Mike Frank Russell (born 1977) is an

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 ...

sportsperson. He plays

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 ...

with his local club

Laune Rangers Laune Rangers is a Gaelic football and Hurling club based in town of Killorglin, County Kerry, Ireland. The club is affiliated to Kerry GAA. Rangers won the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship in 1996. History The club was formed in ...

and was a member at senior level of the Kerry county team from 1997 until 2009.

Early life

Born in

Killorglin Killorglin () is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. As of the 2016 CSO census, the town's population was 2,199. Killorglin is on the Ring of Kerry tourist route, and annual events include the August Puck Fair festival, which starts with the crown ...

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

in 1977, Russell was educated at Scoil Mhuire national school before later attending the Intermediate School in Killorglin. It was here that Russell's football skills were first developed and he became a key member of the school's senior team. In 1996 he captured a Corn Uí Mhuirí winners' medal as the Killorglin school captured the Munster colleges' title. An All-Ireland colleges' final appearance beckoned for Russell's side with St Patrick's of

Maghera Maghera (pronounced , ) is a small town at the foot of the Glenshane Pass in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Its population was 4,220 in the 2011 Census, increasing from 3,711 in the 2001 Census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster Distric ...

providing the opposition. Killorglin went on a goal scoring spree and proved more than a match for the point-scoring abilities of St Pat's. A 4-8 to 1-14 score line gave Killorglin the win and gave Russell an

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 ...

colleges' winners' medal. Russell currently works as a teacher in Mercy Holy Cross primary school in

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 ...

. In 2009, he married Sinead O'Brien in Killorglin.

Playing career

College

Russell attended the

Institute of Technology, Tralee The Institute of Technology, Tralee (IT Tralee; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Thrá Lí) was an institute of technology An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of techno ...

(ITT), where he lined out with the institute's senior football team and enjoyed some success. In the 1997-98 season his side reached the final of the inter-varsities football competition. The

University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

provided the opposition on that occasion in

Austin Stack Park Austin Stack Park is a GAA stadium in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. It is one of the stadiums used by Kerry GAA's Gaelic football team and the stadium of the hurling team. The ground was named after Austin Stack, an Irish revolutionary an ...

; however, ITT won the game by 0-10 to 0-8, giving Russell a

Sigerson Cup The Sigerson Cup is the trophy for the premier Gaelic football championship among Higher Education institutions (Universities, Colleges and Institutes of Technology) in Ireland. It traditionally begins in mid January and ends in late February. ...

winners' medal.

Inter-county

Russell made his debut for Kerry in the 1997 season. He became a key forward for Kerry over the next decade, winning a total of five All-Ireland medals with Kerry. He was also selected for the All-Star team in 2000. He retired from inter-county football in 2009. Went to New York for the summer 2009 to play for Roscommon New York who won the Championship

Honours

Ireland

International Rules Series The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team (s ...

(1) ** 2001 (sub)

Munster

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

**runner-up 2007

Kerry

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 ...

(5) ** 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2007; runner-up 2002, 2005, 2008 *

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 ...

(8) ** 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007; runner-up 1999, 2006, 2008 * National Football League (Division 1) (4) ** 1996-97, 2004, 2006, 2009 (sub) * National Football League (Division 2) (1) **2002 *

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 ( ...

(2) **1996, 1998 *

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

(3) ** 1996 (sub), 1997, 1998 (sub) *

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 ...

(1) ** 1994 *

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 ...

(1) ** 1994

Intermediate School Killorglin

* All-Ireland Senior Colleges' Football Championship (1) ** 1996 * Munster Senior Colleges' Football Championship (1) **1996

Institute of Technology, Tralee

(1) **1997-98

Laune Rangers

All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament which began in season 1970–71. It is the top-tier competition for the senior football clubs of Ireland and London. The current champions are Kilcoo of ...

(1) ** 1996 (sub) *

Munster Senior Club Football Championship The Munster Senior Club Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Munster GAA Football Senior Club Championship) is an annual Gaelic football competition for the champion clubs of each county. It has been organised by the Mu ...

(1) ** 1995 (sub), 1996 *

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 188 ...

(2) ** 1995 (sub), 1996; runner-up 1997, 2003, 2004 *

Kerry Under-21 Football Championship 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 ...

(1) ** 1995 *

Kerry Minor Football Championship 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 ...

(1) ** 1995 *

Kerry County Football League – Division 1 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 ...

(4) ** 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998

Awards

GAA GPA All Stars Awards The Gaelic Athletic Association-Gaelic Players' Association All Stars Awards (often known simply as the All Stars) are awarded annually to the best player in each of the 15 playing positions in Gaelic football and hurling. Additionally, one pla ...

(1) **2000

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Mike Frank 1977 births Living people All Stars Awards winners (football) All Stars Young Footballers of the Year Alumni of Institute of Technology, Tralee Irish international rules football players Irish schoolteachers Kerry inter-county Gaelic footballers Laune Rangers Gaelic footballers People from Killorglin Winners of five All-Ireland medals (Gaelic football)