72-606: The Dr McKenna Cup is an annual Gaelic football competition played between counties and universities in the province of Ulster . It is the secondary Gaelic football competition based in Ulster behind the Ulster Senior Football Championship , and the fourth most important inter-county competition in which Ulster counties take part, behind the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship ,
144-494: A crowd of 70,000 spectators. By 1958, Wembley Stadium hosted annual exhibition games of Gaelic football in England, before tens of thousands of spectators. Ladies' Gaelic football has become increasingly popular with women since the 1970s. In 1967, Australian journalist, broadcaster, and VFL umpire Harry Beitzel , inspired by watching the 1966 All-Ireland senior football final on television, sent an Australian team known as
216-567: A dozen clubs had been established in the US by 1893. The first clubs appeared in England in 1896. Around 1900 the game began to resemble more closely to the running game of today, players were able to lift the ball off the ground and run and carry it if they bounced it every 4 yards. The first match played in Australia was in 1902 finding a niche in Queensland during a period when Australian football there
288-481: A fixture clash with the Sigerson Cup . The competition was cancelled in 2021. It was cancelled in 2022 as part of fixture revamps but then reinstated, again with only county teams. From 2007, the games were broadcast live on Irish language channel, TG4 . The 2015 final between Tyrone and Cavan was shown live on BBC Sport NI's red button service and on its website. This, along with the fact that attendances are in
360-443: A larger ground. 2. There shall not be less than 14 or more than 21 players a side in regular matches. 3. There shall be two umpires and a referee. Where the umpires disagree the referee's decision shall be final. There shall also be a goal umpire at each end of the ground to watch for goals and points. The referee shall keep the time, and throw up the ball at the commencement of each goal. 4. The goalposts shall stand at each end in
432-404: A player from throwing the ball a little in front to allow himself more freedom in kicking it. 11. Where the rules are broken the referee may allow a free kick if he thinks fit. In such a free kick the ball must be kicked from the ground. No player on the opposite side is to approach nearer than 14 yards until the ball is kicked; but if the free kick is allowed nearer than 14 yards of the goal line,
504-419: A rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kicking or punching the ball into the other team's goal (3 points) or between two upright posts above the goal and over a crossbar 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) above the ground (1 point). Players advance the ball up the field with a combination of carrying, bouncing, kicking, hand-passing, and soloing (dropping the ball and then toe-kicking
576-401: A role at a professional sports team abroad. McGuinness's services have also been sought by Premier League soccer teams. According to a 2015 TUD study by Shane Mangan, Donegal had the largest playing population in Ulster, with 14,000 players at that time. The first Donegal County Board was formed in 1905. Charlie O'Donnell resigned as County Secretary for personal reasons 15 months into
648-468: A seven-year contract in December 2009. When John McConnell was County Chairman , he worked with Brian McEniff on plans for a divisional championship in the county; McConnell later resigned and this proposal did not go any further. Naul McCole was County Chairman in 1992 and was also a selector under Brian McEniff when Donegal won the 1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final . Pat Conaghan
720-461: A twelve-page booklet in 1979 using his research into the newspaper archives of the Donegal Democrat , Donegal News and Derry Journal , which he personally gathered at their offices and compiled in scrapbooks. The Book of Donegal GAA Facts was first published in 1985. The eighth edition of the book launched in 2020. It is used by journalists wishing to verify information on Gaelic games in
792-562: A variable number of substitutes. Gaelic football is one of four sports (collectively referred to as the " Gaelic games ") controlled by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the largest sporting organisation in Ireland . Along with hurling and camogie , Gaelic football is one of the few remaining strictly amateur sports in the world, with players, coaches, and managers prohibited from receiving any form of payment. Gaelic football
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#1733093183487864-716: Is France, where it has been growing lately, not least in the Celtic region of Brittany . Gaelic Park in New York City is the largest purpose-built Gaelic sports venue outside Ireland. Three major football competitions operate throughout the year: the National Football League and the All-Ireland Senior Championship operate on an inter-county basis, while the All-Ireland Club Championship
936-545: Is contested by individual clubs. The All-Ireland Senior Championship is considered the most prestigious event in Gaelic football. Under the auspices of the GAA, Gaelic football is a male-only sport; however, the related sport of ladies' Gaelic football is governed by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association . Similarities between Gaelic football and Australian rules football have allowed
1008-439: Is driven over the goal line, and not through the goal, the goalkeeper shall have a free kick from the goal, and no player on the opposite side to approach nearer than the 21-yard line until the ball is kicked. If the ball is driven over the goal line by a player whose goal line it is, it shall count one point for the opposite side; if driven over the goal line within 21 feet of either goal post, it shall count three points; if through
1080-557: Is mainly played on the island of Ireland, although units of the Association exist in Great Britain , mainland Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. The final of the All-Ireland Senior Championship , held every year at Croke Park , Dublin , draws crowds of more than 80,000 people. Outside Ireland, football is mainly played among members of the Irish diaspora . A notable exception
1152-681: Is most likely the "football kicking under the Irish rules" that Thomas Croke later recalled in County Cork . Irish football is a great game and worth going a long way to see when played on a fairly laid out ground and under proper rules. Many old people say just hurling exceeded it as a trial of men. I would not care to see either game now as the rules stand at present. I may say there are no rules and therefore those games are often dangerous. Irish historian Garnham, citing R.M. Peter's Irish Football Annual of 1880, argued that Gaelic football did not exist before
1224-657: Is one of 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Donegal . The County Board is responsible for preparing the Donegal county teams in the various Gaelic sporting codes; football , hurling , camogie and handball . The county football team was the third from the province of Ulster to win an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC), following Cavan and Down . It last won
1296-692: The 2011 Lory Meagher Cup . The county then became the first to win the Nicky Rackard Cup on three occasions, achieving this feat in 2020 after earlier wins in 2013 and 2018 . In 2019, following the 2018 Nicky Rackard win, the county made its debut in the Christy Ring Cup , the competition founded in place of the All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship . Donegal has a ladies' football team. Dominic McGlinchey resigned as senior manager in 2009 and Hughie Molloy took over temporarily until
1368-480: The United Ireland magazine on 7 February 1887. The original rules bear many similarities to modern football with the requirement to kick, handpass, and the basic scoring system, however, the original rules also included many Australian features including additional scoring posts (removed later in 1910 ). The code had already begun to diverge, with the mark being deprecated, the soccer ball being adopted, and carrying
1440-562: The Victorian Rules (first codified in 1859 and then played extensively in the Colony of Victoria and Colony of Queensland and to a lesser extent in the colonies of New South Wales and New Zealand ). This kicking variety of football was even played with an oval ball which became customary in Australia in the 1870s and that scoring was achieved only by kicking goals. A major difference between
1512-431: The "Galahs" including South Melbourne 's Bob Skilton , Richmond 's Royce Hart , Carlton 's Alex Jesaulenko and Melbourne and Carlton legend Ron Barassi as captain-coach – to play against Mayo and All-Ireland champions Meath, which was the first recorded major interaction between the two codes. Donegal GAA The Donegal County Board ( Irish : Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Dhún na nGall ) or Donegal GAA
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#17330931834871584-420: The "field game" in which the object was to put the ball through arch-like goals, formed from the boughs of two trees, and; the epic "cross-country game", which lasted the whole of a Sunday (after mass ) and was won by taking the ball across a parish boundary. "Wrestling", "holding" opposing players, and carrying the ball were all allowed. Some accounts of traditional Irish football come not from Ireland, but from
1656-412: The 1840s in the Colony of Victoria including Melbourne at Batman's Hill and the goldfields in the Colony of Victoria . The account of H C A Harrison , one of the seminal in the history of Victorian football, of Irish rules was that it gave players "the full ability to kick anybody that came within reach". Shin-kicking (or hacking ) was a major feature of traditional Irish football and also one of
1728-546: The 1858 Cambridge Rules ) and Blackheath (1862 club rules). County Limerick was a stronghold of the game in the 1880s, and the Commercials Club in Limerick , founded by employees of Cannock's Drapery Store, was one of the first to impose a set of rules, which was adapted by other clubs in the city. These rules are believed to be the basis for the rules that were later adopted by the GAA and appear to have contained some of
1800-494: The 1880s and curious about the origin of the distinctive features believed that clubs from England in 1868 most likely introduced elements of their codes including the " mark " (a free kick to players who cleanly catch the ball, which was a feature of the matches played in the 1880s), lack of offside and scoring by kicking between the upright posts. Unable to identify the source of these peculiar traits he concluded that they must have been introduced by Trinity, Cambridge (those known as
1872-438: The 1880s are scant. USGAA makes the unsourced claim that matches were played at Hyde Park, San Francisco in the 1850s. During the 1860s and 1870s, rugby football started to become popular in Ireland. Trinity College Dublin was an early stronghold of rugby, and the rules of the (English) Football Association were codified in 1863 and distributed widely. By this time, according to Gaelic football historian Jack Mahon, even in
1944-467: The 1920s was slowly emerging from war, unrest and change. When the Ulster Council sought donors for trophies there wasn’t a queue to their door with offers. From 1923 the council were actively looking for a donor for their senior championship and in 1925 the treasurer of the council proposed the establishment of a second competition to prepare teams for the championship. Two loyal GAA stalwarts came to
2016-572: The 2025 season and may be scrapped. The cup was donated to the Ulster Council in 1924 by the Most Rev. Dr McKenna, with the first tournament being played in 1927. When Patrick McKenna , the Roman Catholic Bishop of Clogher , presented the McKenna Cup to the Ulster Council in 1925, he was one of only a small group willing at that time to be publicly associated with the GAA in Ulster. Ireland in
2088-717: The All-Ireland SFC in 2012 and the Ulster Senior Football Championship in 2024 . Donegal players comprised most of the 2012 All Stars Team of the Year , and the three nominations for the All Stars Footballer of the Year , ultimately won by Karl Lacey . In addition, having been invited to assist the Celtic soccer team in Scotland, Donegal manager Jim McGuinness became the first Gaelic football inter-county manager to have been offered
2160-665: The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 2012 . The team last won the Ulster Senior Football Championship in 2024 . Clubs contest the Donegal Senior Hurling Championship . Burt and Setanta Hurling Club have an archrivalry. They are the county's most prominent clubs in the sport. Donegal's first Ulster Senior Hurling Championship was won in 1906, its most recent in 1932. In the 21st-century, Donegal won
2232-619: The Donegal SFC rankings, before a sizeable gap to fourth position. 14 clubs have won more than one title. Killybegs , though possessing only six SFCs, also appeared in the final of the 1991 Ulster Senior Club Football Championship, a feat never achieved by either St Eunan's or Aodh Ruadh. A system of promotion and relegation operates between the SFC and the Donegal Intermediate Football Championship (IFC). Likewise, between
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2304-595: The IFC and the Donegal Junior Football Championship (JFC). The All-County Leagues are another competition for clubs. This had been divided into four divisions for many years but — because of the "split season" and the inability to play 18 rounds of games — from 2022, this was reduced to three, with 13 clubs in Division 1, 14 clubs in Division 2 and 13 clubs in Division 3. As of 2013, there were 40 clubs under
2376-590: The Irish countryside, caid had begun to give way to a "rough-and-tumble game", which even allowed tripping. The first account of what the founders of modern Gaelic football referred to as Irish football dates to 1873. Paddy Begley notes that in County Kerry in 1870 only soccer and rugby were played, although historian Paddy Foley notes that by 1874 a third, very different form of football began to emerge and spread across South-West Ireland . At Killarney , these highly popular matches were virtually indistinguishable from
2448-567: The Irish diaspora, often in celebrating traditional events such as St Patrick's Day. The largest such communities existed in Britain, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Many of the earliest football matches in Australia date back to the 1840s amongst Irish immigrants. In the Colony of South Australia , there are several accounts of Irish football being played at Thebarton in 1843 and again in 1853. There were similar accounts of football in
2520-536: The Lyons or Newcastle), was charged with accidentally stabbing a player named William Bernard. A field near Newcastle, South Dublin is still known as the football field. The Statute of Galway of 1527 allowed the playing of "foot balle" and archery but banned " ' hokie'—the hurling of a little ball with sticks or staves" as well as other sports. By the 17th century, the situation had changed considerably. The games had grown in popularity and were widely played. This
2592-600: The Ulster Championship and the National Football League . Once held in high regard, in recent years the focus of the competition has changed, and some county teams have made use of it as a pre-season "warm up" competition ahead of the National League and Championship. Since 2016 the competition has been known—for sponsorship reasons—as the Bank of Ireland McKenna Cup . The competition has been suspended for
2664-567: The Ulster counties allowed the two main Universities in Ulster, Queen's University , and the University of Ulster and St Mary's University College (a college of Queen's University). The stipulation of this was that University teams would have first choice for any player who is eligible to play for both the University team and the county team. The University teams have, naturally, emerged as among
2736-477: The Victorian Rules of 1866. It is not known how or when these Victorian Rules reached Ireland, though many of the goldrush Irish immigrants returned to Ireland during the 1870s and 1880s as the colonial fortunes faded. At a similar point in time, the same football rules were proposed as an alternative to those of soccer and rugby in northern England but did not take root there. Playing the code under its own rules
2808-533: The auspices of the Donegal County Board. These range from Malin at the northernmost point of the county to Naomh Columba in the south, a round distance cited in 2020 media reports of c. 320 kilometres, with an estimated one-way time of more than two hours before roadworks were taken into account. The county team came to the fore of Ulster football in the 1970s, winning its first Ulster Senior Football Championship in 1972. The win coincided with
2880-461: The ball not allowed, as such there was no requirement to bounce or solo the ball carrying the ball remained illegal until the turn of the 20th century. The game was intended to promote peace and harmony, rejecting the violence of other football codes, and Davin even included a requirement for players to hold hands with their opponents though this practice fell out of favour. The first game of Gaelic football under GAA rules (developed by Maurice Davin)
2952-541: The ball upward into the hands). In the game, two types of scores are possible: points and goals. A point is awarded for kicking or hand-passing the ball over the crossbar, signalled by the umpire raising a white flag. A goal is awarded for kicking the ball under the crossbar into the net (the ball cannot be hand-passed into the goal), signalled by the umpire raising a green flag. Positions in Gaelic football are similar to those in other football codes and comprise one goalkeeper , six backs, two midfielders, and six forwards, with
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3024-469: The ball were permitted. However even "foot-ball" was banned by the severe Sunday Observance Act of 1695 , which imposed a fine of one shilling (a substantial amount at the time) for those caught playing sports. It proved difficult, if not impossible, for the authorities to enforce the Act and the earliest recorded inter-county match in Ireland was one between Louth and Meath , at Slane , in 1712, about which
3096-431: The centre of the goal line. They shall be 21 feet apart, with a crossbar 8 feet from the ground. Besides the goal posts, there shall be two upright posts standing in each goal line 21 feet from the goal posts. A goal is won when the ball is driven between the goalposts and under the crossbar. A point is counted when the ball is driven over the crossbar, or the goal line, within 21 feet of either goal post. 5. The captains of
3168-777: The club (representing County Limerick) later won the inaugural 1887 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final . English (Association) football started to take hold, especially in Ulster , in the 1880s. By the mid-1880s it had become so popular that it was feared by many to completely displace Irish football. Ball-playing, hurling, football kicking, according to Irish rules, 'casting', leaping in various ways, wrestling, handy-grips, top-pegging, leap-frog, rounders, tip-in-the-hat, and all such favourite exercises and amusements amongst men and boys, may now be said to be not only dead and buried, but in several localities to be entirely forgotten and unknown. Irish football, however, continued its grip on
3240-470: The council's rescue in 1925. JF O Hanlon, owner of The Anglo-Celt newspaper presented a trophy to BC Fay, secretary of the Council. It was decided to use the trophy for the Ulster senior championship and it was first presented to Cavan who won the 1925 Ulster championship. Treasurer O'Duffy was successful in securing a trophy from the bishop of Clogher and the new cup was presented to Council in 1925 although it
3312-489: The county returned to competition in the Ulster Junior Championship in 2008. Under Camogie's National Development Plan 2010–2015, "Our Game, Our Passion", it was announced that Donegal, Kerry , Mayo and Monaghan would receive a total of 14 new clubs by 2015. Several clubs in cities worldwide use the "Donegal" or "Tír Chonaill" name. These include: Fr Seán Ó Gallchóir , the statistician, first compiled
3384-421: The county's first All Star —in the form of Brian McEniff —in the second year of the award's existence. A second provincial title followed for Donegal in 1974. The county team won a third provincial title in 1983. Fourth and fifth titles followed in 1990 and 1992. They team later qualified for the 1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final , where it defeated heavy favourites Dublin . Donegal last won
3456-499: The development of international rules football , a hybrid sport , and a series of Test matches has been held regularly since 1998. While Gaelic football as it is known today dates back to the late 19th century, various kinds of football were played in Ireland before this time. The first legal reference to football in Ireland was in 1308, when John McCrocan, a spectator at a football game at Novum Castrum de Leuan (the New Castle of
3528-590: The end of the season. . Molloy was appointed new manager of the team in December 2012. Maxi Curran is now Donegal Senior Ladies Football Manager. Donegal competed in the Ulster Senior Championship from the 1930s, hosting Antrim in Letterkenny in 1945. They succeeded in fielding a league team in the 1980s, drawing on the groundwork at Loreto, Letterkenny which fielded successful colleges teams. The Pan Celtic games of 2006 rejuvenated camogie in Donegal and
3600-432: The goal it shall count a goal. 9. The match shall be decided by the greater number of goals. When no goal is made, or when the goals are even, it shall be decided by the greater number of points. 10. The ball must be struck with the hand. It may be caught when off the ground, and the player catching it may kick it any way he pleases, but must not carry it or throw it forward. Note. — There is nothing in this rule to prevent
3672-665: The main reasons why it failed to be widely adopted in Australia. Irish football was also played in the Colony of New Zealand in the 1860s and 1870s in Auckland during Thomas Croke 's term as Archbishop there. An 1882 theatrical performance in New York portrays a controversial Irish football match on Saint Nicholas Day 6 December 1790 at the school of Champs de Mars in Paris. Despite a large Irish population references to it being played in America before
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#17330931834873744-463: The match, full power to disqualify any player or order him to stand aside and discontinue play, for any act he may consider unfair, as set out in Rule 6, or for vicious play. No nails or iron tips are allowed on the boots. Strips of leather fastened on the soles will prevent slipping. The dress for hurling and football is to be knee breeches and stockings and shoes or boots. Gaelic football spread throughout
3816-410: The official team sheet, which was another breach of the rules. However, Tyrone's victory was reinstated upon appeal. Ahead of the 2013 competition, Queen's University Belfast withdrew in a controversy over their players being poached by other teams, though Ulster Council President Aogan Farrell had appealed for this practice to stop. In the 2020 competition , only county teams took part because of
3888-436: The opposite players need not stand behind that line. 12. If the ball strikes a bystander near the sideline, except the referee or umpire, it shall be considered out of play and must be thrown in as directed in Rule 8. If it occurs near the goal line it shall be considered out of play and must be kicked from the goal. In the latter case, the referee may allow one point or more if he thinks fit. 13. The referee shall have, during
3960-614: The poet Séamas Dall Mac Cuarta wrote a poem of 88 verses beginning "Ba haigeanta". A six-a-side version was played in Dublin in the early 18th century, and 100 years later, there were accounts of games played between County sides (Prior, 1997). By the early 19th century, various football games, referred to collectively as caid , were popular in County Kerry , especially the Dingle Peninsula . Father W. Ferris described two forms of caid :
4032-405: The referee may think fit, and his side cannot substitute another man. Wrestling shall not be allowed. 7. The time of actual play shall be one hour, and sides are to be changed only at half-time. 8. When a player drives the ball over the sideline, it shall be thrown back from the point where it first crossed the line by a player on the opposite side. It may be thrown in any direction. When the ball
4104-420: The region of 20,000 for the later matches, suggests that the tournament is held in higher esteem than its counterparts in other provinces, such as the O'Byrne Cup . Gaelic football Gaelic football ( Irish : Peil Ghaelach ; short name Peil ) , commonly known as simply Gaelic , GAA or football , is an Irish team sport . A form of football , it is played between two teams of 15 players on
4176-513: The rules widely distributed in 1887. The GAA sought to promote traditional Irish sports, such as hurling, and to reject "foreign" (particularly English) imports. The first Gaelic football rules, showing the influence of hurling (and incorporating some of the Victorian Rules of 1866 and 1877 ) represented the strong desire to differentiate from association football (and rugby)—for example in their lack of an offside rule . The rules were first drawn up by Maurice Davin in 1884 and later published in
4248-402: The southern counties. Accounts from 1889 state that the variety of football that was becoming popular in Ireland in 1884 bore little resemblance at all to the old mob football and was received by the public as more a hybrid of English and Scotch football. Irish forms of football were not formally arranged into an organised playing code by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) until 1884 with
4320-430: The teams shall toss for choice of sides before commencing play, and the players shall stand in two ranks opposite each other in the centre of the field until the ball is thrown up, each holding the hand of one of the other side. 6. Pushing or tripping behind, holding from behind, catching below knees, or butting with the head, shall be deemed foul, and the player so offending shall be ordered to stand aside for such time as
4392-464: The two styles is that the Irish variety featured high kicking " up and under " whereas in colonial Victoria, the little marks or foot passes were much more common. While the founders of the game were all familiar with or played rugby, including Cusack and Davin, few had played Irish football as it was so rare outside of the South-West, though the influence of this football on the founders was obvious, this
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#17330931834874464-418: The weaker teams, but are by no means the 'whipping boys' of the competition, having beaten teams such as Antrim in 2007, and the added experience against playing teams of such a high standard is expected to be beneficial to the University teams in the principal Gaelic football competition for Irish universities, the Sigerson Cup . This initiative seems to be bearing fruit, given that the 2007 Sigerson Cup final
4536-519: The world in the late 19th century. Despite a huge Irish American population there was limited awareness of the game in America, though there was limited knowledge of its rules, apart from that the ball cannot be lifted from the ground by hand, and throttling is banned. It was first played in North America in the 1890s with games being played in both Canada and the United States in 1892. More than
4608-644: Was County Chairman in 1997. Brian McEniff was County Chairman in late 2002 when, unable to find a manager for the senior football team, he did it himself. P. J. McGowan completed five years as County Chairman in December 2012. Sean Dunnion succeeded McGowan. Aodh Ruadh clubman Mick McGrath — a former inter-county referee — succeeded Dunnion as the 43rd chair in 2017. County Treasurer Cieran Kelly resigned early from his role in July 2018, blaming County Chairman Mick McGrath for ensuring that he "wasn't welcome" at fundraising meetings. The election for Kelly's successor
4680-605: Was attacked by the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), including its Auxiliary Division . 14 people were killed and 65 were injured. Among the dead was Tipperary footballer Michael Hogan , for whom the Hogan Stand at Croke Park (completed in 1924) was named. In 1930 the GAA banned children found playing rugby instead of Gaelic football. In 1939, at Yankee Stadium in New York City , Kerry played Galway in front of
4752-450: Was contested by Queen's University Belfast (QUB) and the University of Ulster . 2009 saw QUB become the first university side to reach the McKenna Cup final. Tyrone caused controversy in 2007 when they fielded four players who had already been selected by University teams. The official rule is that Universities have first choice on players, so in effect, they were fielding ineligible players. Tyrone manager, Mickey Harte , claimed it
4824-511: Was due to the patronage of the gentry. Now instead of opposing the games it was the gentry and the ruling class who were serving as patrons of the games. Games were organised between landlords with each team comprising 20 or more tenants. Wagers were commonplace with purses of up to 100 guineas (Prior, 1997). The earliest record of a recognised precursor to the modern game dates from a match in County Meath in 1670, in which catching and kicking
4896-508: Was in recess. Some Gaelic Athletic Associations began to impose strict nationalistic policies during this time. For example, in Connacht free kicks began to be introduced into some leagues penalising speaking of any language but Irish, and imposing a rule that the referee may speak only in Irish. On Bloody Sunday in 1920 , during the Irish War of Independence , a football match at Croke Park
4968-437: Was not until 1927 that the competition got underway. The inaugural competition was won by Antrim , defeating Cavan in the final. Tyrone are the most successful team in the tournament with 16 wins. Fermanagh , with four wins, are the least successful of the county teams. The McKenna Cup is, to date, Fermanagh's only senior inter-county title. Until the early 2000s, the competition was purely an inter-county competition, but
5040-459: Was played near Callan, Co Kilkenny in February 1885. From 1886 the GAA banned tackling. The widely published GAA rules were as follows: 1. The ground for full teams (21 aside) shall be 140 yards long by 84 yards broad, or as near that size as can be got. The ground must be properly marked by boundary lines. Boundary lines are to be at least five yards from the fences. Note— There is no objection to
5112-406: Was the players' own decision to choose to play for the county team over their University. Tyrone were docked two points as a punishment, but this did not affect their progression into the semi-final stage. Although Tyrone won the final, beating Donegal by 2-09 to 0-05, Tyrone were stripped of their title for fielding the ineligible University players in the match. The players had not been listed on
5184-662: Was tied on votes 33 apiece so, at Croke Park 's request, lots were drawn to pick Alan Boyd (formerly the Cultural and Irish Officer) over Brendan Kelly. The county's most successful football clubs are Gaoth Dobhair and St Eunan's who have won the Donegal Senior Football Championship (SFC) on fifteen occasions each. Gaoth Dobhair also won the Ulster Senior Club Football Championship in 2018. Aodh Ruadh of Ballyshannon are next in
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