News

UL Vikings turn 25 News: update

Posted On 31st Jul 2024
Posted By American Football
Author Liam Ryan (President)

UL American Football turns 25 years old. 

American Football has been played in UL now for a quarter of a century. Initially founded by a group of study abroad students in 1999 to play flag football, the club has developed into one of the longest running teams in American Football Ireland with a rich history in the game. The Vikings played their first kitted game in 2001, eventually getting to and hosting a Shamrock Bowl in UL that year. However, the first national championship wouldn't arrive until 2007 when the Vikings beat the Cork Admirals in UL. An amazing run of wins followed with a three in a row of Shamrock Bowls as well as a European Atlantic Cup title in 2010, leading the to the Vikings being ranked as one of the top 20 teams in Europe. 

As we are a college team, we do experience quite a bit of player turnover so much of that team moved on and the Vikings continued to perform strongly, however losing a number of finals and semi finals over the next number of years. Success finally came again in 2023 with an undefeated season winning both the Intervarsity tournament and the Division 1 Bowl in an amazingly successful year. 

The Vikings also hosted the European Flag Football championships in 2023, bringing the largest ever American Football event to Ireland, in what was a showcase of the sport for Olympic consideration. 

On Sat Aug 31 2024 in the Kilmurry Lodge Hotel we celebrate a quarter of a century of the UL Vikings. We are getting ready to honor our past and present players, coaches, and supporters who have made this journey possible. Support from the Old Wolves Network to promote and develop the event also!

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