Irish American football fans will be packing into Croke park this weekend to watch UCF take on Penn State in the Croke Park Classic.In order to mentally prepare for the match, take some time out of your day to check out these stunning photos from Sportsfile of past gridiron football events that graced Irish shores.
On November 19 1988 the pigskin was thrown around Landsdowne Road.
Boston College took on Army in the Emerald Isle Classic, which was the first NCAA sanctioned American college football game in Europe.
Over 40,000 fans packed into the stadium to witness Boston overcome Army 38 - 24.
The tournament was discontinued in 1989.
On November 2 1996, Croke Park played host to the Shamrock Classic.
Navy faced Notre Dame in Ireland's largest stadium.
Notre Dame ran out 54 - 27 winners over Navy.
It took six years after the Shamrock Classic for the next sanctioned major American football game to be held in Ireland.
In 2012, the Emerald Isle Classic was held in Dublin's Aviva stadium.
Notre Dame took on Navy again. There was a strong naval presence in the stadium.
Notre Dame defeated Navy 50-10 in front of 48,000 fans.
The game garnered considerably more media coverage than its predecessors.
The success of the Emerald Isle Classic ultimately led to the Croke Park Classic which takes place this weekend.
