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Antrim were the first Ulster county to appear in an All Ireland final, in 1911 and repeated the feat again in 1912, losing on both occasions. Antrim's surprise football semi-final success came out of the blue in 1911. The Ulster secretary got sick that year and never organised a provincial Championship. So Antrim arrived with no practice to play Kilkenny and won by 3-1 to 1-1. The following year they beat even more prestigious rivals, Kerry. Heavy rain on the day, and over-indulgence at a wedding the day before were blamed for the shock 3-5 to 0-2 defeat. Antrim's County Board decision to introduce a City League in 1908, one of the first in Gaelic history, was a more legitimate explanation. The 1946 Antrim football team was regarded as one of the most exciting of the era, taking advantage of the newly reintroduced handpass. Joe McCallin's two goals helped beat Cavan in the Ulster final but Kerry roughed them out of the All Ireland semi-final. The opening of Casement Park boosted the games in Belfast, but from the late 1960s the troubles hampered sporting life in the football heartlands of Belfast, particularly Ardoyne. Political violence meant that the county could not build on the under-21 team of 1969, one of the finest in Ulster history (Din Joe McGrogan, scorer of the goals that put Antrim in the final, was killed by a Loyalist bomb). The countys Vocational Schools team has made it to 2 All Ireland Finals in 1968 were they beat Galway and in 1971 were they were beaten by Mayo. A drawn Ulster semi-final with Derry in 2000 was one of the highlights of Antrim's recent football career alongside winning the Tommy Murphy Cup in 2008, beating Wicklow in the final and gaining revenge for losing the 2007 final to the same opponents. The current senior manager is Derry's Liam Bradley. Antrim also made history in 2009 by getting to the Ulster Championship final, the first Antrim team to reach it in 31 years. They were runners-up to All-Ireland champions Tyrone.


Oh yes Mick, I'm well aware of the shift. They got to their first Ulster Final in 31 years in 2009.

Well my kiss of death continues.

I decided that as I'm moving to Kilkenny I ought to support them.


La Piba's cousin, knowing how effective my kiss of death can be has pleaded with me not to.

I suspect he's not speaking to me any more.


La Piba (good wexford girl), initially appalled at my decision, is over the moon.

El Pibe Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Well my kiss of death continues.

> I decided that as I'm moving to Kilkenny I ought

> to support them.

>



Don't marry an Irish girl, unless you want to end up in Ireland. :) Good luck with the move.

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