The Leitrim county football team ( ) represents Leitrim 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

Leitrim GAA The Leitrim County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae Liatroma) or Leitrim GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Leitrim ...

, 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

Connacht Senior Football Championship The Connacht Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition for the senior county teams of Connacht GAA. All of the counties of Connacht participate in the championship, as well as counties London and New York. The winning ...

, 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 ...

. The team last won the Connacht Senior Championship in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

but has never won the All-Ireland Senior Championship or the National League. Considered "Connacht's traditional minnows", Leitrim is never considered seriously as likely to win a major title. Leitrim's home ground is

Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada {{Infobox stadium , name = {{lang, ga, Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada , nickname = , image = Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada.jpg , caption = Leitrim Gaelic football team training at Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada , location = Carrick-o ...

Carrick-on-Shannon Carrick-on-Shannon () is the county town of County Leitrim in Ireland. It is the largest town in the county of Leitrim. A smaller part of the town lies in County Roscommon. The population of the town was 4,062 in 2016. It is situated on a stra ...

. As of 2022, the team's manager is former

Ballaghaderreen Ballaghaderreen () is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It was part of County Mayo prior to 1898. It is located just off the N5 National primary road. The population was 1,808 in the 2016 census. History As of 1837, the town was recorde ...

and full-forward Mayo county player,

Andy Moran Andy Moran (born 2 November 1983) is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former player for Ballaghaderreen and the Mayo county team. He made his 150th league and championship appearance for Mayo in June 2017, his 13th season. Playing care ...

History

Leitrim's football history has brought sparse reward. They first competed in the

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 ...

in the 1907 championship. They were beaten by

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who built ...

on a score of 0-03 to 0-01 in the Connacht semi-final in their first ever match. The county won its first ever match in the 1910 championship, beating

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 the Connacht quarter-final by 0-03 to 0-00. They were then beaten by

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 the semi-final. Leitrim did not record another win until the 1914 championship. They beat Sligo by 5-07 0-02 to qualify for their first ever Connacht final but were beaten by Roscommon in the decider. In the semi-final of the 1924 Connacht Championship, Leitrim forced

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 ...

to a draw, then refused to play extra-time. Galway went on to be beaten in the final by Mayo following a replay. In 1927, with training from Sean O'Hehir, father of the veteran radio commentator Micheál and with the help of good fortune when Connacht semi-finalists Roscommon had to line out without five players whose car had broken down, Leitrim won their first ever Connacht title. Leitrim won the Connacht title and held

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 ...

to two points in the semi-final of the

. In the days of Cathal Flynn, Colin McNulty and Packie McGarty, both Connacht Railway Cup players, Leitrim lost four successive Connacht finals to Galway between 1957 and 1960, coming closest in 1958 when they equalised midway through the second half but were defeated by two points (Cathal Flynn scored 1-6). Flynn retired in 1966 from inter-county football while McGarty was at the end of his career when Leitrim were heavily beaten by a score 4-15 to 0-7 against Mayo in the Connacht final in 1967, scoring only one point from play. Leitrim won the National Football League Division 2 title and contested the 1959 NFL semi-final with a changed fullback line but were beaten by

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 ...

by seven points. A new generation of Leitrim under-21 players hosted and nearly beat the great Kerry team at

in 1977 before losing by five points, 3-13 to 3-8. The expected breakthrough from Michael Martin and his men never happened.

John O'Mahony John Francis O'Mahony (1815 – 7 February 1877) was a Gaelic scholar and the founding member of the Fenian Brotherhood in the United States, sister organisation to the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Despite coming from a reasonably wealthy fa ...

was appointed Leitrim manager to build on the success of the Under-21 team that won the 1991 Connacht Championship. He took Leitrim to the final of the 1994 Connacht Championship. Leitrim did not have an easy route to the final, beating Roscommon by a point and only overcoming Galway by a point in a replay. They took on Mayo in the final, overcoming O'Mahony's native county by two points in

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

. O'Mahony's feat in leading the team that is traditionally the weakest in the province to that title is still heralded nationally to this day. Leitrim were ultimately beaten in the All-Ireland semi-final by

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 ...

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 ...

. Since losing to Sligo in 1989, Leitrim had suffered a series of near-misses, and might have followed up 1994 against Galway, losing by a single point in 1995 and two points in 1996. The first county to benefit under the parentage rule was also the first to lose their big catch, with the loss of

Declan Darcy Declan Darcy (Irish: ''Déaglán Ó Dorchaí'') is a former Gaelic footballer who played for the Leitrim and Dublin county teams. He captained Leitrim to the 1994 Connacht Senior Football Championship, he also won a Connacht Under-21 Football ...

to Dublin depleting the panel in 1998, bringing Leitrim's most successful era to an end. Leitrim sprung a massive shock when they won the

FBD Insurance League The FBD, also called the FBD Insurance League, FBD Connacht League, the Connacht FBD Football League or FBD Insurance Connacht GAA Senior Football Competition, is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by Connacht GAA and sponsored by ...

in 2013, defeating their southern neighbours Sligo in the final. This was the county's fourth ever trophy and their first since 1994. As the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

'' reported, "There may have been no danger of any cows going unmilked in Leitrim after this game, but winning their first FBD League title – and their first trophy in 19 years – sparked off some understandable early season celebrations for Connacht's traditional minnows". They retained the title in 2014, defeating Roscommon in the final. The county's Vocational Schools team have made it to two

All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship The All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship was a Gaelic Athletic Association football and hurling competition. There are two levels of competition. Individual schools compete for county, provincial and All-Ireland competitions. County teams s ...

Finals losing to

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

in 1972 and

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 ...

in 1995. In 1977 were the team in Connacht championship to suffer defeat to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in 2023.

Current panel

^INJ Player has had an injury which has affected recent involvement with the county team.
^RET Player has since retired from the county team.
^WD Player has since withdrawn from the county team due to a non-injury issue.

Current management team

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 ...

*Assistant manager: Mike Solan *

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 ...

: James Glancy, until end of 2022 season * Head physiotherapist: Eanna Madden (international sprinter), replacing Shane Bohan ahead of the 2023 season

Managerial history

Leitrim have a history of appointing "foreign" managers, with

, from Mayo, proving to be the most successful; O'Mahony led Leitrim to the 1994 Connacht SFC (a first in 67 years). Other outsiders to manage Leitrim include

Seamus Bonner Seamus Bonner (6 November 1948 – 11 October 2012) was an Irish Gaelic footballer who played for various clubs, as well as for the Donegal county team. Bonner played 129 games for his county between 1972 and 1985, initially in midfield and la ...

, from Donegal;

Peter McGinnity Peter McGinnity (born October 1953) is a Gaelic football manager and former player who hails from Roslea in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. He also had past convictions within the Provisional Irish Republican Army(PIRA) Career Peter McGin ...

, from Fermanagh; Declan McCabe, from Monaghan, P. J. Carroll, from Cavan; Declan Rowley, from Longford, Dessie Dolan, from Westmeath;

Mickey Moran Mickey Moran is a former Gaelic footballer and manager-coach, who has been manager of Kilcoo since 2019, with a background as an inter-county manager who most recently managed the Leitrim county team. He played at senior level for the Der ...

, from Derry.

Players

Notable players

Records

* Cathal Flynn: Ireland player 1960, 1961 * Packy McGarty: Ireland player 1957, 1958

All Stars

Leitrim has 2 All Stars. 1990: Mickey Quinn
1994:

Seamus Quinn Seamus Quinn is a former Gaelic footballer from Gortletteragh, County Leitrim. Along with Mickey Quinn he is Leitrim's only All Star winner. Quinn won an All Star at full-back in 1994. This was in Leitrim's Connacht Senior Football Championship w ...

Honours

National

**Semi-finalists (2): 1927,

*All-Ireland Senior B Football Championship ** Winners (1): 1990 *

Tailteann Cup The Tailteann Cup is a second tier Gaelic football championship competition held annually since 2022 and organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is contested by those county teams who do not qualify for the All-Ireland Senior Foo ...

** Quarter-finalists (1):

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Tommy Murphy Cup The Tommy Murphy Cup was a Gaelic football competition, featuring senior county teams eliminated from the early stages of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and also Kilkenny when not fielding a team in the main All-Ireland. The seri ...

** Runners-up (1):

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

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 (2): 1945, 1956

Provincial

** Winners (2): 1927,

** Runners-up (9): 1914, 1949, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1967, 2000 * Connacht FBD League ** Winners (2):

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Connacht Junior Football Championship The Connacht Junior Football Championship is a junior "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played in the province of Connacht in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Connacht Council. The competition began in 19 ...

** Winners (7): 1938, 1941, 1946, 1952, 1962, 2004, 2017 *

Connacht Under-21 Football Championship The Connacht GAA Football Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Connacht Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Connacht Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the hi ...

** Winners (2): 1977, 1991 ** Runners-up (4): 1986, 1990, 1998, 2014 *

Connacht Minor Football Championship The Connacht Minor Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Connacht Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1928 for the youngest competitors (under-18 until 2017, now under-17) in the province of ...

** Winners (3): 1945, 1956, 1998 *Connacht Minor Football League ** Winners (1): 1983

References

{{GAA National Leagues County football teams