St Marnock's NS in Portmarnock, Co Dublin are getting in on the Super Bowl buzz, as they fly out to represent Ireland at the 2026 NFL Flag U13 International Championship this week.
The event is being held during Pro Bowl Week in San Francisco, California, one week ahead of the NFL Super Bowl taking place there on Feb 8. The Irish team will face off against international opponents from Canada, Japan and Australia.
Former student, and current news2day presenter, Florence Okojie went back to her old school to see how the team are preparing. And they got some top tips from Ireland's own NFL star Charlie Smyth who plays as a kicker with the New Orleans Saints. Watch the report up top now.
The journey began for the Portmarnock school in mid-September 2025. They went on win Dublin and Leinster titles before taking home the Irish championship crown in November.
St Marnock's teacher, Paddy Spellacy said: "A staff member in the school took part in a training session to learn and understand the rules and it took off from there."
"The atmosphere in the school is unbelievable. The past three weeks has been crazy, with Charlie Smyth visiting the school along with a tonne of media. It is hard to believe that the children are getting such an opportunity to travel to the World Championships, meet a VIP like Charlie Smyth and head to the Pro Bowl when we are there."
St Marnock's will play their games at Laney College in Oakland - where Netflix's Last Chance U was filmed. And they will get to see some real NFL stars in action as they head to the Pro Bowl in the Moscone Centre.
Click here to see the rules and to find out more about the game.
If your school would like to give Flag football a go you can register your interest here.
And for more from news2day visit the official site at rte.ie/news2day.
