North Dublin Pirates

North Dublin Pirates

Established	2015
Based in	Swords, Dublin
Home stadium	Malahide Rugby Club
Head coach	Ross Neville
League	IAFL
Division	IAFL-2
Current uniform
Home kit Away kit

North Dublin Pirates are an American Football team founded in 2015^[1] and are based in the North County Dublin area of Fingal primarily the large suburban town of Swords. The club plays in the IAFA affiliated IAFL2 division,^[2] the third tier of the American Football League system in Ireland. The Pirates play their home games at Malahide Rugby Club.^{[citation needed]}

North Dublin Pirates were formed August 2015^[1] when two former Drogheda Lightning players decided to start a new club after the demise of their former club.^{[citation needed]}

It was decided the club would set up in the North County Dublin area. It was decided the new team would be called the North Dublin Pirates and the new team would apply for a place in the bottom tier of American football in Ireland IAFL2.^{[citation needed]} The newly formed club gathered a number of players from the Swords and North Dublin area running training at the public park Newbridge House just outside Swords.^{[citation needed]}

With a squad assembled by late 2015, the club applied for a place in IAFL2 and was granted entry for the 2016 season.^[3]

In early 2016, the club moved its training base to Donaghmede Park, another public space in the north Dublin area of Donaghmede. It was here the squad grew further in size in turn increasing their catchment area and attracting more players from the local area. The Pirates inaugural season was in 2016.^{[citation needed]}

The North Dublin Pirates played in their first ever game away to the newly formed Wexford Eagles in Gorey.^[4][5] The Pirates with a small squad of only 16 players fought valiantly against a much larger Eagles squad but ended up on the end of a 34-8 scoreline. The game had to be called near the middle of the 4th Quarter due to a number of injuries to the already decimated Pirates squad. Team Ireland international player Oisin Dowling scored the very first Touchdown in the club's history with a strong run out wide right.^[6]

In their next match the Pirates played their very first Home Game at Malahide Rugby Club against the Galway Warriors.^[7] The Warriors won the game by 29-6.

In the Pirates 3rd game, they played at home against the Derry/Donegal Vipers. The Vipers were a new team that first played in the 2015 IAFL2. The game took up to moniker of the 'Banter Bowl'^[8] due to camaraderie off the field between the two teams and the lighthearted verbal jousting between the two teams respective social media pages.^[tone] Again with a much smaller squad, the Pirates lost to the Vipers by 26-6.

In the 4th Game of the season the Pirates traveled to Lisburn, County Antrim in Northern Ireland to play against fellow newcomers the PSNI Razorbacks - a team representing the police force of Northern Ireland. The game was played in wet conditions, and a heavy rain feel throughout the game making the pitch very slippery and also made for a heavy running game for both sides.^{[citation needed]} The game finished 6-0 to the Pirates and resulted in the club's very first victory.^{[citation needed]}

In the 5th and final home game of the season, the Pirates took on the Wexford Eagles in the reverse fixture of the first game of the season. Much like the first game, the Eagles dominated offensively and walked away with a 40-7 victory.^{[citation needed]}

In the final game of the season, the Pirates made the journey to face the unbeaten Donegal/Derry Vipers in Drumahoe. However, the Pirates lost to the Vipers by 44-0.^[9][10]

Home Team			Away Team	Date	Location
Wexford Eagles	34	8	North Dublin Pirates	01/05/16	Gorey Showgrounds, Gorey, County Wexford
North Dublin Pirates	6	29	Galway Warriors	15/05/16	Malahide RFC, Swords, County Dublin
North Dublin Pirates	6	29	Donegal/Derry Vipers	29/05/16	Malahide RFC, Swords, County Dublin
PSNI Razorbacks	0	6	North Dublin Pirates	19/06/16	Newforge Country Club, Lisburn, County Antrim
North Dublin Pirates	7	40	Wexford Eagles	10/07/16	Malahide RFC, Swords, County Dublin
Donegal/Derry Vipers	44	0	North Dublin Pirates	31/07/16	YMCA Rugby Field, Drumahoe, County Londonderry

Home Team			Away Team	Date	Location
Galway Warriors	18	0	North Dublin Pirates	21/05/17	St. Mary's College, Galway, County Galway
North Dublin Pirates	41	0	Tyrone Titans	11/06/17	Malahide RFC, Swords, County Dublin
North Dublin Pirates	14	3	Galway Warriors	18/06/17	Malahide RFC, Swords, County Dublin
PSNI Razorbacks	14	14	North Dublin Pirates	16/07/17	Newforge Country Club, Lisburn, County Antrim
North Dublin Pirates	2	19	Meath Bulldogs	23/07/17	St Patrick's Classical School, Navan, County Meath
North Dublin Pirates	14	3	Antrim Jets	06/08/17	Malahide RFC, Swords, County Dublin

North Dublin Pirates play all home games at Malahide Rugby Club located on the Estuary Road just outside of Swords.^{[citation needed]} The rugby club has a 13,500-square-foot (1,250 m2) clubhouse and its facilities include two rugby pitches (one floodlit), four changing rooms and a referees changing room.^{[citation needed]}

The Pirates train in Donaghmede Park in Dublin 13.^{[citation needed]}

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