Florida State's trip to Ireland next year for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic expects to be a fun and memorable experience. Last Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium, representatives from Ireland and the Classic enjoyed the Seminoles' game day experience and 39-17 win over Virginia Tech.
Lord mayor of Dublin Daithí de Róiste, Co-Founder of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic Padraic O'Kane and Consul General of Ireland in Florida Sarah Kavanagh were on hand at Doak Campbell Stadium. The group spent much of the day absorbing the game's atmosphere and environment as they prepare to welcome the Seminoles to Ireland.
"We absolutely can't wait, I mean, what an experience today," da Róiste said at halftime of the Virginia Tech game. "Today (Saturday), going around the tailgates looking at what was happening in the stadium, we are so looking forward to bringing this to Dublin and bringing it to Ireland."
O'Kane said they wanted to understand how to best cater the same game-day experience to the Seminole fans making the 4,025-mile trip to Ireland next year to play Georgia Tech Aug. 24, 2024 in Dublin.
"Part of the objective here is to watch the traditions," O'Kane said. "How do we make them a little bit Irish and make you guys feel really at home next year."
O'Kane said they looked at things like FSU players arriving off the team buses and began thinking of ways to stage that around Dublin's Aviva stadium. There is no word yet on whether Renegade and Osceola will make the trip, but O'Kane thinks there is a possibility for FSU's iconic pre-game event to happen.
"The groundskeepers at the Aviva stadium have said no rambling wrecks and no horses, so we're going to have to try put them on holidays [vacation] on the last week of August next year and cheat a little bit," O'Kane joked.
FSU's week zero game against Georiga Tech in 2024 will be the third iteration of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. The first contest in 2022 saw Northwestern beat Nebraska 31-28, and in 2022 Notre Dame defeated Navy 42-3.
O'Kane feels getting College Football exposure in Ireland's sports-crazy culture is beneficial to young Irish athletes who may want to pursue a future in football.
"Ireland is sport-mad and I think from what we can see around here it's sport-mad as well," O'Kane said. "There's an opportunity for kids in Ireland to actually see the sport of American football as we call it, and want to play it and want to get scholarships over here."
There is a sporting history between the Irish and the Seminoles, with three Irish soccer players winning National Championships for the Seminoles.
Heather Payne , who is now at Women's Super League club Everton , won in 2021, Bristol City's Megan Connolly in 2018 and Liverpool 's Megan Campbell in 2014.
With sports like rugby, soccer and Gaelic football some of the primary sports played in Ireland, there is a connection between football kickers and players of those sports that O'Kane thinks could lead to more athletes possibly making their way to Tallahassee in the future.
"Who knows with what part the legs play here in this game, you could have a young Irish guy playing for Florida State in a couple of years' time," said O'Kane.
Aer Lingus, the leading airline in Ireland, is serving as the title sponsor and is providing the teams with free charter flights to and from Dublin.
At this time, all tickets for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic are exclusively available through travel or hospitality packages. Fans can put down a $250 package deposit for a travel package to secure game ticket section at Seminoles2Ireland.com .
Individual game tickets will become available in early 2024 through the FSU Athletics Ticket Office.
Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamroone y
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Irish delegation takes in FSU gameday environment before 2024 game
