Ireland: South Dublin Panthers earn key win while Division One heats up

By Jimmy English

Okay guys look, I’ve been out in the sun all day so I don’t really have the head to write a big long game report. We’re gonna keep it short, sweet and to the point! The main things you need to know are: apparently the Panthers aren’t really finished at all, after they bet the Cowboys at home, Cork’s winning streak continued with victory over the Rebels and Division One got a lot more intriguing as the Stags downed the Vipers! You know the drill by now: keep on reading for our round up of all the weekend’s Irish American Football action!

Cork Admirals 16 – Dublin Rebels 8

Less than 2 weeks after their win on the road against a struggling South Dublin side, the Leesiders backed that performance up with another impressive result against the Rebels. And now they’re on a roll and right back in the playoff conversation, particularly when you consider that this is the second game in a row that the Rebels have dropped. Scores from the home side came on the ground by way of a Ben Kennedy brace, while Joe Doran had a pair of sacks to go along with a safety. The visitors drove down the field in the fourth quarter with a view to tying things up, only for Marty Mulrey to foil the attempt with a goal line interception.

Jack Cronin did manage to cross the goal line for six plus the conversion, but ultimately it wasn’t enough. With the Rebels sliding and the Admirals rising, the playoff picture could look a lot different than it did a few weeks ago, an important factor as we approach the home stretch of the season.

Cill Dara Crusaders 30 – Causeway Giants 14 

Going on the road up north and winning is never an easy ask, especially when you have a grand total of 15 players to your name. But that’s exactly what the Crusaders did on Saturday when they marched into Limepark and emerged with a big, big victory. Wello has had a monstrous season so far in 2025, and continued his fine run of form with a hat trick of touchdowns, including a pick six and another interception to boot. TJ Colbert-Duane nabbed the other score, while James Ahearne claimed a pair of 2 point conversions.

The Giants didn’t make it easy on them though; Peter Philips grabbed 2 touchdowns – one from Jig McCoy and the other from Nathan Chapman. With this win the Crusaders redeemed themselves after the recent loss to the Rhinos, and keep themselves well in contention for a postseason berth, but have a daunting trip up to Louth on the horizon where they’ll face the Louth Mavericks in a few weeks time.

West Dublin Rhinos 27 – Wexford Eagles 0

Speaking of teams on a roll, the Rhinos went on the road for back to back weeks and came home from Gorey with a shutout against Wexford.  Kevin Kelly has clearly found his footing as the starting QB – tossing a hat trick of TD’s, two of which went to Richie Grimes, the other hauled in by Andrea Visentin. Eoin O’Donoghue also added a score on the ground while on defense, Karl Glynn and Adam Skelly both earned interceptions and David Wright claimed a fumble recovery.

The Eagles meanwhile had a tough day at the office despite commendable performances from some of their key players. You may have noticed a bit of a theme emerging throughout this piece (blame the sun) but Division One is shaping up for a very exciting conclusion, with the Rhinos, Vipers, Crusaders (and apparently now the Stags) all in with a shout of postseason action. And let’s not forget about Westmeath either! (Hi Breno!)

South Dublin Panthers 23 – Craigavon Cowboys 8

Wel well well, the Panthers aren’t dead after all! Rumours were abound recently that the south Dublin side were on the brink of disbandment, but with this win over a struggling Cowboys side it would appear that there’s life in these cats yet. Now based out of Terenure College RFC, the Panthers were up 7-0 at half time courtesy of Conor Hoskins (who scored all 3 touchdowns on the day) and continued their dominance throughout the rest of the fixture to eventually wind up as 23-8 winners. Darragh Turley also had a magnificent kick that resulted in a safety, in case you’re wondering where the extra 2 points came from.

The Cowboys earned a consolation score courtesy of Austin Ramsey while Gavin McConnell also deserves a special mention for his interception on the afternoon.  This victory was incredibly important for the Panthers on many levels; not only to restore their confidence but also to retain their place in the top flight as their fate may well come down to a head to head win/loss record.

Photo: Shaun Breen

Antrim Stags 12 – Northwest Vipers 9

The balance of power shifted once again in Division One on Sunday, as the Antrim Stags claimed a crucial victory over the Northwest Vipers. Jay Burton opened the Stags account with a rushing TD to give the hosts a 6-0 advantage in the first quarter, before Josh Reed pulled one back for the Vipers. The men from Greysteel took a brief lead in the second period thanks to a Sean Devlin field goal, but couldn’t prevent Eoin Delargy from scoring the Stags second touchdown – the one that would eventually see them fall short on a scoreline of 12-09.

The aforementioned Devlin amassed 4 total interceptions to go along with his made field goal, but despite this standout performance the Vipers could not find a way to pull this one back. In the grand scheme of the second tier standing this is a bit of an upset, and teams will need to be on guard moving forward when they take on the Stags!

Source: Gaelic Gridiron. Reposted with permission of author.