LONG before either Jennifer Dunne or Aine McDonagh were born, they had family members travelling to Australian shores together to experience our wonderful country and game.
Well, sort of.
McDonagh's uncle, Mick Holden, was selected as part of Ireland's 1986 International Rules team that travelled Down Under for the first time to take on the Aussies.
Holden's father, Tom, was keen to make the journey to watch his son in the three-Test series. However, he needed a chaperone.
Enter, Peter Dunne.
Holden and Dunne were friends through local club, Cuala, and made the trip to Australia to watch the Irish beat Australia 2-1 in a series that took place in Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide.
They stayed in the same hotels as the team and generally had a blast over the couple of weeks away.
Forty years later, it will be Dunne and McDonagh – the respective granddaughters – that run out in the green stripes to represent their country at North Sydney Oval on Saturday.
"It's kind of ironic them coming over for international rules. It's crazy to think we're getting the chance to represent Ireland now," Dunne told AFL.com.au with a huge grin.
"They were from the same local Gaelic club I played for and came over and to be a part of it … it's personal to me and Aine.
"To get the opportunity to play for Ireland in the women's equivalent is unique, in a sense. As Irish players we take such pride in where we're from."
Not only did the grandads get to watch the Irish overturn a 1-0 series deficit to take home the trophy, they got to meet the stars of the Australian competition and were quick to grab a photo with Robert DiPierdomenico, the Hawk that had won the Brownlow Medal just weeks before the series.
So popular were the matches in Ireland, local television was forced to abandon its plans to show the third match 10 hours after it had been played, instead arranging for live coverage of the decider.
Dunne said having her Brisbane club coach Craig Starcevich as an Irish assistant was exciting.
"He loves the Irish players. He's always made a real big effort to keep an eye on the sport there and make us feel valued because that's where we come from," she said.
"To be honest, there's no better person, or no one that has more interest in Gaelic football, than he does."
