Kerry county football team

The Kerry county football team represents Kerry in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Kerry GAA, the County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team compete in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Munster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.

Kerry's home ground is Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney. The team's manager is Peter Keane.

The team last won the Munster Senior Championship in 2019, the All-Ireland Senior Championship in 2014 and the National League in 2017.

History

Kerry are the most successful team in football history, having won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship on 37 occasions and the National Football League 20 times. The team is also the holders of a number of distinctive records in football championship history. They have contested 59 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Finals, the next highest participator being Dublin with 36 appearances. Kerry's record in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship involves having played 30 of the 31 other counties, with only Kilkenny being the exception.[1]

The traditional Irish game of caid, from which modern football developed, was especially popular in Kerry. The GAA was formed in 1884 and codified the modern rules of the game, which were soon adopted in Kerry clubs such as Laune Rangers. Despite this, the county team did not win an All-Ireland Football Championship in the nineteenth century. The 1903 title was the first won by Kerry, with them beating London in the final at a time when London were given a bye to that stage of the championship; Kerry's overall exceptional success in the game began in this period.

The Kerry team of the 1970s and 1980s were considered to be the greatest in the history of football[2][3][4] and its manager (Mick O'Dwyer) one of the greatest of all time.[2][5][6] In recent years Dublin have become the greatest team of all time winning 6 All-Irelands in a single decade. Their manager, Jim Gavin, is now acknowledged as the greatest manager of all time. Of the 20 All-Ireland finals held during those two decades, Kerry participated in 12, with victory coming on 9 occasions. During this time most other finals were won by Dublin, and there was a major rivalry between the two counties especially during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1982, Kerry came within one minute of winning an unprecedented fifth All-Ireland title in a row, only for a late goal by Offaly's Séamus Darby (controversial as many claimed Darby pushed the Kerry defender, Tommy Doyle, in the back) gave the title to Offaly. This goal was voted third in a poll to find the Top 20 GAA Moments.

Kerry team celebrating with Sam Maguire Cup in Tralee in 2007

Towards the end of the 1980s, Kerry went into decline and did not appear in an All-Ireland final for 11 years, between 1986 and 1997. The 1997 victory, however, would mark the beginning of a revival for Kerry which spanned roughly the first decade of the 21st century. Of the 15 All-Ireland finals between 1997 and 2011, Kerry contested ten and won six, including five titles in the 2000s. In 2006 and 2007, Kerry won consecutive All-Ireland titles (the first to do so since Cork in 1989 and 1990), while in 2009, they became only the third team to reach six consecutive All-Ireland finals (a feat last achieved by Dublin between 1974 and 1979), winning their 36th title by beating Cork in that final. Kerry quietly exited the 2010 and 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championships at the quarter-final stage, losing to Down and Donegal respectively, while Dublin defeated them in dramatic fashion on the last kick in the 2011 final.[7][8][9] Dublin were also responsible for their exit at the semi-final stage in 2013 in a closely contested classic match.[10] Kerry won their 37th, and most recent, All-Ireland title in 2014 against Donegal, winning by a margin of 2–09 to 0–12.[11] This win was notable due to Kerry's fairly young squad and a belief that Kerry were becoming unable to produce the talent they once had, after pundit Joe Brolly had suggested as such.[12] In the aftermath of the game, Kerry player Kieran Donaghy gave a famous interview in which he directly referenced Brolly's claim that the 'production line' in Kerry had stopped, with Donaghy speaking directly to the camera and asking 'Well, Joe Brolly, what do you think of that?'.[12] The next year, Kerry again reached the All-Ireland final, only this time to be comfortably beaten by Dublin, 0–12 to 0–9. The next two years saw Kerry bow out at the Semi-Final stage. In 2016, they were narrowly defeated by Dublin in a thrilling encounter, while in 2017 they were beaten by Mayo in a replay – their first championship defeat to Mayo in 21 years.[13][14][15] Kerry crashed out of the 2018 championships at the group stages of the new Super Eights format. However, in 2019 Kerry reached their first All-Ireland final for four years. The first match was drawn 1–16 to 1–16, with the final to be played on 14 September.[16]

Kerry's 2009 title was also notable since it followed the return of Tadhg Kennelly. The son of Tim Kennelly, a five-time All-Ireland winner with Kerry, and a former talented underage player with the county, he had joined the AFL's Sydney Swans and become the first Irish player to win an AFL Premiership in 2005 (the Swans' first in 72 years). Following Tim's death later that year, he elected to return to Ireland and rejoin Kerry in 2009 in pursuit of winning an All-Ireland of his own playing for the county. After he succeeded and became the first player to have won an All-Ireland and an AFL Premiership, he returned to Australia and the Swans to finish his career.

Supporters

In January 2003, Páidí Ó Sé famously described Kerry supporters "fucking animals". More than 15 years later, former Tyrone footballer Sean Cavanagh, recalling his own experiences of the Kerry supporters, agreed that Ó Sé had been right. Cavanagh mentioned a 2012 match at Fitzgerald Stadium when an injury meant he could not play. "Then you sit in the stand, and you realise Páidí Ó Sé was right. They are absolute animals when the game is on". Cavanagh also questioned their "patronising" attitude towards their opponents. "It was strange that day. Their fans were riled on the terraces. They beat us well. They beat us out the gate, and you thought, 'Jesus, these guys are absolute dogs'. And then I remember as we were leaving the changing room, walking out onto the team bus there were hundreds of Kerry supporters, all clapping us. Either side of us, as we were walking through. They were back slapping us, 'ah youse are great lads', and all this. To me, it seemed a wee bit patronising".[17]

Current squad
No. Player Position Club
1 Shane Ryan Goalkeeper Rathmore
2 Jason Foley Right Corner Back Ballydonoghue
3 Tadhg Morley Full Back Templenoe
4 Tom O'Sullivan Left Corner Back Dingle
5 Paul Murphy (c) Right Half Back Rathmore
6 Gavin Crowley Centre Back Templenoe
7 Brian Ó Beaglaoich Left Half Back An Ghaeltacht
8 David Moran Midfield Kerins O'Rahilly's

9 Jack Barry Midfield Na Gaeil
10 Gavin White Right Half Forward Dr Crokes
11 Seán O'Shea Centre Forward Kenmare Shamrocks
12 Stephen O'Brien Left Half Forward Kenmare Shamrocks
13 David Clifford Right Corner Forward Fossa
14 Paul Geaney Full Forward Dingle
15 Adrian Spillane Left Corner Forward Templenoe
No. Player Position Club
16 Brian Kelly Substitute Legion
17 Shane Enright Substitute Tarbert
18 Killian Spillane Substitute Templenoe
19 Jack Sherwood Substitute Firies
20 Dara Moynihan Substitute Spa
21 Tommy Walsh Substitute Kerins O'Rahilly's
22 Jonathan Lyne Substitute Legion
23 Diarmuid O'Connor Substitute Na Gaeil
24 Mark Griffin Substitute St Michael's/Foilmore
25 Killian Young Substitute Renard
26 James O'Donoghue Substitute Legion

Squad as per Kerry v Dublin, 2019 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final Replay, 14 September 2019

Recent call-ups
  • This is a list of players not included in the most recent matchday squad, but who are part of the 2019 senior panel
No. Player Position Club
James O'Donoghue Left Corner Forward Legion
Michael Geaney Right Half Forward Dingle
Peter Crowley Centre Back Laune Rangers
Conor Geaney Right Corner Forward Dingle
Robert Wharton Right Half Back Renard
Micheál Burns Right Half Forward Dr Crokes
Liam Kearney Midfield Spa
Denis Daly Left Half Forward St. Mary's
No. Player Position Club
Mark Griffin Full Back St. Michael's Foilmore
Tomás Ó Sé Right Half Forward An Ghaeltacht
Gavin O'Brien Full Forward Kerin's O'Rahilly's
Danny Sheahan Legion

Current management team

Managerial history

This is a list of people who have coached/managed the Kerry county football team in recent years.

NameClubFromToAll-Ireland titlesMunster titles
Peter Keane
St. Mary's
2019Present
2019
Éamonn Fitzmaurice
Finuge
20132018
2014
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Jack O'Connor
Piarsaigh Na Dromada
20092012
2009
2010, 2011
Pat O'Shea
Dr.Crokes
20072008
2007
2007
Jack O'Connor
Piarsaigh Na Dromada
20042006
2004, 2006
2004, 2005
Páidí Ó Sé
An Ghaeltacht
19952003
1997, 2000
1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003
Ogie Moran
Beale
1992[18]1995[19]
Mickey Ned O'Sullivan
Kenmare
19891992
1991[20]
Mick O'Dwyer
Waterville
19751989[21]
1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986
1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986
Johnny Culloty
Killarney Legion
19721974
1972[22]
Joe Keohane
John Mitchels
1971[23]1972
Jackie Lyne
Killarney Legion
1968[24]1971[25]
1969, 1970
1968, 1969, 1970
Dr Jim Brosnan
Dingle
1965[26]1968[27]
1965

Honours
Main article: Kerry GAA honours

Kerry have won 37 All-Ireland Senior Football Championships and have been the losers in 20 other All-Ireland Football Finals. Kerry footballers have won some awards and hold numerous individual records in the sport. Pat Spillane received nine All Star Awards during his career, a feat matched by no other Gaelic footballer, while Tadhg Kennelly remains the only holder of both an AFL Premiership medallion and a Senior All-Ireland Championship medal, the highest respective possible honors in the sports of Australian rules football and Gaelic football, in addition to winning a GAA Medal as Irish Player of the Series in the International Rules Series.

Kerry have also won the most Munster Senior Football Championships, with 81 titles including the last 7 in a row.

References
  1. Nolan, Sean (2 August 2012). "Hospital Pass: Kerry eye up Kilkenny and where Andy Moran wants to play the All-Ireland final". JOE. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  2. Keane, Paul (20 April 2003). "GAA: Micko's still the best in my book says Armagh's Kernan". Sunday Mirror. Archived from the original on 28 October 2008.
  3. "Tears flow freely in Listowel on the day they buried a real giant". The Kingdom. 15 December 2005. Archived from the original on 23 June 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2005.
  4. "Better late than never". Irish Examiner. 24 September 2005. Archived from the original on 26 June 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2005.
  5. Ó Sé, Páidí (18 May 2008). "Last hurrah looms for football's most remarkable man". Sunday Independent. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
  6. "Where next for Mick O'Dwyer?". Irish News UK – News from the Irish Community in Britain. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  7. "Down shock Kerry at Croke Park". RTÉ Sport. 31 July 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
  8. Keys, Colm (7 August 2012). "House that Jack built in danger of collapse". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  9. Moynihan, Michael (1 July 2009). "Brolly: Kerry in 'terminal decline'". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
  10. "Colm Keys: Was Dublin v Kerry the greatest game Gaelic football has seen?". Irish Independent. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  11. "As it happened: Kerry 2–9 Donegal 0–12". Independent.ie. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  12. "Tomás O'Sé pokes fun at Joe Brolly's prediction of a Kerry demise". Independent.ie. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  13. O'Toole, Fintan. "Late points carry Dublin to victory over Kerry in All-Ireland semi-final cracker". The42. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  14. O'Toole, Fintan. "Durcan rescues a draw for Mayo against Kerry in All-Ireland semi-final thriller". The42. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  15. O'Brien, Kevin. "Rochford gets it right as Mayo claim first win over Kerry in 21 years to seal return to All-Ireland final". The42. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  16. Sweeney, Peter (1 September 2019). "History suspended as Dublin and Kerry share the spoils". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  17. Clarke, Harry. "'Páidi Ó Sé was right, Kerry fans are absolute animals' – Sean Cavanagh", Independent, 11 July 2019.
  18. "The three wise men of Kerry football have Sam in sight"; The Kerryman; 18 September 1992, p. 1
  19. Sports Digest, The Kerryman, 25 August 1995, p. 22
  20. "Interview with Mickey Ned O'Sullivan". terracetalk.com.
  21. Barry, John, "Taoiseach joins tribute to Micko", The Kerryman, 4 August 1989, p. 1
  22. "Culloty, Johnny – HoganStand". hoganstand.com.
  23. "Captain Joe Keohane to train Kerry", Irish Press, 20 November 1971, p. 20
  24. "Jackie Lyne will train Kerry team", The Kerryman, 18 May 1968, p. 21
  25. "Jackie Lyne retires", Irish Independent, 20 July 1971, p. 13
  26. "Jim succeeds Dr. Eamon as Kerry team trainer"; Kerryman 27 February 1965, p. 16
  27. "Jackie Lyne will train Kerry team"; Kerryman 18 May 1968, p. 21
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