Fans flock to college football spectacular

Tens of thousands of sailors and Fighting Irish will hit Dublin in the most peaceful way this weekend as the capital prepares to go American Football crazy.

Billed as the largest ever contingent of travelling fans for a standalone sporting event outside the US, the sellout game between US College rivals, Navy and Notre Dame, will see up to 40,000 football-mad fans descend on Dublin for a weekend of American Football and partying.

Unlike college sport here, which might attract a few hundred fans at best, college football in the US is on an epic scale with huge stadiums and even bigger fan bases.