Na Rossa's Cillian Bonner - taking a punt on American Football

His mother is from Leitir, his father from Doochary, neither an American Football stronghold. Apologies for stealing a famous Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh line, but Cillian Bonner’s chosen path to becoming a Punter in American Football surely is just as unique as Seán Óg O’Halpin becoming the great that he was at hurling for Cork back in the ‘90s.

The youngest of the Bonner clan left for Australia some four weeks ago to begin an exciting new sporting adventure. He has joined Project Australia, which is a pathway to getting a college scholarship in America to continue his education and also to become an American Footballer.

What had been something of a dream for Cillian Bonner took a fateful twist a couple of years ago when Covid-19 struck. And for once the dreaded virus has produced a good news story.

Cillian Bonner takes up the story: “I had an interest in American Football from when I was about 10 or 11. I was actually over at an NFL game in London with mum and dad, New York Giants against LA Rams. But basically, I never thought that I would get over to play American Football with me living in Ireland.

“During lockdown, actually, we were off school for two or three weeks and I was watching the news and I saw that this lad, David Shanahan, got a full scholarship to go to Georgia Tech, which would be a really big university in America.

“He had got a full scholarship to go and play football there, so that sort of interested me. I did a bit of research on him and found out that he was a Punter, a position that I would only really be able to play with my background.

“I actually messaged him to see how he went about it and he told me about this Project Australia and the Academy I’m at now.

“The next day I sent an email to one of the main coaches out here. He came back fairly fast looking to see videos of me kicking an American football. That was over two years ago now. I have been practising ever since.

“Obviously, when you are at home Gaelic is the main priority. This was sort of on the side. But I did knuckle down on the dream when I came to the Leaving Cert, because you need a certain grade to be eligible to gain entry in America. The academic side is very important.”

Making the decision to follow his dream was not an easy one for young Bonner, who is a multi-talented sportsman.

“I was on the Donegal minor panel and was two months into the training. I was trying to find time to be there three nights a week and in the gym the other night. I was trying to study and also do the punting too. And I couldn’t really find the time, so I walked away from the minor team about two months in. That was a tough decision for me,” says Bonner. “But ultimately I got a good Leaving Cert and that opened the door for me now to get to college in America.”

Bonner is one of many chasing the American dream with some 70 players having already secured scholarships through the Project Australia pathway, most of those native Aussies.

“Basically, the whole process of Project Australia, if they think you have the quality to be able to play college football, you go down to one of the camps for an assessment. But obviously, that wasn’t available to me so I sent videos of me kicking. And they said, yeah, they think they can do something with me.

“Then after you get accepted, it can be anything from six months to 24 months of a process of getting a scholarship. It depends on how you are developing in that time.

“During that time the coaches are constantly in contact with the American football coaches in colleges in America. Then once they think you are ready to compete at college in America you’ll get offered a scholarship. It could be any college at all in America,” said Bonner, who added that Project Australia has players all across the US.

Another Irish player, Jude McAtamney, from Derry has also gone through the pathway and he was the second from Ireland to secure a scholarship and he went to New York, Rutgers University.

The new life for Cillian Bonner is a big change from his life in Leitirmacaward, especially the early morning starts.

“A lot of stuff is morning based. You have your gym session at 5.30 and your pitch sessions in the morning so then you have a lot of the rest of the day to yourself. It took me a while to get used to it and also getting over the jet lag, but it didn’t take too long.”

Mum and dad, Catherine and Declan, accompanied Cillian when he travelled to Australia and stayed for a couple of weeks. At present Cillian is living with two other lads in the Academy, but one of them has already secured a placement and is heading to the US in January.

“Basically, when I got settled in, my days include getting up at 4.30 with gym session at 5.30 with kick session then from 9.30 to 12.30 or 1 pm. That’s on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and some Saturdays too. Then on the Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays you aren’t collectively with the whole group, but we are encouraged to break into smaller groups of four or five and go to the gym together and do kicking.

“The entire group is around 30-35. There are other academies in Australia, one in Brisbane, one in Geelong and one in Sydney and one in Perth. They would be a lot smaller. The Melbourne camp is the main one. The others might only have eight or nine.”

While there is no college life at the Academy, some preparatory work is included.“On the academic side in Australia, what they do is prepare you for college life. You have to sit certain exams to prepare you. They just focus on preparing you.”

Just turned 18, it is an exciting adventure for Bonner, who says he will miss playing with Na Rossa.

“I had my first year of senior football with Na Rossa this year. I had been playing since U-13s, but I really, really enjoyed my football this year, probably the best football i played ever (this year). It was hard to walk away from that too.

“It was disappointing to lose the (junior) semi-final because Gaelic is an obsession for me and my family. Playing with Na Rossa too, because it’s a great community, and it was hard to walk away from all that, to be honest.”

But he is also looking forward to the full-time training aspect involved. “It is really exciting, and the whole concept of it being professional. Obviously, Gaelic football is not professional, unfortunately. But the whole concept of a professional lifestyle is really exciting and it’s something I always wanted to be a part of.

“The training can be intense; the gym sessions can be tough, even kicking sessions can be tough too. But it is something that I enjoy doing all day, every day.

“I would have played schoolboys soccer until I was 14 and I was with Finn Harps then for a year. Then when the Gaelic starts, when you reach a certain age, at 15, you have to make up your mind. I was on the Buncrana Cup team at U-16 and that’s when Gaelic football became the main focus.

“But that Buncrana Cup went up in smoke with Covid and it was only about a month afterwards that the American Football chance came up.”

And what if the name Bonner crops up on our Sunday night TV which covers the American game? “I don’t think there will be too many American Football players with the name Bonner. Hopefully, I’ll be the first to do it,” said Bonner, who hopes that all going well he will be ready to start college in America in January 2024.

“That would be the goal. Even since I have come out here, I feel that I am developing a lot in the last four weeks. If I can keep progressing like that, hopefully it will be looking good for me.

“Being away from home is the toughest thing. The time difference is when you’re training early in the morning you don’t get time to talk to family. And then by 11 am I think that’s midnight at home, so they are all in bed.”

However, there is good news for the Bonners as Cillian will be home for a Christmas break.

“They are flexible enough over here with holidays, especially for boys from abroad. I’m hoping to be home for a month at Christmas. You might get a smaller break in summer time, maybe a month or less. When I get back after Christmas it should be easier to settle in and then have a target date in the summer,” said Bonner, who added that there are plans for some of his siblings to make the trip to Australia during next year.

Already he has located some locals within 10 minutes from his base. “One of the lads from Leitir, Daryl Devenney, lives only 10 minutes away from me. He’s a great help. I meet him every week. There’s another lad from Glenties living just 10 minutes away. There’s a lot of Irish lads here,” says Bonner.

It’s a very interesting story. We will be watching with interest to see how Cillian Bonner’s dream progresses.