Ross Munnelly (born 23 December 1982) 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 from

County 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 ...

. 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 ...

for his club Arles–Kilcruise and previously for the

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 medi ...

senior team. In 2003, he was part of the Laois team that won 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 ...

title for the first time since 1946. He usually plays at wing forward for Laois.

Playing career

Club

In 2003, Munnelly starred when his club Arles–Kilcruise won the

Laois Senior Football Championship The Laois Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by top-tier Laois GAA clubs. The Laois County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1888. Portarlington are the title holders ...

title.

Inter-county

Munnelly emerged on to the scene in 2000 as part of the Laois minor team and in 2002 and 2003 he was part of the Laois Under-21 team. In 2003, he joined the Laois senior football team, helping them to a

. In 2005, he captained Laois to the final of that year's Leinster Senior Football Championship; they were beaten 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 ...

. The team went on to defeat

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 ...

in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, before being beaten by

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-final. In 2006, Laois were defeated by

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 ...

in their All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-final encounter. It was all downhill from there. Following this, Laois were knocked out in the All-Ireland qualifiers by

in 2007 and by Down in both 2008 and 2009. As of the conclusion of the 2022 season, Munnelly was the joint longest serving inter-county player (alongside

Niall McNamee Niall McNamee (born 21 October 1985 in Rhode, County Offaly) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays Gaelic football with his local club Rhode and the Offaly county team. He has been one of the top forwards in the country from the mid-2000s. H ...

of Offaly). Munnelly retired from inter-county football at the end of the 2022 season.

International rules

In 2005, Munnelly was chosen to represent

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 ...

in the

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 ...

away to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and in 2006 he was nominated for an All Stars Award. Though not chosen on the team, he was called up to travel to

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

as a replacement in January 2007. He played twice for Ireland against Australia in the

2013 International Rules Series The 2013 International Rules Series (officially the 2013 Irish Daily Mail International Rules Series) was the 17th International Rules Series contested between Gaelic footballers from Ireland and Australian footballers from Australia. Ireland en ...

, as Ireland romped to a record-breaking victory.

Career Statistics

: ''As of 26 July 2022''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munnelly, Ross 1982 births Living people Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Alumni of Dublin City University Arles-Kilcruise Gaelic footballers Gaelic football forwards Irish international rules football players Laois inter-county Gaelic footballers DCU Gaelic footballers