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- 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. (en)
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