David Clifford (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: ''Daithí Ó Clúmháin'') (born 22 January 1999) is an Irish

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

er who plays as a corner-forward or full-forward at club level for Fossa and East Kerry and for the Kerry county team. He is regarded as one of the best players in the game.

Underage career

Schools

Clifford first came to prominence when he scored 2–05 in the

Hogan Cup The Hogan Cup ( ga, Corn Uí Ógáin), also known as the All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Senior A Football Championship, is the top level Gaelic football championship for secondary schools (sometimes referred to as colleges) in Ireland. The com ...

final 2016 as St Brendan's College, Killarney saw off St Patrick's College, Maghera to deliver their first title in 24 years.

Soccer

In addition to Gaelic football, Clifford also played underage

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, as a centre-half. The future professional English Football League players

Shane McLoughlin Shane Daniel McLoughlin (born 1 March 1997) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Salford City. McLoughlin was born in New York City, where his family lived in the Bronx. He moved to Kerry, Ireland, when he w ...

and

Dara O'Shea Dara Joseph O'Shea (born 4 March 1999) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for club West Bromwich Albion and the Republic of Ireland national team. Club career Born in Dublin, O'Shea began his career at St. Kevin's B ...

alongside future musician Ryan Meaney were his opponents at under-age level.

Minor

Clifford made his debut on the inter-county scene at the age of sixteen when he was selected for the Kerry minor team. He enjoyed two championship seasons with the minor team and won back-to-back Munster and

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

medals in 2016 and 2017. He was captain of the 2017 winning teams scoring 6–27 in six games, including 4–04 in the All-Ireland final win over

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

. He ended the 2017 season as the Minor Footballer of the Year.

Club

Fossa GAA Fossa GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in Fossa, County Kerry, Ireland. The club is concerned with the game of Gaelic football. It is a member of the East Kerry GAA board. History Located four miles west of Killarney, County ...

Clifford is a member of the Fossa club situated just outside

Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Castl ...

. They currently compete in the

Kerry Intermediate Football Championship The Kerry Intermediate Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by mid-tier Kerry GAA clubs. Rathmore are the title holders (2022).. Teams 2022 Teams Honours The winners can be promoted to play in the Kerr ...

Kerry, Munster & All-Ireland Junior Wins

A week after his first All-Ireland win with Kerry, Clifford scored 1-9 versus Listowel Emmets. In his second match of the 2022 club championship, he again scored 1-9 versus Castlegregory. In their third group match he scored 0-10 against Listry. Against

Annascaul Annascaul or Anascaul () is a village on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. It is situated 32.9 kilometres west of Tralee on the N86 Tralee - Dingle national secondary road near its junction with the R561 regional road to Castlema ...

in the quarter final he scored 1-6 in Fossa’s victory. In their semi final win over Ardfert, he contributed 0-9 of their 0-14 total. The Junior Premier final brought Fossa and Listry together again. In Fossa’s 4-15 to 0-22 win, Clifford scored an incredible 2-12. Fossa went on to win the 2022 Munster Junior club football championship. Clifford scoring 0-04 (0-02f) versus Feohanagh-Castlemahon (Limerick) and 0-10 (0-07f) in the final versus Kilmurry (Cork). In the All-Ireland series Clifford scored 0-07 (0-01f) in the semi final versus Castletown from Meath. He guided Fossa to their first All-Ireland Junior win in a man of the match performance versus Stewartstown Harps GFC. He scored 0-11 (0-03f) and was sent off in the dying moments having received a second yellow card.

East Kerry

Clifford plays with East Kerry at both underage and senior level. At underage level he won two Kerry Minor Football Championship titles in 2016 and 2017. He won a Kerry Under-21 Football Championship title in 2018. He later lined out in the

Kerry Senior Football Championship The Kerry Senior Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as Garvey’s SuperValu Senior Football Championship) is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1 ...

with the divisional side. He is two time county champion, winning the

2019 Kerry Senior Football Championship The 2019 Kerry Senior Football Championship was the 118th edition of Kerry GAA, Kerry GAA's premier gaelic football tournament for senior teams in County Kerry, Ireland. The tournament consists of 17 teams (8 club teams and 9 divisional teams), ...

and the 2020 Kerry Senior Football Championship. In 2019 he scored 1-6 in the quarter final, 0-9 in the semi final and 1-3 in the final

https://www.the42.ie/david-clifford-east-kerry-dr-crokes-kerry-sfc-final-4885895-Nov2019/] In 2020 he scored 1-5 in the quarter final and 1-4 in the final

In 2021 Kerry Senior Football Championship, 2021, a straight knock out championship was in place. Clifford scored 0-2 as East Kerry lost to eventual champions Austin Stacks. Clifford made his 2022 debut as a substitute in the win against Spa. He scored 0-3 after being introduced in the 40th minute. He scored 0-7 in the quarter final versus Kenmare Shamrocks. He won his third

beating Mid Kerry in the final, scoring 1-9 in the process.

Kerry

2018

Clifford made his senior debut during the 2018 National Football League. He won his first

Munster Senior Football Championship The Munster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship and shortened to Munster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It i ...

title later that summer after over coming Clare (0-2) and then

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

(0-2) in the final. Kerry failed to progress from their Super 8’s group stage. Clifford scoring 1-5 against Galway, 1-3 against Monaghan and 2-6 against Kildare. He ended the year with an All Star and as

All Stars Young Footballer of the Year The GAA & GPA All Stars Young Footballer of the Year (often called the All Stars Young Footballer of the Year, or simply Young Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given at the end of the Championship season to a young footballer aged 21 ...

2019

In 2019, Clifford again won the

with Kerry, scoring 0-3 in the semi final versus Clare and scoring 0-4 in the final versus Cork. In the Super 8 quarter final group stage, Clifford scored 0-7 against Mayo, 0-3 against Donegal and was rested against Meath. He scored 0-5 in the semi final against Tyrone. Kerry went on to reach the All-Ireland senior final versus Dublin. Clifford scored 0-2 in the drawn match and 0-5 in the replay, as Dublin ran out 1-18 to 0-15 winners. He ended the year with an All Star.

2020

Clifford was selected as Kerry captain due to the

being won by his East Kerry side. Kerry won the 2020 National Football League after winning 5 of their 7 matches. This was Clifford’s first national league title. Clifford scored 0-4 in the shock

semi final loss to

. The 2020 championship was straight knock-out and as such was his only championship game that year.

2021

He scored a hat-trick against Galway in the opening round of the 2021 National Football League. Kerry would go on to share the National League title with Dublin this year delivering Clifford his second league title. He won his third

defeating Clare (1-6), Tipperary (1-2) and Cork (0-1). Kerry reached the All-Ireland semi final in which they faced Tyrone. Clifford scored 0-8 on the day, however, due to injury he could not take part in extra-time. Tyrone ran out winners 3-14 to 0-22. He ended the year with an All Star.

2022

Clifford won his third

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

to start the inter county season. In the final versus Mayo he scored 1-6, 1-5 from play. His fourth Munster championship arrived in 2022. In the semi final he scored 0-4 however, injury prevented Clifford from playing in the final versus Limerick. The All-Ireland quarter final versus

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

saw Clifford return from injury. He scored 1-3 in the win. A semi final win over

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

was secured on the back of his 0-6. Clifford scored 0-8 in the

2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final The 2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was the 135th final of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in Gaelic football, the culmination of the 2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. The match was played at Croke ...

and in the process won his first

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

. He was chosen as man of the match due to his performance. He won his fourth All Star and was selected as

All Stars Footballer of the Year The Gaelic Athletic Association & Gaelic Player's Association All Stars Footballer of the Year — known for sponsorship reasons as the Vodafone Footballer of the Year — is a Gaelic football award. It is presented annually to the footballer wh ...

and

The Sunday Game ''The Sunday Game'' is RTÉ's main Gaelic games television programme. It is shown on RTÉ2 every Sunday during the Football Championship and Hurling Championship seasons. It is one of RTÉ2's longest-running shows, having been on air since 1 ...

Footballer of the Year.

2023

He made his season debut as a second half substitute in Kerry’s round 3 league match against Mayo.

All-Ireland Final scores

Personal life

Clifford and his girlfriend Shauna O'Connor have one son, Ógie, born in September 2021. His brother

Paudie Clifford Paudie Clifford (Irish: ''Pádraig Ó Clúmháin'') is an Irish Gaelic footballer. As of 2023, he is centre back and captain of Fossa, half forward for regional side East Kerry and at senior level for the Kerry county team. He is the brothe ...

is also a member of the Kerry team and a fellow All-Ireland winner. He studied in

Institute of Technology, Tralee The Institute of Technology, Tralee (IT Tralee; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Thrá Lí) was an institute of technology, located in Tralee, Ireland. It was established in 1977 as the Regional Technical College, Tralee. In January 2021, itse ...

and graduated with a degree in health and leisure. In August 2022, he graduated with a Masters in PE teaching at the

University of Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it beca ...

. He has worked alongside

Shane Enright Shane Enright (born 12 June 1988 in Tralee) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for his local club Tarbert and, formerly, for the Kerry county team from 2011 to 2020. He played for the Kerry minor team in 2005 and 2006. In 2006, he won a ...

for the

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc ( ga, Banc na hÉireann) is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Iris ...

, where he was hired for the summer in 2018. Clifford is a teacher in his alma mater St Brendan's College, Killarney. He supports

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

Career statistics

Club

Division

College

Inter-county

Championship appearances

Honours

;St Brendan's College *

(1): 2016 * Corn Uí Mhuirí (1): 2016 ;Fossa *

All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship is a Gaelic football competition which began in 2002 and is played by the junior club champions of each county. Prior to that a number of unofficial competitions were held. The winners of each cou ...

(1):

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

Munster Junior Club Football Championship The Munster Junior Club Football Championship, formally known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Munster GAA Junior Club Football Championship, is a Gaelic football competition, organized by the Munster provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic ...

(1):

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

*Kerry Premier Junior Football Championship (1): 2022 ;East Kerry *

(3):

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

*Kerry Under-21 Football Championship (1): 2018 *Kerry Minor Football Championship (2): 2016, 2017 ;Kerry *

(1):

(4):

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(3):

(c),

(jc),

All-Ireland Minor Football Championship The Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in Gaelic football played in Ireland. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it were replaced by an under ...

(2):

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Munster Minor Football Championship The Munster Minor Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1928 for the youngest competitors (under-18) in the province of Munster in Ireland. It is ...

(2):

McGrath Cup The McGrath Cup is a Gaelic football competition played each January in Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms ...

(1):

;Individual * All Star (4): 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 *

(1): 2022 *

(1): 2018 * GAA Minor Star Footballer of the Year: 2017 *Minor All-Star Award (1): 2017 *All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final Man of the Match (1): 2022 *

Team of the Year (3): 2018, 2021, 2022 *

Footballer of the Year (1): 2022 *Higher Education Rising Star Footballer of the Year (1): 2022 *Sigerson Cup Team of the Year (1): 2022

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford, David 1999 births Living people All Stars Awards winners (football) Association football defenders Bank of Ireland people East Kerry Gaelic footballers Fossa Gaelic footballers Gaelic footballers who switched code Gaelic football forwards Kerry inter-county Gaelic footballers People educated at St Brendan's College, Killarney Republic of Ireland association footballers