Tickets for the Tailteann Cup Quarter Final Leitrim versus Sligo on Sunday 5th June Must be purchaced in advance.
Adult €20
Students/OAP’s €15
Under 16’s €5
Tickets Available Online At https://am.ticketmaster.com/gaa/leitrimsligotc or in selected Centra and SuperValu Stores.
40 Years Ago This Year Leitrim Went To London For the First Time.
It was a very nervous Leitrim team that went to play London almost forty years ago on the 23rd May 1982. Leitrim had reason to be nervous as in 1977 London caused a sensation by beating Leitrim in 1977 in Carrick on Shannon by 0-9 to 0-6. 1982 was the first time Leitrim played in the Connacht Championship outside Ireland and made a piece of history. Leitrim had prepared well this time. The Dublin based players trained at UCD with the Dublin based Kerry players under the watchful eye of the Master, Micheal O Muircheartaigh. The Leitrim team were flying.
Forty years ago it was a novelty flying to any match. The travel arrangements were published in the Leitrim Observer. The Leitrim panel departed Dublin Airport at 11.15 am on Saturday morning and were met at Heathrow Airport by members of the Leitrim Peoples Association and members of the London County Board. From the airport we travelled to Ruislip for a light training session followed by a lunch organised by the London Board. After the lunch the team travelled to their hotel, the Tara Hotel , where the team would relax and watch television. There was great excitement in the lobby when Jimmy White the well known snooker player appeared and signed a few autographs for Leitrim people on the back of Carrolls cigarette boxes. On Sunday the team left the hotel at 1.00pm for Ruislip . After the match the team were the guests of honour at a function jointly organised by the Leitrim Peoples Association and the London Co Board in the Irish Centre in Camden town.
At the time Big Tom was the King of Country Music in Ireland. On the Saturday evening some of the music heads in the team went to a concert by the other King, BB King. They just got back in time for the roll call .
Before we left the TARA HOTEL for the match we posed for a photo taken by Willie Donnellan. We were joined in the photo by Tony Ward the former rugby star who played with Munster Leinster Ireland and the British Irish Lions and was also European Rugby player of the year in 1979. Tony was over in London for the FA Cup Final. Leitrim were moving up in the sporting world.
On match day the teams paraded around the pitch led by London Irish Girls Pipers Band. A member of that band had big Leitrim connections, Susan McGarty ,daughter of Willie McGarty and niece of Packie Mc Garty. Susan moved to Leitrim many years ago and now lives in Mohill. The Leitrim team showed one change from the match programme. Tom Reilly (Glenfarne) picked up an injury and Pat Flynn (Gortletteragh) replaced him at left corner back. Michael Oates in the Observer stated, Sean Creamer and Gerry Logan qualify for the joint title of ‘surprise omissions’. It was an exceptional Leitrim team built on the U-21 success of 1977 and included five players who were selected on the Leitrim team of the Millennium, Noel Crossan, Mickey Quinn, Ollie Honeyman, Mickey Martin and Frank Holohan. The team were good enough to win a Connacht Championship, it was a great shame that they didn’t.
The attendance was 3,000 and the match report stated ‘Leitrim overcame the feeble challenge of an outclassed London side. The final score was Leitrim 1-13 London 0-5 .Frank Smith was the pick of the Leitrim attack with five points all from play. Mickey Martin showed his class with a polished performance at centre half forward. He was the games outstanding player and hardly put a foot wrong the whole afternoon. Leitrim’s goal was scored by Seamus Mulhern’.
The Leitrim team celebrated well into Sunday night and a few lads just about made the plane home on Monday.
Leitrim played Mayo next on 13th June in Carrick on Shannon without their top scorer Frank Smith(injured) and lost on a score-line of 2-7 to 1-7. Losing by three points after shooting 20 wides (Mayo had eight) the Irish Press headline was’ Leitrim footballers literally kicked Mayo into the Connacht final by their own inability to put the ball between the posts’.
The Leitrim team of the 80’s was the springboard for setting up the Leitrim Supporters Club to help finance the preparations of county teams and the Supporters Club is still going strong.
Forty years later Leitrim go to play London next Sunday. London beat Leitrim in this years National Football League. London are a lot better organised than all those years ago but Leitrim should be good enough to win and qualify to play either Mayo or Galway in the next round. Should Leitrim win and Mayo beat Galway then history will be repeated and Leitrim will take on Mayo again as they did almost 40 years ago.
Eamonn Duignan
On Sunday 27th March 2022 Emlyn Mulligan made his 100th Appearance for Leitrim in Markievicz Park versus Sligo. He made his senior debut for Leitrim versus neighbours Donegal in 2006 and between league and championship in those 16 years he has clocked up 100 appearances. Pictured below is Leitrim’s Captain David Bruen and Vice Captain Donal Wrynn together with the current squad and management presenting Emlyn with a framed signed Leitrim Jersey as a momentum of this wonderful achievement.
LEITRIM 4-12 CLARE 2-8
The 2022 Connacht SFC commences on Sunday, April 17, in Ruislip as Leitrim and London battle go head to head for a place in the Connacht SFC semi-final. The match ticket details have been published and are as follows:
Stand Tickets €30
Terrace Tickets €25
Student/OAP rates are the same as for Adults
Juveniles Under 16 are free of charge on the terrace only. Juveniles in the stand must have a ticket and pay the adult rate.
Tickets may be purchased here
Please Note Change Of Venue.
Philly Mc Guiness Cup Group 2 -Under 20 Football Development League
Saturday 26th February 2022
Longford v Leitrim
Venue: Abbeylara
Throw In: 2-30pm
Update – The Philly Mc Guiness Under 20 Cup Game v Fermanagh is Cancelled today due to the weather.
Leitrim GAA and McKeever Sports are delighted to announce a new partnership deal which will see the Armagh-based company supplying all the county’s official GAA on-field and off-field gear for the men’s senior footballers, hurlers and development squads.
A new Leitrim GAA jersey will launch on Monday 6th Dec 2021 along with an extensive range of supporter’s leisurewear and training range which will follow in early 2022. The range will be available in approved stores throughout the county and on-line at McKeeversports.com.
Commenting on the announcement, McKeever Sports Managing Director, Padraic McKeever said: “Having secured the GAA Licence in 2020, we have shown a strong track record in providing teamwear across Ireland and beyond and welcome Leitrim GAA and its passionate supporters to the McKeever brand with immense pride”.
“It is our goal to bring freshness, innovation and excellent service to our county teams and we are delighted that the Leitrim County Board have recognised our endeavours. We are confident that the new McKeever range will help the Leitrim panel deliver on their commitment to strengthen player and community pride, respect, and success on and off the field.
Declan Bohan, Secretary Leitrim GAA, said: “It is with great delight that we welcome our fresh and innovative partnership with McKeever Sports. We look forward to this new approach as we move into the next period of development of our county players at all levels. The intercountry county game is becoming increasingly more competitive and every year is, in effect, a new beginning. We look forward to mutual success for all parties to this agreement across the 2022 playing season and beyond that.”
Since its establishment in 2004, trading online as theGAAstore.com, McKeever Sports has expanded to become a leading player in the Irish teamwear market. Having built a strong reputation among Ireland’s GAA clubs, McKeever Sports is also the current official teamwear supplier for Armagh GAA and All-Ireland winning LGFA county teams including Cork, Tipperary and Waterford and Camogie Teams Limerick & Armagh.
#BelieveInGreenAndGold
Leitrim GAA, at its Management Meeting last night ratified the appointment of Andy Moran as its Senior Team Manager for 2022. We are delighted to bring the process of selecting a person to lead the County’s Senior Team into competitive action for the 2022 season to a conclusion with the appointment of the former Mayo Senior Footballer to this position. We look forward to a year of progress, as we, hopefully, head into a playing season in which normality will have resumed, following the continued Covid pandemic disruption of the 2020/2021 playing seasons. Andy will be assisted in his role by fellow Ballaghadereen GAA man, Mike Solan as Assistant Manager, and former Leitrim players Barry McWeeney and James Glancy as selectors.
Andy Moran played senior Inter-County Football with Mayo from 2004 to 2019. The holder of the all-time Mayo appearances record has played six All-Ireland Finals with Mayo over that period. He is a two-time All-Star winner and holder of eight Connacht SFC Medals and was chosen as Footballer of the Year in 2017. He currently co-manages his native Ballaghadereen GAA Senior Team while still a playing member of the team in the Mayo SFC. He has previously coached the Mayo Under 20 Team in 2020.
Mike Solan, who joins Andy as Assistant Manager, has previously managed Mayo at Under 20/21 level over the seasons 2016-2020. During that period, he presided over two Connacht Championship winning selections, while also being at the helm as Mayo captured the 2016 Under 21 All-Ireland title. He is currently Joint Manager with Andy at Ballaghadereen GAA and has won two Mayo SFC titles with the club as a player in 2008 and 2012.
Barry McWeeney is a former Aughnasheelin footballer and has played with Leitrim at all levels. He was a very committed member of the Leitrim Senior Football Panel from 2005 to 2014 and was a most accomplished defender. With his club he has won two Leitrim Intermediate Football Championships in 2008 and 2017, the latter of which saw him captaining the team to victory. He is currently heavily involved in coaching within his own club.
James Glancy, a former Glencar/Manorhamilton footballer has had a long career in the colours of Leitrim at all levels, representing the Seniors from 2003 to 2014. He has had representative honours with Connacht in the Interprovincial series, and is the holder of five Leitrim SFC Medals with his club, having featured in nine senior deciders and being a member of the famed 4-in-a-row team of 2008-2011. James has vast coaching experience at all levels.
Leitrim GAA is delighted to announce currently that this quartet will lead the fortunes of the County Senior Footballers forward over the next two seasons. Interesting to note that Andy Moran, Barry McWeeney, and James Glancy won a Sigerson Cup together with Sligo IT in 2005.
Any additional members of the extended backroom team will be announced at a later date.
Leitrim GAA has begun the process of recruiting its Senior Football Team Manager for 2022. An email has been sent to all Leitrim GAA Clubs inviting them to consider possible nominations of suitably qualified personnel. The Club is advised that they must have the permission of the person they may choose to nominate, before doing so.
In addition to this, Leitrim GAA Management Committee, through its Selection Committee, invites applications from persons who may have an interest in the position. Interested parties should apply in writing and submit a CV with details of coaching qualifications, details of previous GAA Management experience, and any other details that the candidate may consider relevant for consideration by email to secretary.leitrim@gaa.ie by Friday, August 27th. Additional detail of a possible backroom team that may accompany any such application is desirable but not necessary. Any queries with regard to this process may be addressed via email to the secretary.
The Selection Committee will give all nominations and applications fair consideration as part of the ongoing process in the selection of Leitrim GAA’s next Senior Football Manager.
