For Florida State and Georgia Tech, the Week 0 game in Ireland is going to be in unfamiliar territory.
The contest, which is being played at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, is the latest in what has become an annual trend of college football kicking off the season overseas, dubbed the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.
While it makes for a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a majority of those on the Seminoles and Yellow Jackets rosters, it’s a homecoming for one player — David Shanahan.
The punter for Georgia Tech is incredibly familiar with the area that he will play in on Saturday. Shanahan is a native of Ireland, growing up playing Gaelic football before transitioning to American football. He is believed to be the first native of Ireland ever awarded a full scholarship to play college football in the United States.
“I’m excited for the kid to have an opportunity to go home,” Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key said to ESPN. “It’s exciting anytime any kid gets to go back to their home, especially when it’s far away from here.”
The senior for the Yellow Jackets will have the unique opportunity to play in front of friends and family when Georgia Tech takes the field for the first game of the 2024-25 college football season.
Here is more to know about Shanahan and his Irish background.
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Who is David Shanahan?
Shanahan is a senior punter at Georgia Tech. He is entering his fourth season with the Yellow Jackets.
The special teams member began playing rugby and Gaelic football in Ireland, with the latter being a mix between American football, soccer and rugby.
“When you’re 15, you’re training really hard, you’re in the gym really hard,” Shanahan said. “I’m from Kerry, so every town in Kerry will have their own club, and then the best guys in their club will get to play for their county. So I was playing for the county underage squads.”
Like many in their youth, Shanahan’s life was all about sports. However, as he got older, he realized that he was not as passionate about the sports he was playing as he once was. He realized that the only way he could continue playing Gaelic football or rugby was to stay in his hometown and play for his club.
“There wasn’t a lot of adventure there, I thought,” Shanahan said. “Because I say, ‘Alright, best-case scenario, I’ll just grow up and play for Kerry and never really leave my hometown’ or whatever. That’s something that didn’t really excite me that much.”
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That’s when American football came into the picture. Shanahan knew of the Prokick Australia program set up in Australia, a country that has seen success in transitioning players from rugby and other similar sports to American football. Currently, four punters in the NFL hail from that pipeline.
While his plans to go and train in Australia were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he kept at it. Eventually, Prokick Australia helped Shanahan land a place on Georgia Tech’s football roster.
“Obviously, the skill set translated,” Shanahan said. “I tried my hand at kicking for a bit, but it just didn’t really come as naturally as punting did. But even saying that, punting was really hard, it took me a while to actually get good, get consistent at it.”
Since then, Shanahan has been the starting punter for the Yellow Jackets, making his collegiate debut in 2021. Last season, he averaged 42.4 yards per punt, with his longest coming in at 61 yards. His best boot came during his freshman season when he launched a 71-yard punt.
“Obviously, a lot of that situational stuff, I definitely was not good at it as a freshman, and I would just go out there and kind of swing my leg and hope for the best,” Shanahan said of the adjustment. “But that’s something that’s come out of experience, and coaches have been really good at helping me with all that.
“But I feel like I pretty much have it all down now. I’ve been doing it for long enough.”
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Where is David Shanahan from?
Shanahan hails from Castleisland, County Kerry, Ireland.
While he is returning to his home country, Casteisland isn’t exactly close to Dublin. The capital of the country is located on the western coast, while Casteisland is in the southwest corner of Ireland. It’s about a three-hour drive to get from one to the other.
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College football games in Ireland
| Year | Result | Stadium |
| 1988 | Boston College 38, Army 24 | Lansdowne Road |
| 1989 | Pittsburgh 46, Rutgers 29 | Lansdowne Road |
| 1996 | Notre Dame 54, Navy 27 | Croke Park |
| 2012 | Notre Dame 50, Navy 10 | Aviva Stadium |
| 2014 | Penn State 26, UCF 24 | Croke Park |
| 2016 | Georgia Tech 17, Boston College 14 | Aviva Stadium |
| 2022 | Northwestern 31, Nebraska 28 | Aviva Stadium |
| 2023 | Notre Dame 42, Navy 3 | Aviva Stadium |
| 2024 | Florida State vs. Georgia Tech | Aviva Stadium |
| 2025 | Iowa State vs. Kansas State | Aviva Stadium |
| 2027 | Pittsburgh vs. Wisconsin | Aviva Stadium |
