1961 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final explained

1961 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final
Event:1961 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Team1score:3-6
(15)
Team2score:2-8
(14)
Date:24 September 1961
Stadium:Croke Park
City:Dublin
Referee:L Maguire (Cavan)
Attendance:90,556
Previous:1960
Next:1962

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]

Match

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

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]

Notes and References

  1. News: Alistair. Grant. See U2 at Croker... for €25: World tour tipped to include thousands of cheap tickets. Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. 9 March 2009. 9 March 2009.
  2. High Ball magazine, issue #6, 1998.
  3. News: Down fans travel to All-Ireland final. The News Letter. 19 September 2010. 19 September 2010.
  4. News: Kerry on honour roll. Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. 14 September 2009. 14 September 2009.