{"id":581151,"date":"2026-08-03T03:08:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T03:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/581151\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T03:08:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T03:08:18","slug":"carnival-like-atmosphere-as-first-australia-ireland-aflw-game-proves-a-winner-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/581151\/","title":{"rendered":"Carnival-like atmosphere as first Australia-Ireland AFLW game proves a winner \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australia<\/a>\u2019s historic AFLW<\/a> match against Ireland started with a dance party and ended with a chorus of \u201cAussie, Aussie, Aussie\u201d.<\/p>\n

On a chilly Saturday afternoon, 9,000 footy fans packed out North Sydney Oval to witness the first international women\u2019s Australian rules game, and there was a carnival-like mood in the air.<\/p>\n

The event was a joyous acknowledgment of how Irish players have shaped women\u2019s footy, and a testament to cross-cultural connections. Forty-six Irish players are on current AFLW lists, and nine have earned All-Australian blazers.<\/p>\n

The move from Gaelic football to Australian rules is a natural one with long-standing ties. Since the 1980s, men have faced each other in matches under hybrid rules. But never the women, and the time was ripe ahead of the AFLW\u2019s 11th season, which starts next week.<\/p>\n

Spectators flocked to be a part of the momentous occasion with grand costumes and buckets of gusto. One man wandered the crowd in full Geelong kit, complemented by a green cape and matching mask. Others carried blow-up boxing kangaroos and decorated their hair in green and gold ribbons. There was more than one Tricolour balaclava, in a homage to Belfast rap trio Kneecap<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Twenty minutes before the initial siren sounded, dozens of supporters made up of families and friends spilled on to the ground in anticipation of the teams emerging from the rooms. The Irish crew brought the energy, wrapped in massive flags and waving their arms in the air in delight, they danced and chanted and cheered to the backing of a live didgeridoo and Irish folk music.<\/p>\n

When the Irish women eventually ran on to the historic old oval to bursts of flames and smoke, Dropkick Murphys\u2019 Fields of Athenry playing in the background, the crowd lost their minds.<\/p>\n

\"MoreMore than 9,000 spectators turned out to see club team-mates turned rivals at North Sydney Oval. Photograph: Darrian Traynor\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Elaine and Patrick Fitzpatrick were among them, having made the journey all the way from Ireland to watch their daughter, Carlton player Erone Fitzpatrick, take to the field. They had custom-made Irish jerseys with her name on the back, which they were wearing with pride alongside her extended fan group.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Australia defeat Ireland in first international AFLW clashOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cThe atmosphere is unbelievable,\u201d Elaine said. \u201cThis is our fourth time over here, but it\u2019s the first time this has ever happened … It\u2019s amazing. And we\u2019re always made to feel so welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

For many, this was a chance to connect with a significant diaspora of Irish Australians. The latest census data shows more than 22,000 people living in greater Sydney were born in Ireland, and 401,000 have Irish ancestry.<\/p>\n

Lisa O\u2019Neill travelled from Melbourne with her friend, Patrick Kavenagh, to get behind her home country. She migrated to Australia from Galway three years ago, and played Gaelic football in college with some of the Irish AFLW players.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really hope Ireland win, they\u2019re our best players,\u201d O\u2019Neill said, wrapped in an Irish flag. \u201cUp Ireland!\u201d But Kavenagh, a regional Victorian, predicted Australia would win \u201cby a landslide\u201d. \u201cEither way, it\u2019s such a historic event,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Kavenagh was on the money. Australia took an early lead and maintained it all the way, but Irish supporters weren\u2019t deterred, continuing to chant and sing with abandon. The home fans were more muted, but it was hard to top their rivals\u2019 enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

Orla O\u2019Dwyer, who has played 82 games for the Lions since debuting in 2020, led Ireland\u2019s team, which included Brisbane premiership star Jen Dunne, North Melbourne team-mates Vikki Wall and Erika O\u2019Shea, who made the move to Australia before she turned 20, and Carlton\u2019s All-Australian winger Dayna Finn.<\/p>\n

\"NiamhNiamh Martin and \u00c1ine McDonagh of Ireland at the match at North Sydney Oval on Saturday. Photograph: James Wiltshire\/AFL Photos via Getty Images <\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s squad included two-time Kangaroos premiership team-mates Ash Riddell and Jasmine Garner, who captained the side, Adelaide\u2019s reigning league best and fairest Ebony Marinoff, and Melbourne captain Kate Hore.<\/p>\n

As is often the case at women\u2019s sporting events, there was no sense of animosity in the crowd. This was a family-friendly affair, and while it\u2019s a cliche, the winner was the game itself.<\/p>\n

Daniel Pascoe-Thomas said there was a \u201cdifferent type of crowd\u201d at AFLW games. He was attending the match with his partner, Jessa Smith, who was decked out in a full Irish kit. Her nan was the first in her generation to migrate to Australia, and she was backing Ireland for her.<\/p>\n

Pascoe-Thomas said he was \u201csupporting footy\u201d. \u201cI\u2019ve been more excited about this game than any other game,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been going to Henson Park, Blacktown, and just seeing it grow, seeing the turnout, it\u2019s amazing. It\u2019s a different type of crowd as well, which I love, there\u2019s nothing quite like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the final siren sounded, with Australia 50 points ahead, Down Under blasted on the loudspeaker and Australians fell back on an old faithful: Cheers of \u201cAussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi.\u201d The players shook hands and fans slowly filtered out into the night, Irish and Australian flags proudly waving side by side. \u2013 Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s historic AFLW match against Ireland started with a dance party and ended with a chorus of \u201cAussie,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581152,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[91291,986,61,60,10366,43],"class_list":["post-581151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-aflw","tag-australia","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-kneecap","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}