Roscommon county football team

The Roscommon county football team represents Roscommon in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Roscommon 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.

Roscommon

Sport:	Football
Irish:	Ros Comáin
Nickname(s):	The Rossies[1]
County board:	Roscommon GAA
Manager:	Davy Burke
Captain:	Brian Stack [2]
Home venue(s):	Dr Hyde Park, Roscommon
Recent competitive record
Current All-Ireland status:	Connacht (F) in 2022
Last championship title:	1944
Current NFL Division:	2 (1st in 2022; promoted to Division 1)
Last league title:	1979
First colours Second colours

Roscommon's home ground is Dr Hyde Park, Roscommon. The team's manager is Davy Burke.

Roscommon was the third Connacht county both to win an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC), as well as to appear in the final, following Mayo and Galway. The team last won the Connacht Senior Championship in 2019, the All-Ireland Senior Championship in 1944 and the National League in 1979.

Kit evolution

Black and green until 1935.

History

Roscommon were a glamour team of the 1940s, winning the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) on consecutive occasions, and have contributed some of the great personalities to GAA history including 2 Presidents - Dan O'Rourke (1946–49) and Dr Donal Keenan (1973–76).

Roscommon's rise from Junior status to Senior All-Ireland champions in the four years leading up to 1943 was one of the great romances of its time. In the All Ireland final they drew with Cavan, before winning the replay with two quick goals from Frankie Kinlough and Jack McQuillan. Kinlough scored the goal and Donal Keenan the points the following year when Roscommon beat Kerry. Roscommon were captained by Jamesie Murray from Knockcroghery.

Legend tells how Roscommon lost a six-point lead in the final three minutes of the 1946 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final against Kerry, Tom Gega O'Connor and Paddy Kennedy scoring the goals. Roscommon were beaten in the replay (Gerry Dolan made one of the greatest saves in Croke Park history against Laois in that year's semi-final). The injured team-captain, Jimmy Murray, was having blood wiped from his face to "look right" for the presentation when Kerry struck for two late equalising goals. Defeats in 1947, 1952 and 1953 semi-finals ended the party.

1943 All-Ireland SFC winning team

The 1940s successes were the pinnacle of Roscommon's achievements. They also reached the final in 1962. That year was memorable for they were losing the Connacht final to Galway by 5 points when Roscommon keeper Aidan Brady swung on the crossbar, breaking it in two. During the 15-minute wait to get it replaced, Roscommon moved the great Gerry O'Malley to midfield in a re-organisation and he inspired their comeback to enable them to win the Connacht Championship. However, Kerry, once again, led by the great Mick O'Connell defeated them in the All-Ireland final thanks in no small way to an off-the-ball incident which led to O'Malley being stretchered off very early in the game. Roscommon's next period of success came in the late 1970s when they won 4 Connacht titles on the trot from 77-80. they reached the final in 1980 against Kerry. They looked like causing an upset when John "Jigger" O'Connor's 35th-second goal helped them to an early 1-2 to 0-0 lead, but this was the Kerry team regarded as the greatest in history, and they eventually won by 1-9 to 1-6. A series of minor championships (1981, 1984, 1989 and 1992), and an All-Ireland Under-21 final in 1982, showed the impact of that success and in 1990 and 1991 Roscommon emerged from Connacht again, succumbing to Meath by a single point in the 1991 All Ireland semi-final.

Nine unsuccessful seasons followed before, in 2001, Roscommon regained the Connacht title following a brilliant win and performance over eventual All-Ireland champions Galway and a very dramatic end-of-match victory over Mayo. However, they failed to make any further progress in the 2001 All Ireland Championship and the decade that followed was amongst the least successful in the team's history.

On the field, outside of a very exciting run in 2003, the senior team failed to record any notable successes since their 2001 Connacht Championship title win until 2010. The success of the county's Minor team in winning the All-Ireland title in 2006 offered hope, however.

In 2010, Roscommon captured their 20th Senior Connacht football title. In the first round they defeated London in Ruislip 0-14 to 0-6. In the semi-final played in Dr Hyde Park Roscommon beat Leitrim 1-13 to 0-11. In the final played in McHale Park, Roscommon overcame favourites Sligo on a scoreline of 0-14 to 0-13. Roscommon were subsequently beaten in the All-Ireland Quarter-final in Croke Park by Cork 1-16 to 0-10.

Roscommon made their return to Division 1 of the National Football League in 2016 and enjoyed a successful campaign picking up wins against Kerry, Cork, Donegal and Down, before losing a League semi-final to Kerry at Croke Park. However, they endured a disappointing Championship. A draw against Galway in the Connacht Final in terrible conditions brought them to a replay in Castlebar, where Roscommon went on to lose by 11 points. They exited the All-Ireland Championship with a 4th round Qualifier loss to Clare.

Roscommon were subsequently relegated from Division 1 of the League in 2017 after losing all but 1 of their games. In 2018 Roscommon were promoted back to Division 1 by topping the Division 2 group and winning the Division 2 title in Croke Park against Cavan.

Roscommon beat Galway in the 2017 Connacht Senior Football Championship final on a scoreline of 2-15 to 0-12. It was Roscommon's 23rd Connacht SFC final win, a first since 2010 and a first at Pearse Stadium since 1978.^[3]

On 5 September 2018 after 3 years in charge Kevin McStay stepped down as Roscommon manager, "I feel I have brought the team as far as I can at this stage and a new voice and direction is now required" he said on his departure. Anthony Cunningham, former Galway hurler and hurling manager took over from McStay. Roscommon won the Connacht title in Cunningham's maiden year at the helm, defeating Galway in Salthill to claim their 23rd JJ Nestor Cup.

Galway lost the 2019 Connacht SFC final to Roscommon at Pearse Stadium, despite Roscommon being behind by five points at half-time.^[4]

2025 resume on overseas

Roscommon's 2020 Connacht SFC quarter-final game against London did not occur due to COVID-19 but rearranged for 2025, with New York in 2021 also not occurring coming in 2026.

Support

A voluntary fundraising body, Club Rossie, exists.^[5]

Current panel

Team as per Roscommon vs Armagh in the 2024 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Quarter Final, 29th June 2024

No. Player Position Club 1 Conor Carroll Goalkeeper Oranmore-Maree 2 Niall Higgins Right corner back Elphin 3 Brian Stack (c) Full back St Brigid's 4 Robbie Dolan Left corner back St Brigid's 5 David Murray Right half Back Pádraig Pearses 6 Ronan Daly Centre back Pádraig Pearses 7 Eoin McCormack Left half back St Dominic's 8 Enda Smith Midfield Boyle 9 Ruaidhrí Fallon Midfield St Brigid's 10 Ultan Harney Right half forward Clann na nGael 11 Diarmuid Murtagh Centre forward St Faithleach's 12 Shane Cunnane Left half forward St Brigid's 13 Daire Cregg Right corner forward Boyle 14 Conor Cox Full forward Éire Óg 15 Donal Smith Left corner forward Boyle

No. Player Position Club 16 Colm Lavin Substitute Éire Óg 17 Niall Daly Substitute Pádraig Pearses 18 Conor Hussey Substitute Michael Glaveys 19 Dylan Ruane Substitute Michael Glaveys 20 Keith Doyle Substitute St Dominic's 21 Andrew Glennon Substitute Michael Glaveys 22 Conor Hand Substitute St Brigid's 23 Adam McDermott Substitute Castlerea St Kevin's 24 Tadhg O'Rourke Substitute Tulsk 25 Cathal Heneghan Substitute Michael Glaveys 26 Ciarán Lennon Substitute Clann na nGael

^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. }</ref>

Current management team

• Manager: Davy Burke, appointed on a three-year term in October 2022^[6]
• Selectors:
• Coach: Mark McHugh (Kilcar)^[7]
• Management team: Eddie Lohan, Gerry McGowan (Tourlestrane)^[8]

Managerial history

Roscommon have a recent history of appointing "non-native" managers, doing so on several occasions in the 21st-century. The first of those, John Tobin, won a Connacht SFC in 2001 and latter two McStay and Cunningham won Connacht senior titles for Roscommon in 2017 and 2019.^[9]

Dates	Name	Origin
1987–1992	Martin McDermott	St Brigid's
1992–1994	Dermot Earley	Michael Glavey's
1994–1997	Donie Shine	Clann na nGael
1997–2000	Gay Sheerin	St Ronan's
2000–2002	John Tobin
2002–2005	Tommy Carr
2005	Val Daly
2005–2008	John Maughan
2008	Paul Earley	Michael Glavey's
2008	Michael Ryan	Roscommon Gaels
2008–2011	Fergal O'Donnell	Roscommon Gaels
2011–2012[10]	Des Newton	Shannon Gaels
2012–2015	John Evans
2015	Kevin McStay
	Fergal O'Donnell (2)	Roscommon Gaels
2015–2018	Kevin McStay(n)
2018–2022[11][12][13]	Anthony Cunningham
2022–	Davy Burke

(n) = McStay continued as manager by himself after O'Donnell's departure.

Players

Notable players

For individual player details, see Category:Roscommon inter-county Gaelic footballers.

• Nigel Dineen
• Karol Mannion^[14][15]
• Fergal O'Donnell, 2001 Connacht SFC-winning captain

Records

• Dermot Earley Snr is the team's top scorer in National Football League history, finishing his career with 17–316 (367) in that competition.^[16]

All Stars

Roscommon has 16 All Stars, as of 2023. 12 different players have won, as of 2023. Harry Keegan won three All Stars. No other player won more than two.

1972: Mickey Freyne
1974: Dermot Earley Snr
1977: Pat Lindsay
1978: Harry Keegan
1979: Tom Heneghan, Danny Murray, Dermot Earley Snr^2nd
1980: Harry Keegan^2nd, Ger Connellan, Danny Murray^2nd
1985: Paul Earley
1986: Harry Keegan^3rd
1989: Tony McManus
1991: Enon Gavin
2001: Francie Grehan
2023: Enda Smith

Competitive record

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

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

Year	Venue	Result	Attendance
1943	Croke Park	Roscommon 2–7   Cavan 2–2	47,193
1944	Croke Park	Roscommon 1–9   Kerry 2–4	79,245
1946	Croke Park	Kerry 2–8    Roscommon 0–10	65,661
1962	Croke Park	Kerry 1–12    Roscommon 1–6	75,771
1980	Croke Park	Kerry 1–9    Roscommon 1–6	63,854

National Football League

This is Roscommon's record in National Football League finals. Bold denotes a year in which the team won the competition.

Year	Venue	Winning Team	Score	Losing Team
1974	Croke Park	Kerry	0–14 v 0–8	Roscommon
1979	Croke Park	Roscommon	0–15 v 1–3	Cork
1981	Croke Park	Galway	1–11 v 1–3	Roscommon

Rivalries

• Dublin-Roscommon Gaelic football rivalry
• Galway-Roscommon Gaelic football rivalry
• Mayo-Roscommon Gaelic football rivalry
• Meath-Roscommon Gaelic football rivalry

Honours

National

• All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
  • Winners (2): 1943, 1944
  • Runners-up (3): 1946, 1962, 1980
• National Football League
  • Winners (1): 1978–79
  • Runners-up (2): 1973–74, 1980–81
• National Football League Division Two
  • Winners (4): 2015,^[17] 2018,^[18] 2020,^[19] 2022^[20]
• National Football League Division Three
  • Winners (1): 2014^[21]
• All-Ireland Junior Football Championship
  • Winners (2): 1940, 2000
• All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship
  • Winners (2): 1966, 1978
• All-Ireland Minor Football Championship
  • Winners (4): 1939, 1941, 1951, 2006

Provincial

• Connacht Senior Football Championship
  • Winners (23): 1892, 1905, 1912, 1914, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1952, 1953, 1961, 1962, 1972, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1990, 1991, 2001, 2010, 2017,^[22] 2019
  • Runners-up (25): 1906, 1911, 1915, 1916, 1919, 1925, 1931, 1941, 1942, 1950, 1955, 1970, 1974, 1976, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1998, 2011, 2016, 2018, 2022
• Connacht FBD League
  • Winners (5): 1997, 1999, 2015,^[23] 2018 2019
• Connacht Junior Football Championship 11
  • Winners (11): 1929 (awarded), 1932, 1939, 1940, 1959, 1964, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2008, 2009
• Connacht Under-21 Football Championship
  • Winners (9): 1966, 1969, 1978, 1982, 1999, 2010, 2012,^[24] 2014,^[25] 2015^[26]
• Connacht Minor Football Championship
  • Winners (14): 1939, 1941, 1949, 1951, 1965, 1967, 1975, 1981, 1984, 1989, 1992, 2006, 2011, 2012^[27]

References

1. "Team news: Rossies make seven changes for Kerry clash". Hogan Stand. 29 May 2021. Following the Rossies' six-point defeat to Galway last weekend, Cunningham has wielded the axe for the Kingdom's visit and it sees Conor Daly, Ronan Daly and Conor Hussey all coming into his defence.
2. "Roscommon captain says players very disappointed at prospect of no GAA action until May". Shannonside Northern Sound. 11 February 2021.
3. "Roscommon put poor league form behind them with a stunning Connacht final victory over Galway". The42.ie. 9 July 2017.
4. "Cox and Murtagh fire Roscommon to Connacht glory after Galway's second-half collapse". The42.ie. 16 June 2019.
5. "Roscommon fundraiser raises over €900k". RTÉ Sport. 4 January 2021.
6. O'Brien, Kevin (26 October 2022). "Davy Burke takes Roscommon reins". The42.ie.
7. "Mark McHugh to coach Roscommon". Highland Radio. 26 October 2022.
8. "Burke confirms another member of management team". Roscommon Herald. 4 November 2022.
9. Breheny, Martin (24 November 2012). "The import and export business". Irish Independent.
10. "Des Newton leaves Roscommon post". Irish Independent. 12 September 2012.
11. Donoghue, Eamon (9 November 2018). "Anthony Cunningham ratified as new Roscommon manager: Former Galway hurling manager replaces Kevin McStay who stepped down". The Irish Times.
12. "Cunningham steps down in Roscommon". Hogan Stand. 3 August 2022.
13. "Cunningham steps away from Roscommon role". RTÉ. 3 August 2022.
14. "Roscommon's Karol Mannion Calls time on 12 year Intercounty Career". Irish Independent. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
15. "Mannion calls time on 12 year Rossies career". Irish Independent. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
16. "Banner hero David Tubridy already has more history in his sights after becoming highest league scorer of all time". Irish Independent. 1 June 2021.
17. Mooney, Francis (26 April 2015). "Roscommon claim Division 2 silverware". RTÉ.
18. O'Brien, Ronan (1 April 2018). "Cregg's late brace of goals secures league title for Roscommon in eight-goal showdown". RTÉ.
19. "Roscommon win NFL Division 2 crown as Cavan relegated". Irish Independent. 24 October 2020.
20. Fallon, John (3 April 2022). "Diarmuid Murtagh the hero as Roscommon claim Division 2 title". RTÉ.
21. Croke, Ruaidhri (29 December 2014). "Farewell to Shane Curran and a league title -- Roscommon's 2014 sporting highlights". The42.ie. 8. Meanwhile, the men beat Cavan in the Division 3 Final — a match that included this sublime chip from David Keenan
22. "Connacht SFC final: rampant Rossies stun terrible Tribe". Hogan Stand. 9 July 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
23. "Roscommon claim rare FBD League crown". RTÉ. 25 January 2015.
24. "Smith the hero as Rossies' first-half blitz proves a bridge too far for Sligo". Irish Independent. 9 April 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
25. "Roscommon claim third Connacht U21 title in five years". Hogan Stand. 5 April 2014. Archived from the original on 5 April 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
26. "Roscommon take Connacht Under-21 title". RTÉ Sport. 5 April 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
27. "Connacht Minor Football Championship: Roscommon survive late fightback to down Mayo". www.thescore.ie. 15 July 2012. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.