The 1947 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was the sixtieth All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 1947 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Cavan were captained by John Joe O'Reilly.

Pre-game

For the first and only time, the final was played outside Ireland, at the Polo Grounds in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, to cater for the large

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

community there. The New York final was also intended to observe the centenary of the Great Famine that triggered mass Irish emigration to the U.S. and other countries. Around 30,000 people were in the ground for the final. Cavan travelled by air and Kerry by sea; the Cavan team credited their victory partially to their shorter time spent travelling. The Cavan team flew via the Azores, taking 30 hours. Kerry's trip by Ocean Liner took far longer.

Mick Higgins Mick Higgins (22 August 1922 – 28 January 2010) was an Irish Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for the Cavan county team, winning three All-Ireland medals during his career. In later years he was a successful coach. His first Al ...

, a key member of the Cavan team that day, recalled in later life: "There was no huge send-off for us in Cavan, but both teams got a good reception in New York when we arrived. I remember the team stayed in the Commodore Hotel, but I stayed with my relatives." He also remembered there was "oppressive heat" during the game itself. The

Artane Boys' Band The Artane Band () is a marching band for young musicians based at the Artane School of Music in Artane in Dublin, Ireland. Name The band was originally called the Artane Boys Band, with members drawn from the pupils at Artane Industrial Sch ...

travelled to New York to play before the match, as they do traditionally at all All-Ireland finals.

Match

Summary

After a slow start, Cavan fought back to lead 2–5 to 2–4 at the break and went on to win by four points. Peter Donohoe scored eight points from frees and was called "the

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

of Gaelic football" in the New York press.

Michael O'Hehir Michael James Hehir (also known as Michael O'Hehir and ga, Mícheál Ó hEithir; 2 June 1920 – 24 November 1996) was an Irish hurling, football and horse racing commentator and journalist. Between 1938 and 1985 his enthusiasm and memor ...

broadcast radio commentary back across the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. O'Hehir noticed that broadcasting delays would bring the radio link down five minutes before the final had ended. O'Hehir later recalled his plea:'"If there's anybody along the way there listening in, just give us five minutes more, and I kept begging for five minutes more". The link stayed open.

Details

Post-match

The Cavan team returned to Ireland aboard the RMS ''Queen Mary''. Higgins recalled, "It was only after we arrived in Southampton that we realised the joy of it all. Large numbers of Cavan people turned up to see us in London and Birmingham. We were treated like kings in Cavan." The 1947 All-Ireland final brought about an understanding that a large audience existed for Gaelic games highlights.

, the last surviving member of the winning team, died in January 2010. This was the last All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final to be played on 14 September until the 2019 replay.

References

{{All-Ireland Senior Football Championship All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, 1947 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Finals Cavan county football team matches Kerry county football team matches Sports competitions in New York City Washington Heights, Manhattan