Irish NFL Players: The Irish and Irish-American Stars of American Football

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American football has a surprising amount of Irish in it. Some of the game’s early greats were sons of Irish emigrants, a Dublin Gaelic footballer kicked for the Cardinals in the 1980s, and in the last couple of years two lads who grew up kicking O’Neills balls have been splitting the posts in the NFL.

Here are the Irish and Irish-American players worth knowing, from the 1920s to today.

The Irish-born kickers

Neil O’Donoghue (1977 to 1985)

Born in Dublin in 1953, Neil O’Donoghue grew up in Clondalkin playing Gaelic football and had a spell with Shamrock Rovers before a scholarship took him to Auburn University. The Buffalo Bills drafted him in 1977, and he went on to kick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and, for five seasons, the St. Louis Cardinals. For almost four decades he was the answer to the pub quiz question “who was the last Irishman to play in the NFL?”

Jude McAtamney (New York Giants)

McAtamney played Gaelic football for Derry at under-20 level before kicking at Chowan University and Rutgers. On 3 November 2024 he made his debut for the New York Giants against Washington, landing a 31-yard field goal and his extra points. It made him the first Irish player to score in the NFL in 39 years.

Charlie Smyth (New Orleans Saints)

Smyth, a Gaelic footballer from Mayobridge in Co. Down, joined the Saints in 2024 through the NFL’s International Player Pathway. He waited a season and a half for his chance, then made his debut against Miami late in 2025 with a 56-yard field goal and a successful onside kick. Not a bad first day at the office. In December 2025 the Saints handed him a new three-year contract.

The Irish-American legends

Ed Healey (1920 to 1927)

Ed Healey’s parents were both Irish immigrants, and he was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1894. He was one of the finest linemen of the NFL’s early years, first with the Rock Island Independents and then the Chicago Bears, and George Halas called him the most versatile tackle of all time. He went into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964.

George Connor (1948 to 1955)

A Chicago Irishman through and through, Connor played tackle and linebacker for his hometown Bears for eight seasons after the Giants drafted him and traded him on. He was picked for the NFL’s 1940s All-Decade Team and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975.

Mike McCormack (1951 to 1962)

McCormack started out with the New York Yanks, lost two seasons to military service, and then became a cornerstone of the Cleveland Browns line, winning NFL championships in 1954 and 1955. He later coached the Eagles, Colts and Seahawks and entered the Hall of Fame in 1984.

Rich Gannon (1987 to 2004)

Gannon, from Philadelphia, was drafted by the Patriots, who wanted to turn him into a running back. He insisted on playing quarterback, bounced around Minnesota, Washington and Kansas City, and then exploded with the Oakland Raiders, making four straight Pro Bowls and winning the NFL MVP award in 2002.

Tom Brady (2000 to 2022)

Okay, we’re stretching it here. Brady was born and raised in California, but his father, Tom Brady Sr., is Irish-American, and the family has always been proud of it. Seven Super Bowl rings, six with the Patriots and one with the Buccaneers, make him the most successful player the game has seen. He retired in February 2023.

The NFL comes to Croke Park

The Rooney family, who own the Pittsburgh Steelers, have deep Irish roots (the late Dan Rooney was US Ambassador to Ireland from 2009 to 2012), so it was fitting that the Steelers played the first NFL regular-season game in Ireland. On 28 September 2025, a sold-out Croke Park crowd of 74,512 watched them beat the Minnesota Vikings 24-21.

American football is now a proper sport here too, with clubs all over the island playing in the IAFA leagues. If you fancy giving it a go, there’s more than likely a team near you.

Do you follow the NFL from Ireland? Who’s your team? Tell us in the comments.

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