The International Rules Series was a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team (selected by the Gaelic Athletic Association). International rules football is played using a set of compromise rules devised by both governing bodies. While the International Rules Series matches use some rules from Australian rules football, the field, ball and uniforms of both teams are derived from Gaelic football.
The competition originated in the 1980s, with four series played in that decade. It was contested annually between 1998 and 2006, and then featured sporadically over the next eleven years, with the last series contested in 2017 and no future series formally scheduled. At the height of its popularity, the series attracted high numbers of spectators and interest in both countries, being played over two Test matches in October/November after the completion of the AFL Grand Final and the All-Ireland Football Final, which were both traditionally played in late September.
History
The two teams contest a trophy, which in 2004 was named the Cormac McAnallen Cup—after the Tyrone team captain Cormac McAnallen, whose death that year from a heart condition at 24 years old came after he had represented Ireland in the previous three series.
The concept for the series originates from the Australian Football World Tour, which took place in 1967 and 1968. The tour saw a collection of Australian footballers from the VFL, SANFL and WAFL competitions travel to Ireland for an itinerary of matches played under modified Gaelic football rules.
The first proper series took place in Ireland in 1984 under a three-match format, whereby the team accumulating the most wins from the series were victors. Following poor Australian crowds and a relative lack of interest in 1990, the series was revived in 1998 under a two-match aggregate points format. The popularity of the series saw it continue over the next eight years until violent on-field brawling in the mid-2000s saw it cancelled in 2007.
A women's series was staged in Ireland in 2006, which to this date remains the only women's series to have taken place between the nations. A series for under-17 boys was held each year between 1999 and 2006 before it was abandoned.
The series returned in 2008, although it featured randomly on the calendar over the next decade, going unscheduled in 2009, 2012, 2016, and in 2018–2019. Since 2014, the Australian team has endeavoured to pick players who have been selected in an All-Australian team on at least one occasion in their careers. This followed the 2013 series, which was notable for the inclusion of an Australian team made up of exclusively Indigenous players, known as the Indigenous All-Stars. Ireland inflicted the largest victory in the history of the series, scoring a record-breaking 79-point win in the second Test that resulted in a record-breaking 101-point aggregate victory. The most recent series (2017) was won by Australia.
A return series was initially scheduled for Ireland in 2020, with a follow-up series in Australia intended for 2022, but these were cancelled in early 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024 and 2025 there were ongoing discussions between the AFL and GAA about the revival of the series. In June 2026, AFL.com.au reported that both organisations were "working towards a return in 2027".
Results
Series results, up to and including the 2017 series. FlagIconCountrySeries wonSeries lostTest winsTest draws*Test losses Ireland 101021 2 19 Australia 101019 2 21 *Two draws (second Test, 1999; second Test, 2002)
Uniforms
Venues The following are lists of International Rules Series venues and their locations, ordered by number of test matches hosted:
Ireland Venue City/Town County Number of tests hosted and Year/s Croke Park Dublin County Dublin 17 Páirc Uí Chaoimh (O'Keefe Park) Ballintemple County Cork 1 (1st Test 1984) Pearse Stadium Salthill County Galway 1 (1st Test 2006) Gaelic Grounds Limerick County Limerick 1 (1st Test 2010) Breffni Park Cavan County Cavan 1 (1st Test 2013)
Australia Venue City/Town State/Territory Number of tests hosted and Year/s Subiaco Oval Perth Western Australia 5 Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne Victoria 4 SANFL Park Adelaide South Australia 3 (3rd Test 1986, 2nd Test 1999, 1st Test 2001) WACA Ground Perth Western Australia 2 (1st Test 1986 & 3rd Test 1990) VFL Park Melbourne Victoria 2 (2nd Test 1986 & 1st Test 1990) Docklands Stadium Melbourne Victoria 2 (2nd Test 2005 & 1st Test 2011) Canberra Stadium Canberra Australian Capital Territory 1 (2nd Test 1990) Carrara Stadium Gold Coast Queensland 1 (2nd Test 2011) Adelaide Oval Adelaide South Australia 1 (1st Test 2017)
Player awards Jim Stynes Medal The Jim Stynes Medal is awarded to the best player of the Australian team for each series. It was first awarded in 1998 and named after Jim Stynes, who won the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship with Dublin before joining Melbourne. With the Demons, he won the 1991 Brownlow Medal, set the record for most VFL or AFL consecutive games played (with 244), was named in Melbourne's Team of the Century, and was elected into the Australian Football Hall of Fame while also playing for both Ireland and Australia in the series. He was also honoured with a state funeral in Melbourne when he died in 2012.
1998 – Stephen Silvagni (Carlton) 1999 – Jason Akermanis (Brisbane) 2000 – James Hird (Essendon) 2001 – Matthew Lloyd (Essendon) 2002 – Andrew Kellaway (Richmond) 2003 – Brent Harvey (North Melbourne) 2004 – Nathan Brown (Richmond) 2005 – Andrew McLeod (Adelaide)
2006 – Ryan O'Keefe (Sydney) 2008 – Kade Simpson (Carlton) 2010 – Dane Swan (Collingwood) 2011 – James Kelly (Geelong) 2013 – Ashley McGrath (Brisbane) 2014 – Luke Hodge (Hawthorn) 2015 – Harry Taylor (Geelong) 2017 – Nat Fyfe (Fremantle)
GAA Medal The GAA Medal (also known as the Irish Player of the Series) is awarded in similar circumstances to the Australian award, whereby the Irish player adjudged as the best performed from each series wins the medal. It has been awarded since 2004.
2004 – Stephen Cluxton (Dublin) 2005 – Tom Kelly (Laois) 2006 – Alan Brogan (Dublin) 2008 – Graham Canty (Cork) 2010 – Colm Begley (Laois)
2011 – Tadhg Kennelly (Kerry/Sydney) 2013 – Ciarán Sheehan (Cork/Carlton) 2014 – Conor McManus (Monaghan) 2015 – Bernard Brogan (Dublin) 2017 – Conor McManus (Monaghan) (2)
Harry Beitzel Medal The Harry Beitzel Medal was awarded to players adjudged "fairest and best" on the field during the 1984 to 1990 series.Australia v Ireland since 1967 (Footy Stats) Beitzel was honoured for his pioneering of the sport and the fact that he arranged the first ever official contact between the two sports of Gaelic football and Australian rules football. 1984 – Jimmy Kerrigan (Ireland) 1986 – Robert Dipierdomenico (Australia) 1987 – Tony McGuinness (Australia) 1990 – Jack O'Shea (Ireland)
Sponsorship The Australian team were sponsored until 2006 by Foster's, which also sponsored series held in Australia. Toyota took over both roles for the 2008 series. Australian plastic manufacturer Nylex sponsored the Australian team in 2010, whilst Toyota and Carlton Draught were guernsey sponsors for the 2011 series. Supermarket chain Coles and community health group National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) were guernsey sponsors for the 2013 series. Airline company Virgin Australia and Gatorade have sponsored the Australian teams since 2014.
The Irish team, and all series held in Ireland, were sponsored by Coca-Cola until 2008. The 2010 and 2013 series in Ireland was sponsored by the Irish Daily Mail, while Irish language television station TG4 sponsored the Irish team in 2010, 2011 and 2013.Earley confirms backroom team for International Rules Series ; Gaelic games online streaming service GAAGO.ie were sponsors of the Irish team in 2014 and 2015, whilst electric power transmission company EirGrid were the title sponsors of the 2015 series in Ireland.
Audience Television
The International Rules Series has been broadcast on television in Australia and Ireland since the late 1990s. In Ireland it has usually been broadcast on RTÉ Two; from 2010 to 2014 the series was broadcast live by Irish-language channel TG4. RTÉ reclaimed the rights to the series in 2015.RTÉ to broadcast International Rules match In Australia, the Seven Network broadcast the 1998–2000 series, whilst the Nine Network broadcast the 2001–2005 series.International Rules - Game 1 2001 Report In Australia the 2006 and 2011 series were broadcast on Network Ten, though all other series have been broadcast on the Seven Network and simulcast on Fox Sports.International Rules on 7mate: Australia's Indigenous All Stars set to battle Ireland
The series has had reach into global markets. From 2005, broadcasting extended its reach to the United States via Setanta Sports North America and to Hong Kong via the Australia Network. The 2006 series was broadcast to the United Kingdom via Setanta Sports 2. Defunct New Zealand free-to-air sports network Sommet Sports broadcast the 2013 and 2014 series.Sommet Sports 2013 International Rules Series 1st Test details The 2014 Test match was broadcast live in the United States and parts of Europe and Asia.Australia vs Ireland Test International Broadcast Schedule
Attendance The series alternates host countries each appropriate year between Ireland and Australia. Since the commencement of the modern era series in 1998, the average attendance up to the conclusion of the 2017 series was 34,337. On two occasions, Test matches have sold out in Australia, both in Perth in 2003 and 2014. The first entire series to sell out was in Ireland in 2006 when a combined crowd record of 112,127 was set. The attendance at the second Test of 82,127 at Croke Park was the largest for an international sports fixture in the country. Total attendance1,442,161Average attendance34,337Average Australian attendance31,504Average Irish attendance37,171Highest attendance82,127 11 May 2006 Up to date as of 2017 Series
Criticisms The series has sustained criticism from several high-profile figures in its parent sports. Three-time All-Ireland-winning Tyrone manager Mickey Harte has repeatedly called for the series to be disbanded. He stated in 2008 that the tours to Australia are simply a free holiday for the players involved, before repeating the claim in 2011 and calling on the GAA to withdraw from the Series because it does a "total disservice to the development of Gaelic games on the international stage".Harte: Rules does nothing for Gaelic games Australian journalists such as Mike Sheahan have argued that the relevance of the series diminished once the Australian side was no longer made up primarily of All-Australian players, although the team returned to exclusively using All-Australians in 2014.Hybrid game at crossroad as apathy rules Ex-Kerry footballer Tomás Ó Sé panned the GAA in 2019 for continuing to maintain friendly relations with the AFL, arguing that the series was primarily responsible for AFL clubs scouting emerging Irish talent and leaving clubs and counties with no compensation for their efforts.
Future of the series