The Galway Minor Football team has been named ahead of Sunday's All-Ireland Semi-Final with Kerry at Croke Park. Kevin also got the thoughts of Galway Manager Donal O'Faharta. The Galway Minor team to play Kerry in the All-Ireland football semi-final on Sunday is as follows: Goalkeeper: Darren Donovan (Eire Og). Defenders: Shane Walsh (Westmeath), Ciarán Kilkenny (Kilkenny), John Power (Wexford). Midfielders: Alan Nolan (Cork), Paul Murphy (Waterford), Conor Lehane (Tipperary), David Clifford (Louth). Forwards: Stephen Rice (Meath), David Burke (Carlow).
Donal O'Faherty said: "It's great news for Galway football that the semi-final has been fixed for this year. We've had a good season so far, reaching two finals and losing out on both occasions. I think we played well in both games but we just didn't get the results we wanted. This year our target is obviously to win a championship title so we'll be going all out to do that. As far as the match against Kerry is concerned, I think it's going to be a really tough game. They're one of the best teams in Ireland and have lots of experience at this level. But we're sure we can beat them - we've done it before this year and we can do it again!"
Dublin, the reigning All-Ireland champions, faced Munster champions Kerry in an attempt to become the first Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) male side to win five successive editions of the championship. The game was called off due to rain and both teams agreed to meet again at a later date.
Brisbane's Hogan's Alley is the only other men's team to have won back-to-back titles. They did so in 1953 and 1954. Dublin became the first team to retain the title when they defeated Kerry by 3-8 to 1-9 in 1955. This remains their most recent title victory.
Galway were the last team to defeat Dublin in the All-Ireland final, doing so in 1959. Since then, no team has been able to dethrone Dublin as king of the hill.
The Dubs have also not been challenged for the title since then either. Cork have been the closest team to beating them but have never actually done so. In fact, Dublin have beaten Cork on eight occasions out of nine meetings between the two counties' senior teams.
Also like Brisbane's Hogans, Dublin's Walterstown Park is the only venue to have hosted the all-Ireland finals for three consecutive years starting in 1953.
Tyrone has had a Gaelic football team for over a century. In 2003, 2005, and 2008, the squad won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. Prior to these victories, it had only been victorious once before - in 1949.
In addition to these three titles, an All-Ireland Intermediate Club Football Championship medal was awarded to St. Patrick's (Enniskillen) in 1953. This was the first time that any club other than An Ghearmáid or Young Irelands had won this award.
Finally, a North American Football League title was won by Tyrone in 1999. This is the only AFL match that has been played outside of Australia or Ireland. The Tyrone team was composed primarily of players from Ulster University who traveled to Canada to play for the Belfast Blues.
In total, Tyrone has won four All-Ireland medals out of a possible six opportunities. They have never lost an All-Ireland final.
Tyrone has been involved in every All-Ireland final since they were established in 1887. This makes them the most successful team in the history of the championship.
They have also been involved in more All-Ireland semi-finals than any other team.
4-9-1-18, Dublin Kerry 1-11-0-7.
Kerry Tyrone defeated Kerry, who were playing in their second straight All-Ireland Final, by a score of 1-16 to 2-10 on September 25, 2005. Tyrone had to play 10 games (including three replays) to win the title, which was more than any other team has ever done before or after. They lost only one game during this period - the first round defeat by Down at the National Football Stadium, Dublin. The other nine victories were by an average score of 7-3.
Tyrone's success can be attributed to their excellent league performance that year. They finished top of the table with 12 wins and 0 losses, as well as scoring over 1000 points. This is the same position they still hold today. Their only loss came at the hands of Derry in the final game of the season.
It is estimated that this victory cost Kerry around $1 million in earnings. The two counties have never met since then, except in the All-Ireland Series where both teams have reached the final.
However, it is possible that 2006 could see them meet for the first time since 2005 when both teams take part in a double header on August 26th. If this match happens then it will be known as "The Meeting By Default".
Either way, this was one of the most exciting championships ever. It also showed that if you are good enough, you can win even without your star player Garry Owen.
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