little enthusiasm with the "hit-and-miss" strategy. Melbourne, the trailblazer club, was not translating recruitment into on-field success and was fast losing financial resources that were required to sustain international recruitment. As a result, only a few AFL clubs recruited Gaelic footballers who played at the highest level in the 1990s. It was later Stynes' post-playing career as Melbourne president that helped the club eliminate A$5 million in debt in two years, leaving the club A$400,000 in surplus. The Demons had been in debt for thirty years.
Despite the Melbourne Football Club's enthusiasm for the Irish experiment and early success with some Irish players, the majority of players from the Irish Experiment did not fare as well. Most failed to meet expectations, not make VFL level, and many instead returned home to Ireland. Even the recruitment of Jim Stynes' brother Brian yielded just a handful of unimpressive senior games, and McNicholl returned home after only 3 matches.
With the increasing professionalism of the AFL competition, some clubs continued to speculate about the overseas talent pool. Kevin Sheedy in particular conducted a series of his own experiments with overseas players from various sporting backgrounds but did not include Ireland or Gaelic football. Despite generating media publicity, none of these experiments were ultimately successful, and increasingly sections of the Australian media began to mock the idea of international recruitment.

### 2000s revival

The Irish experiment lay dormant for many years until Melbourne once again began to take an interest in it. The Sydney Swans followed with the recruitment of Tadhg Kennelly through its rookie list. Kennelly was an almost overnight success, being nominated for the AFL Rising Star award in his first season and widely hailed by the media. As a result, other clubs began to show a much keener interest in Irish talent.
With access to additional resources, AFL clubs began to spend more time and effort in identifying and training athletic and talented rookies. Collingwood, Carlton and Brisbane in particular began to show an interest and held scouting sessions and tryouts for Irish players.
Carlton soon followed, and its experiments with Setanta and Aisake Ó hAilpín began to bear fruit and attract significant media interest in both Australia and Ireland. These experiments were of particular note, as for the first time a club was looking to other sports than Gaelic football, by identifying talented hurling athletes with the right ingredients to become AFL players.
With Gaelic footballer Colm Begley's rapid conversion at Brisbane and Martin Clarke's successful AFL debut, media commentators hailed a new era for the Irish experiment. During the 2007 AFL season, several AFL clubs began sending talent scouts to Ireland.
In March 2008, it was revealed by the media that the AFL had considered a radical proposal to launch an Irish-dominated team in Sydney's western suburbs, which would perform before an international audience under the Celtic brand name. The "Sydney Celtics" plan was first put to AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou in early 2007 by Gaelic Players Association executive Donal O'Neill. It was said that the proposal originated at the International Rules Series in Ireland in late 2006, where O'Neill put forward a plan to purchase an AFL licence in Sydney. However, the AFL later dismissed it as simple speculation.
By mid-2008, the interest of clubs reached a peak, and Tadhg Kennelly and Jim Stynes spoke out about the increasing recruitment activity. AFL player manager Ricky Nixon set up recruitment networks in Ireland to complement those already in place by clubs such as Collingwood, Carlton and Brisbane. Nickey Brennan, the GAA boss, spoke out against the recruitment activity in June 2008. The AFL and GAA had ongoing discussions about putting limits on the recruitment of players.
Despite the rise of former hurler Setanta Ó hAilpín in the AFL, recruitment interest in Ireland began to wane in mid-2010. Several Irish players cancelled their rookie contracts to return home; others were delisted after brief bouts in the various state leagues.

### 2010–2015: AFL turns to other sources of talent

With a media circus surrounding the conversion of professional Australian rugby league players Karmichael Hunt to the Gold Coast Football Club and Israel Folau to the Greater Western Sydney Giants, focus began to shift to other sports, particularly rugby football as a potential source of talent. With the success of Canadian rugby union player Mike Pyke's conversion and many other players transitioning at the junior level, the AFL and commentators began to speculate that professional rugby league players might make an easier transition to the AFL due to coming from a heavy-contact professional sport involving an oval ball. The transition of two highly publicised rugby league players has since proved to be of little success, and the cross-code focus of AFL recruiters has returned to the GAA and expanded to include American professional sportsmen.
In particular, the first AFL International Combine was held in the United States targeting college basketballers and college footballers was particularly successful, eventually producing such AFL-listed Americans as Eric Wallace, Jason Holmes and Mason Cox.

### Revival and European Combine 2015–2020

In 2015, the AFL appointed Tadhg Kennelly, a former player for the Sydney Swans, as its International Talent Manager; and, in addition to the US Combine, Kennelly organised a special European Combine to be held in Dublin. As expected, the large proportion of the turn-out were Gaelic footballers. The two best-performing participants at the combine are then given the opportunity to attend the AFL National Combine. Sean Hurley, Paddy Brophy, Daniel Flynn, Ciarán Byrne, Ciarán Sheehan and Cian Hanley are some notable people who have previously attended the combine.
In 2018, the Irish contingent in the AFL consisted of five senior-listed players and six rookie-listed players.
The 2020 AFL Grand Final featured two players: Zach Tuohy and Mark O'Connor. Both were playing for Geelong but the team lost the game to Richmond.

### Damage inflicted by the 2020 Conor McKenna coverage

On 20 June 2020, Conor McKenna of Essendon tested positive for the highly infectious novel coronavirus disease COVID-19. This resulted in the postponement of the match scheduled for the following day between Essendon and Melbourne. One other player was quarantined due to close contact during training. McKenna had another COVID-19 test on 22 June which was confirmed as negative in the evening of 23 June. He remained in quarantine pending a further test later in the week. During this time McKenna was subjected to an intense trial by media, abuse on social media and became a public villain in the country, treatment which provoked much criticism. On 8 September 2020, McKenna announced his retirement and return to Ireland after 79 games played. Geelong footballer Zach Tuohy described the official and media abuse directed at McKenna as "disgraceful" and "outrageous". In Ireland, it was also suggested "stars of the future that may being [sic] tempted to pursue a life in the AFL Down Under, may reconsider".

## List of Irish sportsmen linked with the VFL/AFL

This list includes any player who at minimum (regardless of whether he ever went to Australia or played actual VFL/AFL matches) meets any one of the following criteria:
    a) brought to Australia by an AFL club
    b) spent time training with an AFL club
    c) played in an AFL club's affiliated state league club or AFL practice match
    d) offered an AFL contract by a club
    e) listed on an AFL rookie or senior list

### Notable players

The following players from the Irish experiment have either played a VFL/AFL game, or are currently on an AFL list.
| * | The first Irish experiment player associated with that club |
| † | Currently on an AFL senior list |
| ‡ | Currently on an AFL rookie list |
* Currently on an AFL senior list
| Year linked with AFL | Player | GAA | Initial VFL/AFL club | Draft status | VFL/AFL debut | VFL/AFL matches | Notes |
| 1982 | Sean Wight | Kerry | Melbourne* | Rookie | 1985 | 150 | Melbourne's first Irish recruit. Had a serviceable career at Melbourne. |
| 1983 | Paul Earley | Roscommon | Melbourne | | 1984 | 1 | Returned to Ireland. |
| 1984 | Jim Stynes | Dublin | Melbourne | Rookie | 1987 | 264 | Won the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship with Dublin before joining Melbourne and winning the Brownlow Medal in 1991. Inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2003. Still holds the AFL record for consecutive games played. The Jim Stynes Medal, the Australian Player of the Series award in the International Rules Series, is named after him. He was honored with a state funeral in Melbourne when he died in 2012. |
| 1987 | Dermot McNicholl | Derry | St Kilda* | 1988 National draft (Pick 99) | 1990 | 3 | St Kilda's first Irish player returned to Ireland in 1990 because his university refused to let him defer his course any longer. |
| 1990 | Brian Stynes | Dublin | Melbourne | Rookie | 1992 | 2 | Younger brother of Jim Stynes. |
| 1999 | Tadhg Kennelly | Kerry | Sydney* | 1999 AFL draft (rookie) | 2001 | 197 | Sydney's first Irish player was also the first to win an AFL premiership medallion (in 2005 – the Swans' first Premiership in 72 years) and his much-celebrated AFL career led to renewed interest in Irish recruitment. Took a sabbatical from AFL in a bid to win the 2009 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final with Kerry (his father Tim had won five All-Irelands with Kerry), which he did before returning to Australia and rejoining the Swans in 2010. Also won the 2011 GAA Medal for being Irish Player of the Series in the International Rules Series. He is the first player to have won both the All-Ireland Senior Football Final and the AFL Grand Final. |
| 2004 | Setanta Ó hAilpín | Cork | Carlton | 2004 rookie draft | 2005 | 88 | Better known as a hurler Shifted to Greater Western Sydney in 2012. |
| 2006 | Colm Begley | Laois | Brisbane | 2006 AFL draft (rookie) | 2006 | 30 | Brisbane's first Irish player made a rapid conversion which stunned the Australian media. Played his first AFL game just weeks after his arrival in Australia, however was eventually delisted by Brisbane but given a second chance by St Kilda Decided to return to Ireland after the 2009 AFL season and was delisted. |
| 2006 | Martin Clarke | Down | Collingwood | 2006 rookie draft | 2007 | 73 | Clarke was Collingwood's first Irish recruit, and was very successful upon debut in 2007. He returned to play Gaelic football for Down in 2010, and returned to play Australian football for Collingwood in 2012. |
| 2007 | Pearce Hanley | Mayo | Brisbane | 2007 rookie draft | 2008 | 169 | Promoted to Brisbane's senior list for 2010. Joined Gold Coast for the 2017 season. |
| 2008 | Michael Quinn | Longford | Essendon* | 2008 AFL draft (rookie) | 2009 | 8 | Essendon's first Irish AFL player Played in the 2009 NAB Cup and debuted in Round 2, 2009 for Essendon. On debut took the record from Martin Clarke for the quickest time to convert between codes. |
| 2008 | Zach Tuohy | Laois | Carlton | 2009 AFL draft (rookie) | 2011 | 270 | Made his senior debut in 2011. Has enjoyed as successful career including a premiership in 2022. |
| 2008 | Niall McKeever | Antrim | Brisbane | 2009 AFL draft (rookie) | 2011 | 22 | Trained with Richmond's senior squad in Melbourne. Was also linked to North Melbourne before signing a rookie contract with the Brisbane Lions. |
| 2008 | Tommy Walsh | Kerry | St Kilda | 2009 AFL draft (rookie) | 2012 | 5 | A high-profile talent and who after several offers accepted an invitation to train with St Kilda in Melbourne but withdrew, leaving open the possibility of a future contract with an AFL club. Finally agreed to sign for St Kilda in 2009 but didn't play a game. In 2012 he signed with Sydney. In 2014, he decided to return to Ireland. |
| 2009 | Jamie O'Reilly | Down | Richmond* | 2009 AFL draft (rookie) | 2010 | 4 | Richmond's first Irish signing. Delisted in 2011 |
| 2011 | Caolan Mooney | Down | Collingwood* | 2012 Rookie draft | 2012 | 6 | |
| 2013 | Ciarán Sheehan | Cork | Carlton* | 2014 Rookie draft | 2013 | 6 | The second player to have played for both GAA and AFL teams to win the GAA Medal as Irish Player of the Series in the International Rules Series (2013). Delisted at the end of the 2017 season. |
| 2013 | Ciarán Byrne | Louth | Carlton* | 2014 Rookie draft | 2014 | 22 | Left at the end of the 2018 season to return to Ireland. |
| 2014 | Conor McKenna ‡ | Tyrone | Essendon* | International rookie | 2015 | 123 | Left following negative media coverage of his COVID-19 diagnosis, a test which could not be replicated two days later. McKenna immediately resumed his Gaelic football career with Tyrone. He would go on to win the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship for Tyrone in 2021 before coming back to Australia to play for the Brisbane Lions in 2023 which lead to him being a part of Brisbane's winning Grand Final team in 2024, becoming only the second player to win both an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and an AFL premiership after Tadhg Kennelly. |
| 2015 | Conor Glass | Derry | Hawthorn* | International rookie | 2017 | 21 | First Irishman to play for Hawthorn. Announced decision to depart in September 2020. Resumed his Gaelic football career. |
| 2015 | Colin O'Riordan* | Tipperary | Sydney | International rookie | 2018 | 29 |
| 2016 | Mark O'Connor † | Kerry | Geelong | International rookie | 2017 | 109 | Became the second player alongside Zach Tuohy to win an AFL premiership in 2022. |
| 2016 | Conor Nash † | Meath | Hawthorn | International rookie | 2018 | 73 | Rugby union convert (represented Ireland in junior rugby union) |
| 2016 | Darragh Joyce ‡ | Kilkenny | St Kilda | International rookie | 2018 | 5 | Former hurler |
| 2018 | James Madden † | Dublin | Brisbane | International rookie | 2021 | 13 | |
| 2018 | Mark Keane ‡ | Cork | Collingwood | International rookie | 2019 | 20 | Declared homesickness as a reason to terminate contract and remain in Ireland. Returned to the AFL signing with Adelaide prior to the 2023 AFL season. |
| 2018 | Anton Tohill | Derry | Collingwood | International rookie | 2019 | 1 | Turned down a one-year extension in 2021 and returned to Ireland to pursue a medical degree |
| 2018 | Callum Brown † | Derry | Greater Western Sydney | International rookie | 2021 | 37 | |
| 2021 | Oisín Mullin ‡ | Mayo | Geelong | International rookie | 2023 | 11 | |
| 2023 | Matt Duffy ‡ | Dromard | Carlton | International rookie | – | – | Ruptured anterior cruciate ligament after signing with Carlton. Expected to be in Australia for the 2025 AFL season. |
| 2023 | Rob Monahan ‡ | Kerry | Carlton | International rookie | – | – | |
| 2023 | Liam O'Connell ‡ | Cork | St Kilda | International rookie | – | – | |
| 2024 | Karl Gallagher ‡ | Monaghan | Adelaide | International rookie | – | – | |

### Other

The following players have been connected with a VFL/AFL club, but never played a senior game.
| Year linked with AFL | Player | GAA | Initial VFL/AFL club | Notes |
| 1956 | Eugene King | | Footscray | |
| 1983 | Glenn Earley | | Melbourne | Was not successful. Returned to Ireland. |
| 1985 | James Fahy | Dublin | Melbourne | |
| 1988 | Tom Grehan | Roscommon | Melbourne | |
| 1989 | Niall Buckley | Kildare | Melbourne | |
| 1989 | Colin Corkery | Cork | Carlton* | |
| 1989 | Colm McManamon | Mayo | Geelong* | |
| 1990 | Anthony Tohill | Derry | Melbourne | Broke his leg playing Aussie Rules and returned to Ireland in 1991. |
| 2001 | Kevin Devine | Dublin | Melbourne | |
| 2001 | Bernie Collins | Cork | Western Bulldogs | |
| 2002 | Nicholas Walsh | Cavan | Melbourne | |
| 2002 | Declan O'Mahoney | Dublin | Sydney | |
| 2004 | Aisake Ó hAilpín | Cork | Carlton | Brother of Setanta, and better known as a hurler. He returned to Ireland in 2009, then returned to Melbourne in 2011, where he played suburban club football. |
| 2005 | Seán Cavanagh | Tyrone | Brisbane | |
| 2005 | Brendan Quigley | Laois | Brisbane | |
| 2006 | Cathal Corr | | St Kilda | Played for Coburg Tigers in the VFL. |
| 2007 | Brendan Murphy | Carlow | Sydney | Decided to return to Ireland after injuries hindered his attempt to adapt to the new code. |
| 2007 | Kevin Dyas | Armagh | Collingwood | |
| 2007 | Michael Shields | Cork | Carlton | |
| 2007 | Conor Meredith | Laois | North Melbourne | |
| 2008 | Kyle Coney | Tyrone | Sydney | |
| 2008 | Brian Donnelly | Louth | Adelaide | |
| 2008 | Ian Ryan | Limerick | Essendon | |
| 2008 | Carl Dias | Dublin | Adelaide | Trialled in Australia by Adelaide but not offered a rookie contract |
| 2008 | Chrissy McKaigue | Derry | Sydney | Hurler and footballer offered a rookie contract. Trialled in Australia by Sydney. Signed a rookie contract in September 2009. |
| 2008 | James Kielt | Derry | St Kilda | Trained with both St Kilda and North Melbourne. |
| 2009 | David Moran | Kerry | St Kilda | |
| 2009 | Ger Cafferkey | Mayo | St Kilda | |
| 2009 | Paul Cribbin | Kildare | Collingwood | Agreed to join the club in 2010 |
| 2009 | Sean O'Kennedy | Donegal | Collingwood | |
| 2009 | James McCarthy | Dublin | North Melbourne | |
| 2009 | Barry Reilly | Cavan | North Melbourne | |
| 2010 | Paul Cribbin | Kildare | Collingwood Football Club | |
| 2011 | John Heslin | Westmeath | Richmond | Returned home, citing homesickness as his reason to pursue a GAA career |
| 2012 | Ciarán Kilkenny | Dublin | Hawthorn | Decided for personal reasons to remain in Ireland where he wished to pursue a career with Castleknock and Dublin. |
| 2014 | Daniel Flynn | Kildare | Port Adelaide | Returned home citing homesickness |
| 2014 | Padraig Lucey | Killarney | Geelong | |
| 2014 | Cian Hanley | Mayo | Brisbane Lions | Brother of Pearce Hanley |
| 2015 | Sean Hurley | Kildare | Fremantle | |
| 2015 | Paddy Brophy | Kildare | West Coast Eagles | |
| 2016 | Ray Connellan | Westmeath | St Kilda | Delisted at the end of the 2018 season, then played half a season for Essendon in the VFL |
| 2017 | Cillian McDaid | Galway | Carlton | Left at the end of the 2018 season to return to Ireland |
| 2018 | Red Óg Murphy | Sligo | North Melbourne | Left at the end of the 2019 season to return to Ireland |
| 2018 | Stefan Okunbor | Kerry | Geelong | Contract ended in 2021, returned to play for Kerry. |
| 2019 | Luke Towey | Sligo | Gold Coast | |
| 2019 | Cian McBride | Meath | Essendon | Delisted |
| 2019 | Ross McQuillan | Armagh | Essendon | Prevented by the COVID-19 pandemic from playing in cancelled reserve competition while there. |
| 2020 | Deividas Uosis | Dingle | Brisbane | Rookied but not offered a senior contract, delisted 2022 |
| 2021 | Ultan Kelm | Fermanagh | Fremantle | Hip injury delayed rookie listing until 2022 |
| 2021 | Fionn O'Hara | Westmeath | Hawthorn | Learning his craft at Box Hill Hawks |

## AFLW

As of 2018/2019 the AFLW was actively recruiting ladies Gaelic footballers primarily due to the success of Laura Duryea who originally found success in the sport while travelling in Australia, and recent increase in the success rate of the men's programs.