The Monaghan county football team ( ) represents Monaghan in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Monaghan 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 Ulster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.
Monaghan's home ground is St Tiernach's Park, Clones.
The team last won the Ulster Senior Championship in 2015 and the National League in 1985. The team has not yet won a senior All-Ireland competition.
History
Early years Football was recorded in Inniskeen in 1706 in a poem. Monaghan were prominent in Ulster championship competitions during the period 1914-30, and one of the first Ulster counties to contest an All-Ireland final.
1930–1978 Monaghan beat Kildare in a semi-final to reach the 1930 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, where Kerry beat them by 3–11 to 0-2 without their goalkeeper touching the ball.
1979–1988 Seán McCague managed the team from the late 1970s. He managed his county team to the 1979 Ulster Senior Football Championship (SFC) title and then led it to two further Ulster SFC titles, as well as the National Football League title. The 1979 title win was Monaghan's first for 41 years.
In 1979, the Monaghan team won the Ulster Senior Football Championship for the first time in 41 years with a defeat of Donegal. In the final Monaghan Kieran Finlay scored 1–9, which was a record in an Ulster final for 20 years, until Armagh forward Oisín McConville bettered it with a 2–7 tally against Down in 1999. They also won the Dr McKenna Cup in 1979. That year, in the Ceannarus Tournament, they also beat Roscommon and Dublin. In the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship 1979 semi-final at Croke Park, Monaghan were again beaten by Kerry, 5–14 to 0–7.
In 1984, Monaghan reached the Centenary Cup final following wins over Limerick, Mayo, Offaly (quarter final) and Derry (semi-final after extra time) The Offaly and Derry games were played in Croke Park as was the final against Meath which Monaghan lost by 0–10 to 0–8. Monaghan also won Division 3 of the National Football League that year and lost to Meath in the quarterfinal.
1985 was the county's most successful year to date. A National Football League final victory against Armagh in 1985 created a momentum that peaked in 1985 when future Monaghan manager Eamonn McEneaney kicked an equalizing point from 48 metres out near the sideline beside the Hogan Stand to draw the All-Ireland semi-final against Kerry on a scoreline of Monaghan 2–9 to Kerry's 1-12. Kerry won the replay on a 2–9 to 0–10 score.
Monaghan won that National Football League title of 1985 on a 1–11 to 0–09 score against pre-match favourites Armagh. The game was effectively settled by an Eamon McEneaney penalty in the first half when referee John Gough from Antrim decided that an Armagh defender had taken too many steps in his own penalty area. Armagh got to within a point in the second half, but a flurry of long-range points from Bernie Murray, Eamon McEneaney and Ray McCarron brought the trophy to Monaghan for the first time.
That year's Ulster Senior Football Championship was also a success. An easy first-round victory over Donegal in Castleblayney was marked by a Eamon Murphy goal. Following was a lucky draw against Armagh in the semi-final and one-point victory. Paddy Linden saved a penalty, while an Armagh player saw the line barely 30 seconds after coming onto the field as a substitute, following an apparent high tackle on Declan Flanagan. In the replay, despite a late Armagh goal, Monaghan won by 1–11 to 2–7.
Monaghan met Derry in the Ulster Senior Football Championship final. Eamon McEneaney helped himself to 2–4 as Monaghan recorded an easy 2–9 to 0–8 win. In the drawn All-Ireland semi-final against Kerry, the absence of David Byrne through injury in the second half probably cost Monaghan victory. Despite Eamon McEneaney's last-gasp equaliser, Kerry won by 5 points.
The team was missing Declan Loughman, Gerry Hoey and Bernie Murray, all with broken legs. All three were prominent in the National Football League win over Armagh while they would form the spine of the Ulster SFC winning side of 1988.
Monaghan reached the 1986 National Football League final, but this time the opposition was Laois. Played in front of over 30,000 supporters the Laoismen edged out Monaghan by 2–6 to 2–5. Monaghan's championship run in 1986 consisted of a draw against Down in Castleblayney thanks to a last gap Eamon McEneaney free while in the replay Down emerged victors in Newcastle on a 2–11 to 0–11 score.
In 1987, Monaghan reached the National Football League semi-final again where they played against Kerry at Croke Park. A second-half performance against the wind had Monaghan leading by a couple of points near the end but a Pat Spillane goal and a late point by Mikey Sheehy saw the Kingdom win by 2–11 to 2–9. Monaghan's goals came from Mick O'Dowd and Hugo Clerkin. However, the Ulster championship was a shock 0–14 to 0–12 loss to Cavan in Breffni Park.
In 1988, the team reached the National Football League semi-final again but ended in a 4–12 to 1–8 drubbing from Dublin at Croke Park. However a good league run prior to that had rescued a season where relegation to Division 2 of the National Football League seemed possible. During that league run the team also changed management.
In the 1988 All Ireland semi-final against Cork, Monaghan held out against a gale-force wind in the first half and were 0–8 to 0–1 behind at the break. Goalkeeper Paddy Linden had saved a penalty from Larry Tompkins. Two early second-half points brought Monaghan to within 5 points. A controversial goal following an apparent foul on Monaghan's Brendan Murray rocked the Monaghan revival, and Cork took over. Linden's display in that match was a significant factor in him being the first Ulster goalkeeper to receive an All-star award that year.
Also in 1988 was an Ulster title win over Tyrone when a "Nudie" Hughes goal following a fumble by Tyrone keeper Aidan Skelton saw Monaghan win by 1–10 to 0-11. In the game, all Monaghan's scores came from play. Previous wins over Cavan (0-16 to 0-14), again marked by strong performance from Nudie Hughes, and Down (1-11 to 0-09) had brought Monaghan to the Ulster final.
1989–2006 In 1989 Monaghan scraped home with an 0–08 to 0–05 win against Antrim in Casement Park, Belfast, where the homesters literally kicked the game away. Down ended Monaghan's run in Castleblayney a few weeks later.
The 1990s and early part of the 2000s were lean years for the county. Notable wins in that period were championship successes over Donegal in 1995 and defending All-Ireland champions Armagh in 2003. They won the Dr McKenna Cup in 1995 against Derry and in 2003 against Tyrone.
Another noticeable effort was a dramatic second-half display against Derry in 1992, which saw a 9-point deficit hauled back to earn a draw. Wins were also recorded over Antrim in 1990 and Cavan in 1993 and 1994. After losses to Fermanagh in 1999 and 2000, a win over them was recorded in 2001.
The National Football League run of 1998 saw Monaghan qualify from a "group of death" that included Tyrone, Dublin, Kerry, Cavan and Sligo to qualify for the quarter-finals against Down in Croke Park. Behind at one stage early in the second half by 1–05 to 0-02, the Down goal scored by James Mc Cartan, a rally with goals by Darren Swift and Stephen Mc Ginnitty and a point by Peter Duffy gave Monaghan a surprise 2–05 to 1–06 win. They then lost the semi-final against Derry on a score of 1–12 to 0-08. The game had a bit of controversy too when a Mark Daly goal was disallowed, and a Monaghan player was sent off. During the Ulster Senior Football Championship meeting between both sides a few weeks later. Monaghan's Edwin Murphy was sent off on the advice of a linesman, but video evidence subsequently cleared him. Monaghan ultimately lost the game to Derry.
At senior level in 1999, the county U-21 side won the Ulster championship over Donegal thanks to a last-gasp super point from Kieran Tavey. The run ended with a 2–10 to 0–08 defeat to eventual champions Westmeath in Croke Park.
At minor level, the county U-18 team reached the Ulster minor league finals in 2000 and 2002, losing to Tyrone on both occasions by a point. The team reached the Ulster championship final in 2001 for the first time in 18 years, but they lost 2–13 to 0–13 again to Tyrone, including a late missed penalty when only 4 points separated the sides. In 2001 the Vocational Schools team won the Ulster and All-Ireland championships.
In 2005, the county contested the Division 2 National Football League final against Meath at Croke Park. A last-gasp point from Paul Finlay in the final league game against Longford in Clones earned the team a draw and automatic promotion to Division 1 for the first time in 18 years. In the league semi-final against Derry in Clones, a goal within 15 seconds of the throw in by Tommy Freeman set Monaghan on their way, and despite Rory Woods being sent off Monaghan held out for a 1–13 to 1–11 win.
In the NFL Division 2 final, during injury time Meath looked like holding onto a 2-point victory. However a Paul Finlay free with the last kick of the game from 40 yards out was deflected into the Meath net by a Meath player, and Monaghan won 3–13 to 3-12. This game preceded the National Football League final which saw Armagh overcome Wexford to gain their first league title. This was Monaghan's first visit to Croke Park in 7 years, that resulting in a 1–12 to 0–08 defeat in a National Football League semi-final to Derry back in 1998.
Derry gained revenge in the Ulster Senior Football Championship with a 1–17 to 2–08 win, but "back door" wins over London, Wexford and Louth brought Monaghan to a last 12 meeting with eventual All-Ireland champions Tyrone in Croke Park. The tactic of isolating Tommy Freeman up front caused havoc for Tyrone in the first 25 minutes as they leaked 1-05, the goal by Freeman. However, a Tyrone player was brought back to double mark Freeman, and the Farney threat was quashed. Tyrone won 2–14 to 1-07, limiting Monaghan to a single point from a free in the second half. Ryan McMenamin had been suspended following an incident in the Ulster final and missed the game, but he returned for the quarter-final against Dublin. Freeman's exploits in the summer of 2005 brought him an All-star nomination and an "Irish News" Ulster All Star award on the "40".
2006 saw Monaghan compete in Division 1A of the National Football League, but after wins to Dublin and a draw with Offaly, the team's season ended in the championship qualifiers with a 0-08 to 0-06 defeat to Wexford.
The team also reached the Dr McKenna Cup final early in the year but lost to Tyrone. The Ulster championship started with a 0–10 to 0–10 draw against eventual Ulster champions Armagh in rain soaked Clones. Six days later Armagh emerged victorious on a 1–13 to 0–10 score. Two missed goal opportunities on the day proved costly. A 2–19 to 3–05 win over Wicklow in the qualifiers saw Monaghan meet Wexford in Clones. The game saw continuous rain and wet conditions, and the performance of the referee grabbed headlines on the day. Wexford who had Matty Forde controversially on board following an incident against Offaly for which he would be subsequently suspended won out by 0–08 to 0-06.
2007 season 2007 saw Monaghan compete in Division 2A of the National Football League. Though the team had a backroom clean-out of trainers and selectors, the introduction of Tyrone native Martin Mc Elkennon to the Oriel set up contributed to a run of seven successive victories in matches: away to Roscommon, home to Longford and Carlow, away to Clare, away trips to London, home to Offaly, away to Leitrim.