The 1961 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was the 74th All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 1961 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in Ireland. A crowd of 90,556 (a record at the old Croke Park) watched the match between Down and Offaly.[1]
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| Event | 1961 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship | ||||||
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| Date | 24 September 1961 | ||||||
| Venue | Croke Park, Dublin | ||||||
| Referee | L Maguire (Cavan) | ||||||
| Attendance | 90,556 | ||||||
Match edit
The biggest crowd ever to attend Croke Park saw an explosive opening to the match - Offaly's Mick Casey and Peter Daly got goals to put them six points ahead with the match barely begun. Down recovered with three goals by half-time, and led by two points with minutes to go. Har Donnelly had a 21-yard free for Offaly, and took a point when a goal was really needed.[2]
Legacy edit
This was Down's second appearance in an All-Ireland final, and their second win from two.[3] It was the second of three All-Ireland football titles won by Down in the 1960s, which made them joint "team of the decade" with Galway who also won three.[4]
References edit
- ^ Grant, Alistair (9 March 2009). "See U2 at Croker... for €25: World tour tipped to include thousands of cheap tickets". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
- ^ High Ball magazine, issue #6, 1998.
- ^ "Down fans travel to All-Ireland final". The News Letter. 19 September 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
- ^ "Kerry on honour roll". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2009.