The Kildare county football team represents

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

in men's

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 ...

and is governed by

Kildare GAA The Kildare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), or Kildare GAA, is one of 12 county boards governed by the Leinster provincial council of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County ...

, the

county board A county board is a common form of county legislature, particular of counties in the United States. Related forms of county government include: * Board of Supervisors — a form of county legislature in some U.S. states * County commission, ...

of the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the

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 ...

, the

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

and the

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 ...

. Kildare's home ground is

St Conleth's Park St Conleth's Park ( ga, Páirc Naoimh Conlaith) is a GAA stadium in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland. It is the county ground of Kildare's Gaelic football and hurling teams. It also served as the town's greyhound racing track from 1948 until ...

, Newbridge. The team's manager is Glenn Ryan. The team last won the Leinster Senior Championship in 2000, the All-Ireland Senior Championship in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

and has never won the National League.

Colours and crest

The Kildare crest had a

serpent Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...

on it until 1993, reflecting that of

Kildare County Council Kildare County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Chill Dara) is the authority responsible for local government in County Kildare, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housin ...

, itself based on the crest for the town of

Naas Naas ( ; ga, Nás na Ríogh or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 21,393, making it the second largest town in County Kildare after Newbridge. History The name of Naas has been recorded in th ...

. When Kildare County Council had the

Heraldic Office of Ireland Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...

create a proper crest in 1991, and with Kildare fans regarding the serpent as a bad omen, the Kildare Supporters' Club requested a new one for their county teams; this featured

acorn The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...

s above a bunch of

lilies ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

(the county council one differed in that it had a

Brigid's cross Brigid's cross or Brigit's cross (Irish: ''Cros Bríde'', ''Crosóg Bríde'' or ''Bogha Bríde'') is a small variant of the Christian cross often woven from straw or rushes. It appears in many different shapes, but the most popular designs fe ...

, a harp, a horse's head and acorns). Kildare still lost in the first round of the

(SFC) for three years afterwards, from 1994 until 1996. The 1993 crest is no longer in use.

Kit evolution

History

Donegal beat Kildare in the 2011 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-final

Kildare first entered the

(SFC) in 1888, and lost to

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 ...

by a scoreline of 2–7 to 0–1. Kildare made a major contribution towards the evolution of rules and tactics in Gaelic football. The county was the first to abandon the tradition of playing 21 people on each team, using 16 on each team for a period. Kildare players invented the hand pass: a polished team tactic since 1903; The toe-to-hand was pioneered by the Roseberry (now Newbridge Sarsfields) club. A team made up of players from the two strongest clubs in the county, Roseberry and Clane, played

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...

three times for the All-Ireland Championship of 1903; the matches drew the first mass interest in a field sport in the country, had an aggregate attendance of 50,000, and were regarded as the games which "made the GAA." Kildare's four All-Ireland titles were won between 1905 and 1928: over

in 1905,

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

in 1919, and

again in the 1927 and 1928 finals. Kildare became the first team to win the

Sam Maguire Cup The Sam Maguire Cup ( ga, Chorn Sam Mhic Uidhir), often referred to as Sam or The Sam , is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the main competiti ...

in 1928. They haven't won it since. Tactics such as the hand pass were perfected by those early Kildare teams, but they also developed what became traditional catch-and-kick football. Olympic high jumper

Larry Stanley Larry Stanley (19 May 1896 – 21 September 1987) was an Irish Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for the Kildare and Dublin county teams. Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Stanley made his first appearance on ...

was regarded as one of the greatest fielders in the history of the game, and first winner of the all-time All Star award. Despite winning a

in 1956, reaching the National League final in 1958 and 1968, and winning the

All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship The GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the EirGrid GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association ( ...

in 1965, Kildare footballers seemed to have difficulty maintaining their proud tradition. The county lost six Leinster finals in the twelve years between 1966 and 1978. Although the Raheens club won a

Leinster Senior Club Football Championship The Leinster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament played on a knockout basis between the senior club championship winners of the competing counties in Leinster. The current holders of the Leinster title are Ba ...

title in 1983. In 1991, former

manager

Mick O'Dwyer Michael O'Dwyer (born 9 June 1936) is an Irish retired Gaelic football manager and former player. He most famously managed the senior Kerry county team between 1974 and 1989, during which time he became the county's longest-serving manager an ...

took charge of the county football team. Kildare lost two more Leinster finals to

in 1992 and 1993, as well as the

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 ...

final of 1991. When

came back for a draw in 1994 and won the replay, O'Dwyer was succeeded by Dermot Earley Snr for two years. He returned in 1997, and guided the county to victory over

Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

with 13 players and a dramatic, twice replayed series of matches with Meath (which they lost) that captured the imagination of the public and steeled the side for further honors. In 1998, the Kildare team became the only team in 110 years of championship football to beat the previous three champions,

, Meath and

in turn only to lose to

in the All-Ireland final; despite leading by three points at half time. Another Leinster followed in 2000, but

defeated them in the semi-final. Leinster Final defeats followed in 2002 and 2003, against

and a

side back-boned by their All-Ireland MFC winning sides of the late 1990s. In (2005), Kildare enjoyed mixed success and finished in the top six in the

, but was knocked out of the championship by

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

. In 2008 under the new management of Kieran McGeeney Kildare made a bit of unfortunate history by becoming the first team ever to lose a championship game to

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has ...

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

, losing in the first round by 0–13 to 0–9. However Kildares season took a turn for the better after that by beating

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

and

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh ( ga, Fir Manach), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of al ...

in the all- Ireland qualifiers to reach their first ever all-ireland quarter-final. To date in 2009, an improved Kildare side reached the Leinster Final only to suffer a defeat to Dublin. Kildare advanced to the All-Ireland quarter-final to play then All-Ireland champions Tyrone after beating

only to be knocked out by Tyrone. 2010 saw Kildare lose to

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

in the 2nd round. However Kildare had a great run through the qualifiers beating teams like Antrim, Leitrim,

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 ...

and

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7 ...

to once again reach the All-Ireland Quarter-final to face Leinster champions Meath which they got a slow start but enjoyed the 2nd half as they ran out winning 2–17 to 1–12. to reach the All-Semi-final for the first time since 2000. On 29 August 2010 Kildare faced Down for the first time ever in the championship which turned out to be a very tense game but Down ran out winners 1–16 to 1–14 after a very frantic finish. 2011 saw Kildare advance to the Leinster semi-final after defeating Meath in the Leinster quarter-final only to be defeated by

. Kildare had a good run in the qualifiers beating teams like

, Meath &

to advance to the All-Ireland quarter-final to face Ulster champions

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

which turned to be a very poor performance but the 2nd half was a real contest from both sides with the sides finishing level to drag the game into extra-time only to be defeated by a single point by

. Then in 2015 Cian O'Neill became manager after being with the Kerry backroom. In 2017 Kildare reached a first Leinster SFC final in 10 years. Only losing to Dublin by 9 points (Dublin 2–23 Kildare 1–17).

Support

There is a Kildare Supporters' Club. Kildare had songs in the official Irish Top 40 ahead of the 1998 All-Ireland SFC final. These were "C'mon you Lilywhites" by Sean Brennan and "Up the Lilywhites" by Brendan Cummins. Other songs from then included "The Lilywhites Are On The March" by John Rafferty, "Cill Dara Abu" by Paul McCormack and "The Power and the Glory" by the Patrician Primary Pipe and Brass Band.

Current panel

Current management team

:''Appointed October 2021:'' *

Manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

: Glenn Ryan *

Selector Selector may refer to: *Selector, electrical or mechanical component, a switch *''Selector'', music scheduling software for radio stations created by Radio Computing Services *Selector, of music, otherwise known as a disc jockey *Selector, a pers ...

Anthony Rainbow Anthony Rainbow is a Gaelic football manager and former player from County Kildare, Ireland. He played with the Kildare county team for almost 20 years with whom he won two Leinster Senior Football Championship medals, in 1998 and 2000. He pl ...

*Selector: Dermot Earley *Selector: Johnny Doyle *Selector: Brian Lacey

Managerial history

Players

Notable players

All Stars

;Nominations 1998: Christy Byrne, Ronan Quinn,

, Niall Buckley, Willie McCreery, Declan Kerrigan, Martin Lynch, Eddie McCormack
2000: Christy Byrne, Ken Doyle, Glenn Ryan, Willie McCreery
2002: Dermot Earley
2003: Enda Murphy
2007: Johnny Doyle
2008: Johnny Doyle
2009: James Kavanagh, Alan Smith
2010:

Emmet Bolton Emmet Bolton (born 30 November 1985) is a Gaelic footballer from County Kildare. He plays for the Kildare senior inter-county football team. He was named in the 2010 Opel GPA Team of the Year, and in 2011 he was nominated for an All Stars Aw ...

Eamonn Callaghan Eamonn Callaghan is a former Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for the Kildare county team. He captained his county. In 2011, Callaghan was part of the Ireland team that won the 2011 International Rules Series against Australia by ...

, James Kavanagh
2011: Hugh McGrillen
2012:

2017: Kevin Feely, Daniel Flynn
2018: Eoin Doyle, Daniel Flynn, Paul Cribben
2021: Daniel Flynn

Honours

National

** Winners (4):

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

, 1927,

** Runners-up (5):

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

** Runners-up (5): 1927–28, 1928–29, 1957–58, 1967–68, 1990–91 * National Football League Division 2 ** Winners (1):

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

* All-Ireland Under-21/Under-20 Football Championship ** Winners (2): 1965, 2018 ** Runners-up (3): 1966, 1976, 2008 *

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 ...

** Runners-up (1): 1973

Provincial

** Winners (13): 1903, 1905, 1919, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1935, 1956, 1998, 2000 ** Runners-up (23): 1891, 1906, 1908, 1916, 1920, 1921, 1925, 1936, 1938, 1946, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1975, 1978, 1992, 1993, 2002, 2003, 2009,

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

O'Byrne Cup The Bord na Móna O'Byrne Cup is a Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster GAA and first staged in 1954. The competition is named after Matt Byrne, a former Wicklow GAA club and county officer. By virtue of a quirk in translation, ...

** Winners (11): 1962, 1968, 1970, 1973, 1976, 1982, 1989,

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Leinster Junior Football Championship The Leinster Junior Football Championship is a junior "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played in the province of Leinster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Leinster Council. The competition began in 1906, ...

** Winners (12): 1927, 1931, 1938, 1956, 1965, 1967, 1970, 1989, 2004, 2011, 2013, 2018 * Leinster Under-21/Under-20 Football Championship ** Winners (12): 1965, 1966, 1967, 1972, 1976, 1983, 1992, 2004, 2008, 2013, 2018, 2022 ** Runners-up (8): 1973, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1989, 2005, 2015, 2016 *

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

** Winners (9): 1973, 1975, 1983, 1987, 1991, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019 ** Runners-up (13): 1934, 1940, 1942, 1949, 1953, 1965, 1980, 1989, 1990, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2018

References

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