STORM TRACKER: Follow 'Storm Amy' as it bears down on Ireland amid brutal forecast
Search
06 Sept 2025
Search
06 Sept 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
Goalkeeper Rory Beggan is one of two GAA stars set for AFL trials | PICTURE: Sportsfile
Two prominent GAA goalkeepers are set for American football trials in the new year.
In an exclusive interview with the Irish Independent it has been stated that Monaghan’s Rory Beggan and his Wicklow counterpart Mark Jackson have been picked to kick in front of scouts from all 32 NFL teams at a Combine in Indianapolis, which runs from Tuesday, February 27 to Monday, March 4.
The pair of goalkeepers caught the attention of at an International NFL Combine in England in October and are now set to progress to kick at the official Combine next year.
The progress of Beggan and Jackson is timely as a new rule is is due to take effect where all 32 teams must have an ‘international player’ on the practice squad, essentially a reserve side, raising their hopes of getting picked up.
Both players are set to miss a significant portion of the season in 2024 as they prepare for the Combine.
Irish interest in the NFL is growing. Earlier this year Daniel Whelan became the first Irishman to play in the NFL since Dublin-born Niall O’Donoghue lined out for the St Louis Cardinals in 1985. The Wicklow-born man plays for the Green Bay Packers as a punter.
'You can just imagine how many of the colleges are gonna come looking for kickers'
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) December 12, 2023
With news that Rory Beggan will try out as a kicker at an #NFL Combine next year, Off The Ball Breakfast reckons there'll be more and more franchises interested in signing Irish players. pic.twitter.com/VmfPa9bJ3k
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
