The 1971 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final was the 84th All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 1971 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in Ireland.
Match This year's final was played on 26 September.
Summary Galway were appearing in their first final since the three-in-a-row side of the 1960s. Offaly, who had never won an All-Ireland title, had last contested a final in 1969.
Galway were favourites. However, a shock Murt Connor goal gave Offaly their first title.High Ball magazine, issue #6, 1998. However, with the duration of certain championship matches increasing from 60 to 80 minutes during the 1970s before being settled at 70 minutes after five seasons of this in 1975,Breheny, Martin. "The Final Verdict: The Greatest of my Lifetime" in Martin Breheny's Greatest All-Ireland Finals. Irish Independent. 1 September 2018, p. 2. this is the only All-Ireland final whose score at 60 minutes was different (a draw) to the actual outcome.
This was the first All-Ireland final attended by Martin Breheny. The weather on the day was later described by Breheny as consisting of a "steady drizzle" in the first half, followed by a "deluge of monsoon proportions" during the second half.
It would be a further 21 years before another team (Donegal) won their first All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.
Details
Offaly 1 M. Furlong 2 M. Ryan 3 P. McCormack 4 M. O'Rourke 5 E. Mulligan 6 N. Clavin 7 M. Heavey 8 W. Bryan (c) 9 K. Claffey 10 S. Cooney 11 K. Kilmurray 12 T. McTague 13 J. Gunning 14 S. Evans 15 M. Connor
Subs used 17 J. Smith for N. Clavin 18 P. Fenning for J. Gunning
Subs not used 16 N. Kinnarney 19 L. Hanlon 20 L. Coughlan 21 D. Murphy 22 S. Darby 23 G. Hughes 24 S. Lowry
Trainer T. F. Gillooley
Galway 1 P. J. Smyth 2 B. Colleran 3 J. Cosgrove 4 N. Colleran 5 L. O'Neill 6 T. J. Gilmore 7 C. McDonagh 8 L. Sammon (c) 9 W. Joyce 10 F. Burke 11 J. Duggan 12 M. Rooney 13 E. Farrell 14 F. Canavan 15 S. Leydon
Subs used 19 T. Divilly for M. Rooney 17 M. Feerick for F. Burke
Subs not used 16 G. Mitchell 18 J. McLoughlin 20 G. King 21 M. Byrne 22 M. Keane
References
External links