1961 All-Ireland Junior Football Championship

1961 All-Ireland Junior Football Championship

All Ireland Champions
Winners	Louth (4th win)
Captain	Gussie Sheelan
All Ireland Runners-up
Runners-up	Yorkshire
Provincial Champions
Munster	Kerry
Leinster	Louth
Ulster	Monaghan
Connacht	Galway
← 1960 1962 →

The 1961 All-Ireland Junior Football Championship was the 40th staging of the championship since its establishment by the GAA in 1912.

The competition format saw the four provincial champions compete in two 'Home' semi-finals, the winners of which then contested the All-Ireland 'Home' final at Croke Park.

Louth, having accounted for Meath, Longford and Offaly in the Leinster preliminary rounds and Dublin in the provincial final, went on to defeat Kerry and Galway in the All-Ireland Series to emerge as 'Home' champions.

In the last stage of the competition, the victorious 'Home' finalists then met the champions of Britain to determine who would be crowned overall All-Ireland Junior Football Champions for 1961.

The title match was played on 8 October in Leeds. The 1961 British champions Yorkshire provided the opposition for Louth. A tight game ended in victory for the Wee County side by three points.

Results

Leinster Junior Football Championship

Final

Louth v Dublin

6 August 1961

Louth

2–04 - 0–08

Dublin

Páirc Tailteann, Navan

GK 1 Jim Clifford (St Patrick's) RCB 2 Oliver Coombes (Wolfe Tones) FB 3 Jim Butterly (Mattock Rangers) LCB 4 Anthony Kirwan (Dreadnots) RHB 5 Gussie Sheelan (St Patrick's) (c) CHB 6 Michael Kelly (Wolfe Tones) LHB 7 Noel McDonnell (Drogheda Parnells) MF 8 Ted Russell (Naomh Mhuire) MF 9 Paddy Jordan (St Patrick's) RHF 10 Seán Goodman (Walshestown Rovers) CHF 11 Jim Sheelan (St Patrick's) LHF 12 Jim Judge (Newtown Blues) RCF 13 Ronnie McDonnell (Seán McDermott's) FF 14 Henry Donnelly (St Patrick's) LCF 15 Fra Kirk (Clan na Gael) Substitutes: 16 Jim Kearns (O'Connells) for Judge 17 Paddy Reilly (Naomh Mhuire) for Ronnie McDonnell

GK 1 Martin Leonard (St Maur's) RCB 2 Paddy Archibold (St Joseph's) FB 3 Leo Hickey (Ballyboughal) LCB 4 Brian Cooney (Rialto Gaels) RHB 5 Pat Fox (Rialto Gaels) CHB 6 Liam O'Hagan (c) LHB 7 Denis Dempsey (Rialto Gaels) MF 8 Colin Fox (Ballyboughal) MF 9 Frank McKearney (O'Toole's) RHF 10 Paddy Barrett (Ballyboughal) CHF 11 Bert Ennis (Garristown) LHF 12 R. Kinsella (Fingal Ravens) RCF 13 Nicky Dempsey (Rialto Gaels) FF 14 A. Burke (Na Fianna) LCF 15 Pat Somers (St Anne's) Substitutes: 16 P. Nally for Burke 17 Eamonn Burgess (Good Counsel) for Kinsella 18 F. Sheehan for C. Fox

All-Ireland Junior Football Championship

'Home' Semi-Finals

Louth v Kerry

27 August 1961

Louth

2–07 - 1–08

Kerry

Gaelic Grounds, Drogheda

Galway v Monaghan

27 August 1961

Galway

5–09 - 1–01

Monaghan

Ballinasloe, County Galway

'Home' Final

Louth v Galway

10 September 1961

Louth

0–11 - 1–07

Galway

Croke Park, Dublin

All-Ireland Final

(Roundhay Park, Leeds, England)

Louth v Yorkshire

8 October 1961

Louth	1–13 – 1–10	Yorkshire
(HT: 0–08 - 1–05)
Gls: Jim Sheelan (1-0) Pts: Kirk (0-06), Fagan (0-02), Jim Sheelan (0-02), Donnelly (0-02) Judge (0-01)

Referee: Brian Smyth (Meath)

GK 1 Jim Clifford (St Patrick's) RCB 2 Oliver Coombes (Wolfe Tones) FB 3 Jim Butterly (Mattock Rangers) LCB 4 Anthony Kirwan (Dreadnots) RHB 5 Gussie Sheelan (St Patrick's) (c) CHB 6 Michael Kelly (Wolfe Tones) LHB 7 Paddy Dixon (Clan na Gael) MF 8 Frank Fagan (Newtown Blues) MF 9 Paddy Jordan (St Patrick's) RHF 10 Jim Sheelan (St Patrick's) CHF 11 Muckle McKeown (O'Raghallaighs) LHF 12 Jim Judge (Newtown Blues) RCF 13 Seán Goodman (Walshestown Rovers) FF 14 Henry Donnelly (St Patrick's) LCF 15 Fra Kirk (Clan na Gael) Substitutes: 16 Joe Mallon (Newtown Blues) for Jordan 17 Leslie Toal (Clan na Gael) for Coombes Manager: Paddy McArdle

GK 1 M. Courtney RCB 2 D. Grennan FB 3 L. Daly LCB 4 T. Fox RHB 5 P. Donlon CHB 6 P. Beirne LHB 7 P. O'Hara MF 8 M. Jordan MF 9 J. Kelly RHF 10 H. Marron CHF 11 M. Keegan (c) LHF 12 M. Kelly RCF 13 P. Burke FF 14 M. Neary LCF 15 J. Shields