Kerry

Sport:	Gaelic football
Irish:	Ciarraí
Nickname(s):	The Kingdom The Green and Gold
County board:	Kerry GAA
Manager:	Jack O'Connor
Captain:	Gavin White
Home venue(s):	Austin Stack Park Fitzgerald Stadium
Recent competitive record
Current All-Ireland status:	Champions in2025
Last championship title:	2025
Current NFL Division:	1
Last league title:	2025
First colours Second colours

TheKerry county football team representsKerry in men'sGaelic football and is governed byKerry GAA, thecounty board of theGaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; theAll-Ireland Senior Football Championship, theMunster Senior Football Championship and theNational Football League.

Kerry's home grounds areAustin Stack Park,Tralee &Fitzgerald Stadium,Killarney. The team's manager isJack O'Connor.

Kerry was the fourthMunster county to win both anAll-Ireland Senior Football Championship as well as anAll-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, followingLimerick,Tipperary andCork. The team last won the Munster Senior Championship in2025, the All-Ireland Senior Championship in2025, and the National League in2025.

Kerry is the most successful team inGaelic football history, having won theAll-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) on 39 occasions and theNational Football League 21 times. The team also holds a number of distinctive records in football championship history. It has contested59 All-Ireland SFC finals, the next highest participator beingDublin with 36 appearances. Kerry's record in the All-Ireland SFC involves having played 30 of the 31 other counties, with onlyKilkenny being the exception.^[1]

The traditional Irish game ofcaid, from which modern football developed, was especially popular in Kerry. The GAA was formed in 1884 and codified the modern rules of the game, which were soon adopted in Kerry clubs such asLaune Rangers. Despite this, the county team did not win an All-Ireland SFC in the nineteenth century. The1903 title was the first won by Kerry, with the county defeatingLondon in the final at a time when London was given abye to that stage of the championship; Kerry's overall exceptional success in the game began in this period.^{[citation needed]}

The Kerry team of the 1970s and 1980s was considered to be the greatest in the history of football^[2][3][4] and its manager (Mick O'Dwyer) one of the greatest of all time.^[2][5][6] Of the twenty All-Ireland SFC finals held during those two decades, Kerry participated in twelve, with victory coming on nine occasions. During this time most other finals were won by Dublin, and there wasa major rivalry between the two counties, especially during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1982, Kerry came within one minute of winning an unprecedented fifth consecutive All-Ireland SFC title, only for a late goal byOffaly'sSéamus Darby to give the title to Offaly. This goal was voted third in a poll to find theTop 20 GAA Moments.

Towards the end of the 1980s, Kerry went into decline and did not appear in an All-Ireland SFC final for eleven years, between 1986 and 1997. The 1997 victory, however, marked the beginning of a revival for Kerry which spanned roughly the first decade of the 21st century. Of the fifteen All-Ireland SFC finals between 1997 and 2011, Kerry contested ten and won six, including five titles in the 2000s.

Kerry reached the2002 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. Its opponent,Armagh, had lostits twoprevious appearances at this stage of the competition. Kerry led at half-time, but not at full-time, giving a first All-Ireland title to Armagh.^[7] Kerry later got rid of its managerPáidí Ó Sé, All-Ireland SFC winning manager in 1997 and 2000 and All-Ireland SFC winning player eight times between 1975 and 1986. Ó Sé fell ill and died some years later, at the age of 57.^[8]

Kerry reached the2005 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. Its opponent,Tyrone, had lost two of its three previous appearances at this stage. Tyrone did not lose this one.

In 2006 and 2007, Kerry won consecutive All-Ireland SFC titles (the first team to do so sinceCork in 1989 and 1990).

Kerry reached the2008 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. Its opponent, Tyrone, defeated it once more. By reaching the same stage in 2009, Kerry became only the third team to reach six consecutive All-Ireland SFC finals (a feat last achieved by Dublin between 1974 and 1979).

Kerry quietly exited the2010 and2012 All-Ireland SFCs at the quarter-final stage, losing toDown andDonegal respectively, whileDublin defeated Kerry in dramatic fashion on the last kick inthe 2011 final.^[9][10][11] Dublin were also responsible for their exit at the semi-final stage in 2013 in a closely contested classic match.^[12] Kerry won its 37th All-Ireland SFC title in2014 against Donegal, winning by a margin of 2–09 to 0–12.^[13] This win was notable due to Kerry's fairly young squad and a belief that Kerry were becoming unable to produce the talent they once had, after punditJoe Brolly had suggested as such.^[14] In the aftermath of the game, Kerry playerKieran Donaghy gave a famous interview in which he directly referenced Brolly's claim that the 'production line' in Kerry had stopped, with Donaghy speaking directly to the camera and asking 'Well, Joe Brolly, what do you think of that?'.^[14] The next year, Kerry again reached the All-Ireland SFC final, only this time to be comfortably beaten by Dublin, 0–12 to 0–9. The next two years saw Kerry bow out at the semi-final stage. In 2016, the team was narrowly defeated by Dublin in a thrilling encounter, while in 2017 the team was beaten by Mayo in a replay – its first championship defeat to Mayo in 21 years.^[15][16][17] Kerry crashed out of the 2018 championships at the group stages of the new Super Eights format. However, in 2019 Kerry reached their first All-Ireland SFC final for four years. The first match was drawn on a scoreline of 1–16 to 1–16, with the replay fixed for 14 September.^[18]

Kerry's 2009 title was also notable since it followed the return ofTadhg Kennelly. The son ofTim Kennelly, a five-time All-Ireland winner with Kerry, and a former talented underage player with the county, he had joined theAFL'sSydney Swans and become the first Irish player to win an AFL Premiership in 2005 (the Swans' first in 72 years). Following Tim's death later that year, he elected to return to Ireland and rejoin Kerry in 2009 in pursuit of winning an All-Ireland of his own playing for the county. After he succeeded and became the first player to have won an All-Ireland and an AFL Premiership, he returned to Australia and the Swans to finish his career.

Kerry reached the2011 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, where its opponent was Dublin (appearing at this stage forthe first time in 16 years). In what was a memorable ending to the game, Kerry conceded a free and Dublin goalkeeperStephen Cluxton sent the ball over Kerry's bar to consign The Kingdom to defeat.

Kerry contested the2019 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, attempting to prevent Dublin from achieving five consecutive titles (the record Offaly denied Kerry in 1982). Kerry, however, failed to stop Dublin from achieving the record. Kerry had also been the team to set the record going, after losing the2015 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final to Dublin as well.

Shortly after winning the2020 National Football League, Kerry's footballers were knocked out of the2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship after a defeat by Cork.^{[19][20][21][22]}

Kerry won its 38thAll-Ireland SFC title in 2022 against Galway, winning by a margin of 0–20 to 0–16.^[23] It repeated the feat in 2025, defeatingDonegal.^[24]

In January 2003,Páidí Ó Sé famously described Kerry supporters "fucking animals". More than 15 years later, formerTyrone footballerSeán Cavanagh, recalling his own experiences of the Kerry supporters, agreed that Ó Sé had been right. Cavanagh mentioned a 2012 match at Fitzgerald Stadium when an injury meant he could not play. "Then you sit in the stand, and you realise Páidí Ó Sé was right. They are absolute animals when the game is on". Cavanagh also questioned their "patronising" attitude towards their opponents. "It was strange that day. Their fans were riled on the terraces. They beat us well. They beat us out the gate, and you thought, 'Jesus, these guys are absolute dogs'. And then I remember as we were leaving the changing room, walking out onto the team bus there were hundreds of Kerry supporters, all clapping us. Either side of us, as we were walking through. They were back slapping us, 'ah youse are great lads', and all this. To me, it seemed a wee bit patronising".^[25]

Kerry has its own supporters' club, whichSeán Kelly established in 1987. Another supporters' club exists inDublin for those from the county who live in the capital city.^[26]

Appointed 4 October 2021,^[27] some additions and subtractions noted:^[28]

• Bainisteóir:Jack O'Connor
• Roghnóirí:Micheál Quirke(until August 2024),^[29]Diarmuid Murphy(until 2024), James Costello(as of September 2024),^[30][31]Aodán Mac Gearailt(as of 2024),^[28]Cian O'Neill(as of September 2024)^[28][32]
• Later additions:^[33]
  • Head coach:Paddy Tally(as of 8 October 2021)^[33][34]Cian O'Neill(as of September 2024)^[35]
  • Assistant coach: Pa McCarthy(as of 2024)^[28]
  • Performance coach:Tony Griffin^[33](until 2024)^[28]
  • Head of athletic development: Jason McGahan^[33]
  • Strength and conditioning coach: Arthur Fitzgerald^[33]
  • Sports science: John Barry^[33]
  • Statistics: Colin Trainor^[33]
  • Video: John C. O'Shea^[33]
  • Team doctors: Dr Mike Finnerty and John Rice^[33]
  • Physiotherapists: Jimmy Galvin and Paudie McQuinn^[33]
  • Masseurs: Harry O'Neill and Liam O'Regan^[33]
  • Goalkeeping coach:Brendan Kealy^[33](until 2024), Brian Kelly(as of 2024)^[28]
  • Nutritionists: Kevin Beasley and Gavin Rackard (Rackard is also performance nutritionist forConnacht Rugby)^[33]
  • Equipment: Colm Whelan^[33]
  • Equipment/in-house referee: Brendan Griffin^[33]

Team as per Kerry vsTyrone in the2025 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Semi-Final, 12th July 2025^[36]

^INJ Player has had an injury which has affected recent involvement with the county team.
^RET Player has since retired from the county team.
^WD Player has since withdrawn from the county team due to a non-injury issue.

Kerry — likeCork,Dublin andTyrone — traditionally appoints managers from inside, rather than seeking a "foreign" appointment.^[37]

Mick O'Dwyer

Jack O'Connor

O'Dwyer managed Kerry to eightAll-Ireland SFC titles between 1975 and 1986, while current manager O'Connor has led Kerry to five All-Ireland SFC titles during three spells in charge.

Kerry has several noted families who have competed at the sport's highest level; these include theÓ Sés, theSheehys, theSpillane–Lynes and theWalshes andKennellys;Frank andJohn O'Keeffe;Jack andAidan O'Shea;Ogie andDavid Moran;Con andJim Brosnan;Ned andMaurice Fitzgerald;John Egan andhis son.^[48]

• Colm Cooper was the highest scoring player in theAll-Ireland Senior Football Championship until 2019 whenCillian O'Connor ofMayo surpassed the record against Kerry during a defeat inKillarney.^[49] Cooper had taken the record from fellow KerrymanMikey Sheehy.^[50]
• Mick O'Dwyer is the team's top scorer inNational Football League history, finishing his career with 19–313 (370) in that competition. As of 2021, he remained in the top ten all-time scorers in that competition, though he had been passed by numerous players includingRonan Carolan of Cavan,Mattie Forde of Wexford,Steven McDonnell of Armagh,Conor McManus of Monaghan,Brian Stafford of Meath andDavid Tubridy of Clare.^[51]
• Beginning withPáidí, the Ó Sé family had at least one member play a part in all 22 All-Ireland SFC finals that Kerry participated in between1975 and2014.^[52]
• Pat Spillane received nineAll Star Awards during his career, a feat matched by no other footballer.
• Tadhg Kennelly became the first (and thus far only) holder of both anAFL Premiership medallion and aSenior All-Ireland Championship medal, the highest respective possible honours in the sports ofAustralian rules football and Gaelic football, in addition to winning a GAA Medal as Irish Player of the Series in theInternational Rules Series.^{[additional citation(s) needed]} He was the third formerAFL player to win the Sam Maguire Cup, followingDermot McNicholl in 1993 andBrian Stynes in 1995.^[53]

The team's current crest, which came into use in 2012, features design elements that represent the county: Kerry's people, landscape, flora, fauna and artistry.

County name – A bold decorative Celtic-style Ciarraí brand featuring a crownedC which pays homage to the county's moniker, 'The Kingdom'.

Kerry's people –St Brendan and his epic voyage: an inspiring tale of bravery, skill and innovation. Thenaomhóg (a craft associated with the coastal communities around Kerry) is propelled by a sail featuring a Celtic cross – the symbol of the GAA.

Kerry's fauna –Red Deer (Fia Rua): Ireland's largest wild animal whose only remaining native herd is found on the slopes ofTorc andMangerton. These animals are believed to have had a continuous presence in Ireland since the end of the last Ice Age (c. 10,000 BC) and are steeped in folklore. It is said that 'Tuan', the King of the Deer, was given rights of free passage byFionn McCool to the mountains of Kerry and that his blood line lives on in the present herd.

Kerry's landscape –Skellig Michael's iconic silhouette rising out of the Atlantic Ocean. A designated UNESCO World Heritage site and famous around the globe.

Kerry's flora –Killarney woodland fern that thrives in wild exotic places; an evocation of majestic mountains, valleys and hills.

Kerry's artistry – A background pattern of concentric circles inspired by the gilding on the Ballinclemisig 'gold box' (part of the 'Kerry gold hoard' in the National Museum) and by Bronze Age stone carvings found all over Kerry.

Kerry's birdlife –Storm Petrel (An Guairdeall): Kerry plays host to the largest numbers of this species anywhere in the world and is the world headquarters for breeding pairs.

The new crest was introduced for copyright reasons, to secure the Kerry county board financially.^[54] The previous crest, shown on the right, which was used from 1988 to 2011, was based more on Irish and Celtic symbolism, featuringRattoo Round Tower, anIrish Wolfhound and aharp.

Kerry traditional colours are gold and green and the county team kits are composed by a green shirt with a single golden hoop, white shorts and green and gold socks. In the early days of theAll-Ireland Football Championship, counties were represented by the county champions. Kerry's first representatives were fromLaune Rangers, and the blue of Laune Rangers^[55] was worn in Kerry's first championship outing in1889. The royal blue ofLaune Rangers^[56] were also worn in the1892 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. Between 1889 and 1895 inclusive, the teams that went forward to represent Kerry wereLaune Rangers and Ballymacelligott, who both wore blue.

In the early 20th century, selection committees had been established by the county board, but asTralee Mitchels dominated the county championship, they had an influential voice in the selection of the team, and the county footballers wore the Mitchels' colours of green and gold.^[57]

There are conflicting accounts of the jersey that Kerry wore in the first of the three games of the1903 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final series withKildare, but both accounts agree that the predominant colour was red. One account says that it was a red jersey with green neck and cuffs,^[56][58] which were the colours of theTralee Mitchels junior football team. Another account says that it was an entirely red jersey^[59] with no green in it. The reason that Kerry wore this red or mainly red jersey was that a new set of green and gold jerseys was not delivered in time for the game. For the later games in the1903 series of games, Kerry wore green jerseys with gold on the cuffs and over the shoulders.^[56][60] These were the colours of theTralee Mitchels senior team.^[59]

The dominance of players from the Mitchels club on the Kerry team at the point in which they won their first All-Ireland, reinforced the idea that green and gold were the Kerry colours, and they have been Kerry's traditional colours from the 1903 triumph onward.^[61] The 'classic' style is green with a gold hoop. The colours have been changed only rarely, most of all in the 80's finals against Offaly to avoid again colour clashes. In the1939 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final Kerry were to playMeath, who also wear green and gold. To avoid a colour clash, Kerry wore the red and white ofDingle, the county champions at the time.^[62][56]

The change kit is usually blue, reflecting theMunster GAA colours.

1889–1895

1903

1904–25[63]

c. 1926–present

Notes

Kerry's inter-county teams are sponsored by theKerry Group, in one of the longest standing sponsorship arrangements in the GAA. The teams have been connected with the Kerry Group since sponsorship became more open in the GAA in the early 1990s.^[64]

Kerry's jerseys are currently provided byO'Neills sportswear.^[65] The team kit had been supplied from 1996 to 1998 byAdidas, while prior to that contract in 1998, Kerry were partnered with the now-defunct Millfield brand.^[66]

This is Kerry's record inAll-Ireland SFC finals.Bold denotes a year in which the team won the competition.

Kerry has won a record 39All-Ireland Senior Football Championships and has been the loser in24 other All-Ireland SFC finals.

Kerry has also won the mostMunster Senior Football Championships, with 86 titles.

• All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
  • Winners (39):1903,1904,1909,1913,1914,1924,1926,1929,1930,1931,1932,1937,1939,1940,1941,1946,1953,1955,1959,1962,1969,1970,1975,1978,1979,1980,1981,1984,1985,1986,1997,2000,2004,2006,2007,2009,2014,2022,2025
  • Runners-up (24):1892,1905,1910,1915,1923,1927,1938,1944,1947,1954,1960,1964,1965,1968,1972,1976,1982,2002,2005,2008,2011,2015,2019,2023
• National Football League
  • Winners (24):1927–28,1928–29,1930–31,1931–32,1958–59,1960–61,1962–63,1968–69,1970–71,1971–72,1972–73,1973–74,1976–77,1981–82,1983–84,1996–97,2004,2006,2009,2017,2020,2021 (shared),2022,2025
  • Runners-up (7):1956–57,1964–65,1979–80,1986–87,2008,2016,2019
• National Football League Division 2
  • Winners (1):2002
• All-Ireland Junior Football Championship
  • Winners (20): 1913, 1915, 1924,1928, 1930, 1941, 1949, 1954, 1963, 1967, 1983, 1991, 1994, 2006, 2012, 2015,^[67] 2016,^[68] 2017, 2018,^[69] 2019
• All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship
  • Winners (10): 1964, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2008
  • Runners-up (7): 1967, 1972, 1978, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1999
• All-Ireland Minor Football Championship
  • Winners (16):1931, 1932, 1933, 1946, 1950, 1962, 1963, 1975, 1980, 1988,1994,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018
  • Runners-up (13):1936, 1938, 1949, 1954, 1965, 1970, 1979, 1982, 1990, 1996, 2004, 2006,2020
• All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship
  • Winners (9): 1973, 1977, 1978, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1997

• Munster Senior Football Championship
  • Winners (86): 1892, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1919, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007,2010,2011,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019,2021,2022,2023,2024,2025
  • Runners-up (24): 1890, 1893, 1900, 1902, 1906, 1918, 1920, 1945, 1952, 1956, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2006, 2008
• Munster Football League
  • Winners (1): 1926^[70]
• McGrath Cup
  • Winners (6): 1996,2010,2011,2013,2017,2022
• Munster Junior Football Championship
  • Winners (46): 1913, 1914, 1915, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1936, 1938, 1941, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1954, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1983, 1985, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014,^[71] 2015,^[72] 2016, 2017,^[73] 2018, 2019
• Munster Under-21/Under-20 Football Championship (under-20 since 2018)
  • Winners (32): 1962, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2008, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
  • Runners-up (12): 1963, 1969, 1974, 1981, 1982, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2019
• Munster Minor Football Championship
  • Winners (52): 1931, 1932, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015,^[74] 2016,^[75] 2017,^[76] 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023, 2024, 2025
  • Runners-up (29): 1939, 1955, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2022

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