The 2004 IAFL season kicks off when the Cork Admirals visit the UL Vikings on Sunday 29th February. This season promises to be the best ever for Irish American football for a variety of reasons. Firstly the sport is on a high due to last season's upsurge in interest which culmulated in highlights of Shamrock Bowl XVII been screened on TV3 in Ireland and across Europe on the Sky Sports (for our US fans, Sky is the European version of Fox). This upsurge in interest has been felt at grassroots level with most clubs reporting an increase in the number of rookies joining for the 2004 season. The league is expected to have more registered players than at any time in the past 15 years. The regular inclusion of results/game reports in the Irish Times newspaper has also helped raise the profile of the sport.

SHAMROCK BOWL TROPHY

However, the main reason 2004 promises to be the best ever is that the league has more teams playing more games than have EVER been playing in Ireland. 6 teams is the most that has ever contested the kitted league championship in Ireland in the past 15 years and the 8 game regular season is the longest ever. In 2004, there will be more competitive American football games played in Ireland than ever before. The 27 scheduled games surpasses the number played even during the so-called fad days of the 1980s. Finally, as with each of the 3 previous seasons since the restructuring of the sport in 2001, the standard of play is expected to raise as teams get more competitive in their quest for to overtake the previous years champions. Now lets look at each of the individual teams (in order of last seasons standings) to see how they're shaping up for the new season.

DUBLIN REBELS

Last Season: 7-1, Shamrock Bowl XVII Champions + 2-0 in Charleroi Tournament.

Coaching Staff: Brian Dennehy and Fearghal O'Donnchu (3rd season each).

The Dublin Rebels had the best season in their history in 2003. Firstly, they travelled to Belgium in June and sucessfully defended their Charleroi Trophy title. Then, after having finished a close second in the league standings, they convincingly defeated the Cork Admirals in the semi-final and beat 2002 Champions, the Carrickfergus Knights 24-12 in a memorable Shamrock Bowl XVII, played at Suttonians RFC. The Rebels will will again have Brian Dennehy coaching offense and Fearghal O'Donnchu coaching defense. The nucleus of last years Championship team is returning for another crack at the title. The offensive backfield will feature the Dennehy brothers, Andy and Brian at quarterback and tailback respectively. Also, Runningback Marcus Naylor is expected to be back to full speed after playing injured in 2003. The offensive line is anchored by Dave Griffith and Tobias Hansson. The defense will be led by American linebacker Sean Shanahan who is quickly developing into one of the best linebackers ever to play in Ireland. Ex-British Senior League cornerback Steve Archibald and safety Travis Lawson will head up the secondary. The Rebels have recuited well during the offseason and we're bound to see some new young players emerge as the season progresses. Training camp reports suggest that the active roster could top 50 players by the start of the season.

CARRICKFERGUS KNIGHTS

Last Season: 5-2, Shamrock Bowl runners-up + 1-1 in Charleroi Tournament.

Head Coach: Mark Harris (3rd Season).

The Carrickfergus Knights are expected to be strong again this year after having topped last seasons league standings with a 5-1 record. The Knights are hoping to avenge their Shamrock Bowl defeat at the hands of the Dublin Rebels. Their May 9th and June 20th games against the Rebels are expected to determine who will be the number one seed in the play-offs. The Knights have the best passing offense in the league. Veteren quarterback Stephen McDowell has the skills to fully exploit a talented receiving corps that includes Paul McKillop (10 TDs in 2003), Ian McIlroy and one of the finds of 2003, William Shaw. The defense relies on a fast agressive secondary, including cornerbacks Chris Davidson and Mark Pollock, the MVP in last years Allstar game. Scott Robinson, Spencer McDowell and David Antuna provide strength at linebacker. The addition of 2 more northern teams - Craigavon and Belfast - to the championship adds some tough local rivalries to the Knights schedule.

CORK ADMIRALS

Last Season: 1-7, semi-finalists.

Coaches: John Stokes (2nd year), Patrick DuBoucher-Ryan & David Harris.

In spite of a losing season, the Cork Admirals qualified for last years semi-final on the basis of their head to head record against the Dublin Dragons. However, this record should not disguise the significant strides the team made during 2003. It's easy to forget that last season was the first ever competitive season for this club. Two impressive off-season victories over the Vikings tell us that this club is beginning to click and will be very competitive in 2004. The star player on the team is undoubtably linebacker Alan O'Carroll, who has attracted the attention of at least one NCAA team in the states. O'Carroll and fellow Allstar linebacker, Ciaran O'Sullivan give the Cork defense some bite against the run. The Cork offense is expected to be vastly improved this year as their young team gains more experience. 19 year old quarterback, John Kenny is regarded as the best young QB in Ireland. Wide receivers David MacHale and David Lomasney are both fast and runningback Keith O'Callaghan is improving every game. The offensive line is led by veteren Paul Orr who played in Belfast in the 1990s. The Cork squad is expected to be a lot bigger and deeper this season and is expected to be competitive, even against the Rebels and knights.

DUBLIN DRAGONS

Last Season: 1-5.

Coaches: Marcus Massey, Phil DeMonte (each 1st year).

In 2003, the Dublin Dragons had the youngest starting line-up in the IAFL. No less than 11 teenagers started and their inexperience showed. The Dragons failure to make the play-offs ultimately cost Mexican Octavio Hernandez his position as Head Coach. Hernandez has been replaced by Marcus Massey, a ex-assistant coach who's returned from a spell working in Korea. However, the biggest coaching influence on the team will be Irish National Coach, Phil DeMonte who is mentoring the Dragons. Reports from training camp suggest that the Dragons will be the surprise package of 2004. DeMonte's influence should bring the young players along very quickly and because of last years game experience they'll be much stronger. Linebackers Eric Black, John Durrad and Lez Connolly along with cornerback Franck Hupke are the heart of the defense. The offense is expected to be vastly changed this season. Ex-OL/TE Al Burke has been moved to fullback. Quarterback Robert Olwill should have some targets in the form of whichever of the young and upcoming wide receivers earns gametime in the pre-season. Training camp rumours also suggest that the Dragons are adding a couple of experiened veterans to their lineup in 2004.

BELFAST BULLS

Last Season: 3-2, Division 2 champions.

Head Coach: Mark Helferty, Scott Lennox & Barry Magee (each 1st Year).

The Belfast Bulls were the surprise of 2003. The virtually unknown squad won the Division 2 title and even defeated one of the Division 1 teams. 2004 will be Belfast's first season in the main championship. Mark Helferty, Scott Lennox takes over as coaches from Jerry Mulholland & Rod Thompson. They have some good talent to work with and the team is expected to be in contention for a spot in the play-offs. The Bulls have also added former Loughborough Aces and Great Britain Youth Team assistant coach, Barry Magee to their coaching staff. The Bulls offense revolves around running backs Gareth Miller and Colin Coleman. Wide receiver Chris McKeown has good hands. Quarterbacks Scott Lennox and Kevin Downs will battle for the starting QB spot in the preseason. The offensive line has some good size in tackles Eoghan Murphy and Glenn Harrison. Veteren safety Mark Helferty and young linebacker Joe Sirichas are the best players on defense. The key to Belfasts season will be making sure they can beat everyone team, except the Rebels and Knights, so as to ensure a spot in the play-offs.

UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK VIKINGS

Last Season: 0-3.

Head Coach: Patrick Ryan (2nd year).

The University of Limerick Vikings return to the championship after spending 2003 as a development team. As always, they will remain an unknown quantity until the season starts. The UL Vikings spent 2003 developing their Irish based players after an over reliance on Americans in the squad which reached the Shamrock Bowl in 2002. As they are a college team, the majority of the squad are young - between 18 and 22 years old. At this time it's difficult to predict who will start for the team as most of their starting positions are up for grabs in the pre-season. Based on the three games they played in 2003, it appears that the mobile L. Ryan is in contention for starting quarterback. Laffan and Moore will be figure at either wide receiver or tailback. The Vikings are expected to run a disciplined run based offense and the strength of their defense always appears to be the "no fly zone" secondary. The success of the team will very heavily depend on the influx of students from American colleges who transfer to Limerick to play football.

DEVELOPMENT TEAM IN 2004

CRAIGAVON COWBOYS

Last Season: 2-3, Division 2.

Coaches: John Paul Aitken, Marty Devlin, Alva Blanton (2nd year each).

The Craigavon Cowboys are the oldest team in Ireland and won the first ever Shamrock Bowl title in 1986. They returned to action last season, after a 5 year break, as development team in Division 2. This season they will remain as a development team and have initiated a new youth program to develop local high school kids with a view to them joining the team in 2005 or 2006. The team has moved to a new permanent ground at the newly developed Brownlow Sports Campus. The Cowboys will play challenge games against some of the IAFL teams in 2004 - times, dates and venues to be confirmed soon.