College football in Ireland

College football in Ireland (Irish: Peil an Choláiste) began initially in 1988 as part of a promotional campaign to mark the Dublin millennium celebrations.

[5] In 1996, Notre Dame and the United States Naval Academy began a second American football event in Ireland called the Shamrock Classic.

The first advance sellout for a sporting event in the two-year history of Aviva Stadium, 15,000 tickets sold in less than two hours, and about 35,000 Americans travelled to Dublin.

[7] The Orlando Sentinel, located in UCF's home city, reported in July 2013 that the teams would play the game at Croke Park instead of Aviva.

[9] The Croke Park Classic saw the University of Central Florida (UCF) host Penn State in their 2014 Season Opener in GAA HQ on 30 August 2014.

53,304 fans attended the thrilling encounter in which Penn State defeated UCF with a Sam Ficken field goal in the dying seconds, by a final score of 26 to 24.

The Irish American Football Association was one of the official partners in the game and provided both promotional and technical assistance to Croke Park.

[12] University of Notre Dame announced on 25 October 2018, that the Fighting Irish would return to Dublin to face Navy Midshipmen at Aviva Stadium on 29 August 2020.

[15] University of Nebraska-Lincoln announced on 14 October 2019, that the Nebraska Cornhuskers would travel to Dublin to face the Illinois Fighting Illini at Aviva Stadium on 28 August 2021.

[18] The University of Notre Dame announced on 24 October 2022, that the Fighting Irish would return to Dublin to face Navy Midshipmen at Aviva Stadium on 26 August 2023.