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Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
Oak Park Irish gridiron win may get them a spot in football museum
Pat Murphy / SPORTSFILE Winnipeg�s Oak Park Raiders pose to celebrate after their win against the Villanova College Knights in Navan, Ireland. The trip was a cultural experience, as well as a sports event.
WINNIPEG’S Oak Park Raiders could become the first Canadian high school football team to have a jersey displayed in a national hall of fame following a victory in a unique exhibition game near Dublin, Ireland.
The Raiders beat the Villanova College Knights of King City, Ont., 18-9 in a game played at Páirc Tailteann, a 33,000seat stadium that usually hosts Gaelic football and hurling in Navan, a town outside of Dublin. The victory Aug. 31 was the highlight of a whirlwind visit to Ireland that began Aug.
25, culminating Saturday with the teams attending a game featuring Navy and the University of Notre Dame in Dublin.
The high school and college exhibition games were part of the Global Ireland Football tournament, an annual event that brings American football to Ireland. The tournament featured 10 American and the two Canadian high school teams, along with teams from Notre Dame and the United States Naval Academy.
"This has been an absolutely fantastic experience for the boys," said Tony Shay, a chaperone on the team and father to Oak Park linebacker Mack Shay. "Many of these boys hadn’t been to Toronto let alone Ireland. The people of Dublin have done everything they could to make us feel welcome." Canadian Football Hall of Fame executive director Mark DeNobile said in an email statement the Hall would be pleased to display a Raiders game uniform if the team chooses to donate one. As of Saturday, DeNobile said no one from the Raiders has contacted the Hamilton-based Hall of Fame to discuss the matter.
If the Raiders decide to donate a jersey, DeNobile said it would be the only high school football jersey displayed in the Hall.
The non-profit charity currently displays more than 30,000 items of football memorabilia.
"They would be the first high school displayed in the Hall," DeNobile said via email.
Shay said both Oak Park and Villanova started very slowly in their match before the Winnipeg side took over the game in the second half. However, the result of the game was almost secondary to the cultural exchange the boys experienced.
On one day of the visit, the Canadians were shown the finer points of Gaelic football and hurling, national sports of Ireland. They responded by showing their Irish guests some of the finer points of North American football.
dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca jen.skerritt@freepress.mb.ca
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