1966 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final

Last updated

1966 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final
1966 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final programme.jpg
Event 1966 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Galway Meath
Galway colours.PNG Donegal colours.jpg
1–10
(13)		0–7
(7)
Date25 September 1966
Venue Croke Park, Dublin
Referee Jimmy Hatton (Wicklow)
Attendance71,569
← 1965
1967 →

The 1966 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final was the 79th All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 1966 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in Ireland.

Contents

It was the third of three All-Ireland football titles won by Galway in the 1960s, which made them joint "team of the decade" with Down who also won three. [1] However, Galway's three 1960s titles came consecutively. [2]

In 2018, Martin Breheny listed this as the ninth greatest All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. [3]

Route to the final

Galway, though reigning champions, approached the game as underdogs. [3] Their opponents Meath had seen off Down in the semi-final. [3]

Pre-game

The teams kneeled to kiss the bishop's ring before the game got underway. [3]

Match

Summary

This was to be, if not the battle of the century, at least the final of the decade. That was the assessment from all the pundits as Galway geared up to secure their third All-Ireland title in a row, against Meath. The credentials of both sides were perfect: Galway unbeaten since the 1963 All-Ireland final with Dublin against a Meath team that had put in an incredible second-half performance against Down to win by ten points. The champions, with the breeze behind them, made the early running. With 13 minutes gone they had strolled to a three-point lead. Despite the best efforts of the Meath side to keep the score that low against a Galway side who had the momentum, the crucial score came not long after. Cyril picked up possession and played the ball across the Meath goal. As it bounced across the face of John McCormack's goal, Mattie McDonagh came steaming in and planted the ball into the back of the net with relative ease. It was Galway's first goal in their "Three In A Row" assault. Thirty seconds later, Liam Sammon pointed followed quickly by another from Seamus Leydon. This left it at 1–05 to no score in favour of Galway. Murty Sullivan got Meath off the mark but at half-time, they trailed by eight points, 1–6 to 0–1. A reshuffled Meath team re-opened the second half with promise, but the revival they sought, desperately needing a goal, never looked like coming. Meath outscored Galway in the second half but it was merely an irrelevant statistic as the Tribesmen had made it "Three In A Row", with a six-point victory. The ingredients were there for a thrilling contest were there for a thrilling contest, but on the day it all came apart for Meath and remained the same for a Galway side who made GAA history with their performance.

Mattie McDonagh scored a goal after 21 minutes and Galway led 1–6 to 0–1 at half-time, and went on to complete a three-in-a-row. McDonagh's goal came 11th in RTÉ's 2005 series Top 20 GAA Moments . [4]

Details

Galway
Maroon & White Shirts/White Shorts/Maroon Socks		1–10 – 0–07
(final score after 60 minutes)		Meath
Green & Gold Shirts/White shorts/Green Socks
Manager: John 'Tull' Dunne

Team:
Johnny Geraghty (GK)
Enda Colleran (Capt.)
Noel Tierney
Bosco McDermott
Colie McDonagh
Sean Meade
Martin Newell
Jimmy Duggan
Pat Donnellan
Cyril Dunne
Mattie McDonagh
Seamus Leydon
Liam Sammon
Sean Cleary
John Keenan

Substitutes used:
John Donnellan
Substitutes not used:
F. McLoughlin
T. Sands
M. Reynolds
Christy Tyrrell

Half-time:
1–06 – 0–01

Competition:
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
(Final)

Date:
15.30 BST
Sunday, September 25, 1966

Venue:
Croke Park, Dublin

Attendance:
71,569

Referee:
Jimmy Hatton (Wicklow)

Match rules:
60 minutes.
Replay if scores still level.
Maximum of 3 substitutions.

Manager: Fr. Patrick Tully

Team:
John McCormack(GK)
Dinny Donnelly
Jack Quinn
Peter Darby
Pat Collier
Bertie Cunningham
Pat Reynolds
Peter Moore
Tom Brown
Tony Brennan
Murty O'Sullivan
Davy Carty (Capt.)
Gerry Quinn
Noel Curran
Ollie Shanley

Substitutes:
Mick White
Jack Fagan
Martin Quinn

Beitzel

Harry Beitzel, an Australian credited with pioneering the development of the composite rules sport International rules football, is said to have drawn inspiration from watching the 1966 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final on television, and in 1967 sent an Australian side – "The Galahs" – to play the game against an Irish side. Beitzel followed this up the next year with The Australian Football World Tour, a six-match series with games played against Irish teams in Ireland, the UK and United States. (The 1968 Galahs also played exhibition matches of Australian Rules throughout the tour, including a game in Bucharest, Romania.) [5]

Related Research Articles

Matthew "Mattie" McDonagh was an Irish Gaelic footballer who played for his local club Ballygar and at senior level for the Galway county team from 1956 until 1968. McDonagh later served as manager of the Galway team. He is the only man from Connacht with four All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winner's medals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meath GAA</span> County board of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Ireland

The Meath County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) or Meath GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Meath, as well as for Meath county teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galway GAA</span> County board of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Ireland

The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) or Galway GAA are one of the 32 county boards in Ireland; they are responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway, and for the Galway county teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mick O'Dwyer</span> Irish Gaelic football manager and player (born 1936)

Michael O'Dwyer 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 and most successful in terms of major titles won. O'Dwyer is regarded as one of the greatest managers in the history of the game. He is one of only three men to manage five different counties. Martin Breheny has described him as "the ultimate symbol of the outside manager".

John O'Leary is a Dublin-born Gaelic footballer who played for the O'Dwyers club and at senior level for the Dublin county team. He is an area manager for Permanent TSB and in 2007 was a candidate for Fianna Fáil in the constituency of Dublin North. O'Leary has a biography of his sporting career with Dublin, entitled Back To The Hill.

Brian Mullins was an Irish Gaelic football manager and player. He played football with his local club St Vincent's and was a senior member of the Dublin county team from 1974 until 1985. Mullins later served as manager of both Dublin and Derry. He was regarded as one of Dublin's greatest-ever players. He was a nephew of Bill Casey, who played for Kerry in the 1930s and 1940s.

Michael Donnellan is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for the Galway county team. He is the son of a former politician and footballer, John Donnellan, and grandson of politician and footballer Michael Donnellan. All three of them captained the Galway football team during their careers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Morgan (Gaelic footballer)</span> Irish Gaelic football manager and player

William Morgan is an Irish former Gaelic football manager who played as goalkeeper at senior level for Cork County Team, and later managed it. His five-decade-long association with the team has led to him being regarded as one of the most iconic figures within Cork football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pádraic Joyce</span> Galway Gaelic footballer and manager

Pádraic Joyce is a Gaelic football manager and former player who played as a forward. He has been manager of the senior Galway county team since 2019.

The Australian Football World Tour was a series of international rules football matches, organised by football sports broadcaster and former VFL umpire Harry Beitzel and Irish-born Melburnian James Harkin, in 1967 and 1968.

Liam Sammon is an Irish former Gaelic football manager, coach, writer and former player. He played football with his local clubs Father Griffins and Salthill-Knocknacarra and was a member of the senior Galway county team from 1966 until 1979.

The 1966 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 80th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament. The championship began on 1 May 1966 and ended on 25 September 1966.

Paddy Kennedy (1916-1979) was a Gaelic footballer from Kerry, active in the 1930s and 1940s. He was a member of the Garda Síochána for a time, but later became a sales representative for a mineral water company and managed the Crystal Ballroom in Dublin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1964 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final</span> Football match

The 1964 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final was the 77th All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 1964 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in Ireland.

The 1965 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final was the 78th All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 1965 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in Ireland.

The 1971 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final was the 84th All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 1971 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in Ireland.

The 1998 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Championship final was the 111th All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 1998 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in Ireland.

The 2001 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final was the 114th All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 2001 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galway county football team</span> Gaelic football team

The Galway county football team represents Galway in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Galway GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Connacht Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meath county football team</span> Gaelic football team

The Meath county football team represents Meath in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Meath GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Leinster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.

References

  1. ↑ "Kerry on honour roll". Irish Independent . Independent News & Media. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
  2. ↑ Kenny, Tom (14 April 2011). "The men who first brought Sam to Galway". Galway Advertiser . Retrieved 14 April 2011. Then came the three in a row team who in 1964 beat Kerry by 0 – 15 to 0 – 10; in 1965 it was Galway 0 – 12 to Kerry 0 – 9, and in 1966 Galway 1 – 10 to Meath's 0 – 7.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Breheny, Martin. "Martin Breheny's Greatest All-Ireland Finals". Irish Independent . 1 September 2018, p. 12–13.
  4. ↑ High Ball magazine, issue #6, 1998.
  5. ↑ 'Croke Park had never seen anything like it' Archived 2012-07-31 at archive.today
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.