Ireland have selected a County Derry man as part of the 24-strong squad for the Transatlantic Cup. 

Donall Purvis from Slaughtneil is set to represent his country at the Australian Rules Football tournament which will take place from August 2nd to 11th in Toronto, Canada. 

He said: “Trials for the team started last year, and it is an absolute privilege to be selected and get the chance to play so far away from home.

“I lived in Melbourne for a year when I was 14.

“Basically, we did a house swap with a family from Antrim who had been living there long-term. So, they came and lived in our house, and we went down there to Melbourne, played a season out there for a year at under 15’s, and with the school and club down there.

“That is how I got into it. Obviously, I went away from the sport for a number of years, as I played underage Gaelic, but I’ve got back into it now.

“I didn’t realise there were competitive Aussie rules outside Australia and was baffled at the levels that are here.

“There have been great opportunities with the Aussie Rules and, of course, the chance to represent your country; there is no higher accolade.”

Ireland will have teams in both the men’s and women’s competitions as they compete against France, Great Britain, Canada, Colombia, and the USA.

The six nations competing are using this as a bridging tournament before the next International Cup in Melbourne, with other continents using the Pacific Cup and Asia Cup in November in a similar way.

Purvis said: “We are quietly confident. We have won everything in Europe in the previous two years, but we don’t know an awful lot about the North American teams or Colombia. 

“So we are going into the unknown in that sense, but we are confident in ourselves, our own style of play, and our talent across the team, with 10 new players coming in from previous squads. We are quite a young team, and we are looking forward to it.”

The sport has gone from strength to strength amongst the Irish population, with a growing number of Irish players in the Australian Football League. 

With a particular emphasis on women. 

Purvis said: “With how professional Gaelic has gotten in their training methods and their regimes, there are more opportunities there, especially for the women.

“They have been conditioning since they were 15 or 16, whereas in Australia the sport has only gone professional in the last seven or eight years, so especially on the women’s side of things, there are great opportunities to go out to Australia in your mid-20s and make a career of it.”

AFL Ireland has four clubs, one in each province: the South Dublin Swans, Galway Magpies, Belfast Redbacks, and Leeside Lions. 

Purvis has played for the Belfast Redbacks, Manchester Mosquitos, and West London Wildcats, and the Slaughtneil native wants to see the growth of the sport across the country. 

He said: “I suppose speaking more closer to home, I would love to see it grow in Derry, just given the amount of Aussie Rules players we have had play professionally.

“Look at Callum Brown, Conor Glass, and looking back as far as the likes of Dermot McNicholl. There is a great opportunity to grow the game in Derry and get new players involved. 

“But if you have transferable skills coming from a background of Gaelic, it makes it easier for us compared to those in France or Great Britain from a blank slate or a rugby background, so you’re definitely coming in with an advantage from that perspective.”

Purvis has encouraged anyone interested in taking up the sport to contact AFL Ireland through their website or on their Facebook, Instagram, and X, formerly known as Twitter, accounts.