Accolades – Players

• 1965: Seán Murray (Carrickedmond)
• 1966: Brendan Barden (Clonguish)

• 1971: Jimmy Hannify (Fr. Manning Gaels)
• 1972: Jimmy Hannify (Fr. Manning Gaels)
  1972: Seán Donnelly (Longford Slashers)
• 1974: Seán Mulvihill (Kenagh)
• 1984: John McCormack (Killoe Young Emmets)
  1984: Liam Tierney (Mostrim)
• 1985: John McCormack (Killoe Young Emmets)
• 1986: John McCormack (Killoe Young Emmets)
• 1988: Dessie Barry (Longford Slashers)
• 1989: Dessie Barry (Longford Slashers)
• 1990: Dessie Barry (Longford Slashers)
• 2006: Paul Barden (Clonguish)
  2006: Brian Kavanagh (Ardagh St. Patricks)
• 2012: Paul Barden (Clonguish)
  2012: Michael Quinn (Killoe Young Emmets)

AIB Club Football Team of the Year

Player of the Week/Month Award

• 1966: Brendan Gilmore (Rathcline)
  🏅 Gaelic Sport Player of the Month for June.
• 1985: John Murphy (Longford manager)
  🏅 Irish Life Manager of the Month for October.
• 1996: Niall Sheridan (Abbeylara)
  🏅 Daily Star Player of the Week.
• 1999: Trevor Smullen (Ballymahon)
  🏅 Daily Star Player of the Week.
• 2001: Pádraic Davis (Fr. Manning Gaels)
  🏅 Daily Star Player of the Week.
• 2002: Liam Mulvihill (Kenagh)
  🏅 Daily Star Special Achievement Award.
• 2004: Stephen Lynch (Granard)
  🏅 Irish Independent Sports Star of the Week.
• 2007: Brian Kavanagh (Ardagh St. Patricks)
  🏅 GPA/GAA Player of the Month.
• 2012: Paul Barden (Clonguish)
  🏅 GPA/GAA Player of the Month.
• 2014: Paul Barden (Clonguish)
  🏅 GAA Player of the Week.
• 2016: Robbie Smyth (Abbeylara)
  🏅 GAA Player of the Week.

Cú Chulainn Awards were the forerunner to the All Star Awards, presented from 1963 to 1967 under the auspices of Gaelic Weekly magazine and viewed as equivalent to the All Star awards in terms of merit.

Brian Kavanagh received a call-up to the Vodafone All-Star team for the Tour of Dubai in January 2007. He was on the 2006 All-Star team starting XV, managed by Jack O’Connor from Kerry: A Quirke (Cork), B Owens (Fermanagh), K Lacey (Donegal), S Moynihan (Kerry), G Spillane (Cork), A O’Mahony (Kerry), S Ryan (Dublin), N Murphy (Cork), S O‘Sullivan (Kerry), A Brogan (Dublin), A Dillon (Mayo), C Mortimer (Mayo), J Masters (Cork), R Munnelly (Laois), B Kavanagh (Longford).

Note: AIB Club Football Team of the Year awards began in 2017-18 season. 

Top Longford footballer from 50-year period 1970-2020 was voted via Irish Independent poll held in May 2020.

• 1) Paul Barden (Clonguish)
• 2) Jimmy Hannify (Fr. Manning Gaels)
• 3) Dessie Barry (Longford Slashers)
• 4) Liam Tierney (Mostrim)
• 5) Mick Casey (Cashel)
• 6) John McCormack (Killoe Young Emmets)
• 7) Pádraic Davis (Fr. Manning Gaels)
• 8) Michael Quinn (Killoe Young Emmets)
• 9) Francis McNamee (Fr. Manning Gaels)
• 10) Seán Donnelly (Longford Slashers)
• 11) Mickey O’Hara (Mostrim)
• 12) Niall Sheridan (Abbeylara)
• 13) Brian Kavanagh (Ardagh St. Patricks)
• 14) Dermot Brady (Longford Slashers)
• 15) Declan C Reilly (Colmcille)
• 16) Enda Barden (Clonguish)
• 17) Shane Mulligan (Mullinalaghta St. Columbas)
• 18) Seán McCormack (Killoe Young Emmets)
• 19) Trevor Smullen (Ballymahon)
• 20) Joe McCabe (Ballymahon)

Paul Barden was ranked at No. 1 and is widely regarded as Longford’s greatest footballer. Paul’s inter-county senior football career spanned 16 years from his debut aged 17 on 1st November 1998 (NFL vs Carlow) to he retirement aged 34 in February 2015. He played 52 championship games for Longford (19 wins, 3 draws, 30 defeats) and was twice nominated for an All Star award (2006 & 2012). He won two Railway Cups as a player in 2001 & 2002, and one as a panel member in 2006. In fact he was just 20 years old when he won his first Railway Cup in 2001. He was capped in the International Rules Series in 2006 and won Fr. Manning Cup (1995), O’Byrne Cup (2000), O’Byrne Shield (2006, 2007), NFL Division 4 (2011) and NFL Division 3 (2012) titles for Longford. Paul also won 3 Longford SFC titles and 5 Longford SHC titles with his native club Clonguish.

Jimmy Hannify was ranked at No. 2 and began playing for Longford from age 16 at Minor grade from 1962-64, then U-21 grade from 1964-67 and made his Championship debut for Longford Senior team in the 1965 Leinster Championship, aged 19. He enjoyed an almost 13-year inter-county Senior career before retiring at the end of the 1977 season. Jimmy won National League (1966), Leinster SFC (1968), 2 NFL Division 2 (1966, 1972) and O’Byrne Cup (1965) as well as key tournament titles such in Tir Conaill Cup (1965), Gaelic Weekly Cup (1965) and 2 Longford Feis Cups (1965, 1967). He was twice nominated for an All Star award (1971 & 1972), won 2 All-Ireland & Leinster Colleges SFC (1962, 1963) and 1 Leinster Colleges JFC (1962) with St. Mels College and played in a Railway Cup final for Leinster (1968). At club level Jimmy won Longford Intermediate (1973, 1975) & Junior (1974) Championships and Minor League title with with his native club in Drumlish. His club career switched to Dublin where he won a Dublin SFC title with Civil Service in 1980 and Division 3 title with St. Judes in 1988, but also made appearances for his native Fr. Manning Gaels club in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. Jimmy played with Dublin Masters (Over 40’s) in the early 1990’s, winning the All-Ireland Masters Shield in 1992 and scoring 0-4 in the final. He trained the Drimnagh Castle schools team for many years, which included Niall Quinn as a player prior to his departure to Arsenal. In 2000 Jimmy Hannify was chosen on Longford’s ‘Team of the Millennium’, alongside his father Jim.

Dessie Barry was ranked at No. 3 and was one of the best Longford footballers of the 1980’s and 1990’s. He debuted for Longford in 1982 and enjoyed a 17-year inter-county career, winning NFL Division 4 in 1984 and NFL Division 3N in 1990, and was a key figure in the Leinster team who won the 1988 Railway Cup by defeating Ulster 2-9 to 0-12, with Dessie scoring 2-2. He was part of the 1990 International Rules squad managed by Eugene McGee and played in the warm-up matches. Dessie was nominated for an All Star award 1988, 1989 and 1990 and was chosen as an All Star Replacement for the America tour in 1988. At club level, Dessie won 6 Longford SFC titles with Longford Slashers, including 3-in-row from 1989-1991 (Man of the Match in all three finals). He was selected on the Longford Team of the Millennium in 2000 and inducted into the Leinster GAA ‘Hall of Fame’ in 2015. Dessie also played soccer for Longford Town in League of Ireland and FAI Cup. He was also voted Longford Person of the Year by the Longford-Dublin Association in 2002.

• 1945 Leinster Team:
  🏅 Jim Hannify (Drumlish)
• 1952 Leinster Team:
  🏅 Colm Smith (Colmcille) *
• 1953 Leinster Team:
  🏅 Vincent Tierney (St. Marys Granard)
  🏅 Jimmy O’Brien (Rathcline) *
• 1954 Leinster Team:
  🏅 Vincent Tierney (St. Marys Granard) *
• 1955 Leinster Team:
  🏅 Eamon Meagher (Drumlish Young Irelands) *
  🏅 Jim Harold (Rathcline/Army) *
• 1962 Leinster Team:
  🏅 Padraig Gearty (Longford Slashers)
  🏅 Brendan Barden (Clonguish)
• 1985 Leinster Team:
  🏅 Mick Casey (Cashel) *
  🏅 Liam Tierney (Mostrim) *
• 1986 Leinster Team:
  🏅 Mick Casey (Cashel) *
• 1988 Leinster Team:
  🏅 Dessie Barry (Longford Slashers)
  🏅 John McCormack (Killoe Young Emmets) *
• 1997 Leinster Team:
  🏅 Enda Barden (Clonguish) *
• 2001 Leinster Team:
  🏅 Paul Barden (Clonguish)
  🏅 Pádraic Davis (Fr. Manning Gaels) *
• 2002 Leinster Team:
  🏅 Paul Barden (Clonguish)
  🏅 Pádraic Davis (Fr. Manning Gaels) *
• 2006 Leinster Team:
  🏅 Brian Kavanagh (Ardagh St. Patricks)
  🏅 Paul Barden (Clonguish) *
  🏅 Declan C Reilly (Colmcille) *
  🏅 Damien Sheridan (Dromard) *
  🏅 Bernard McElvaney (Ballymore) *

* Denotes panel member who didn’t play in the Railway Cup final.
Note: Paul Barden was 20 when he won Railway Cup medal in 2001.

Railway Cup Runners-Up: The following Longford footballers featured in losing Railway Cup finals for Leinster:

• 1934: Tony Sheridan*, Joe Regan*, John McCarthy*.
• 1964: Bobby Burns, Seán Murray*.
• 1968: Larry Gillen, John Donlon, Seán Donnelly, Jimmy Hannify.
• 1983: Mick Casey.
• 2004: Paul Barden, Trevor Smullen, Padraic Davis.
• 2013: Michael Quinn, Seán McCormack.

* Denotes subs – did not play in the final.
(Others played in Railway Cup but did not reach the Railway Cup final)

Brendan Barden and Padraic Gearty played in 1962 Railway Cup final which was the first Gaelic Football match ever televised.

Padraic Gearty has the distinction of being the first person to score in a Gaelic Football match on live TV in 1962 Railway Cup final. He played Sigerson Cup for UCD for four years, winning two Sigerson Cup medals as a player, and was selected on the Combined Universities team vs Ireland. He won five SFC medals with Longford Slashers (1954, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1961) and played for Longford Wanderers GFC prior to the formation of Longford Slashers GFC in 1954. He played soccer for Longford Town and won a National Junior Medal in the Polikoff Cup with Longford Athletic. Padraic was voted Longford Person of the Year by the Longford-Dublin Association in 2000 and was inducted into the Longford GAA ‘Hall of Fame’ in 2008. Padraic Gearty died in October 2011.

Seamus Flynn is the only Longford player to have captained a Leinster Railway Cup team (1969 vs Munster). He won JFC/JFL double with Clonguish in 1959 and made his Longford senior debut vs Mayo in NFL in October 1959. Won 1965 O’Byrne Cup, 1965 Gaelic Weekly Cup, 1965/66 National League, 1965/66 NFL Division 2 and 1968 Leinster SFC with Longford during the golden era of the 1960’s. Captained Leinster in Railway Cup in 1969 (only Longford player to ever do so) in a team that included four Longford players (Seamus Flynn, Brendan Barden, Jimmy Hannify & Seán Donnelly) and 2 subs (John Heneghan & Jackie Devine). He played in 11 SFC finals from 1961 to 1976 (10 in Longford, 1 in UK), winning 8 Longford SFC titles with Clonguish in 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969, 1972 & 1973, including as Captain in 1968 & 1972, and winning one Lancashire SFC title with Harps & Shamrocks in 1961. Off the field of play, Seamus was a selector with Longford from 1976-78 when Jackie Devine was Manager and from 1978-79 when Michael Kelly was Manager and from 1990-1992 when Dessie Dolan (Snr) was Manager. His last title win as a player was the Junior Championship of 1984 with Rathcline (aged 44), 25 years after winning the JFC with Clonguish in 1959. He was selected by the public at Right Full Back in Longfords ‘Team of the Millennium’ in 2000 and was inducted into the Longford GAA ‘Hall of Fame’ in 2018. Seamus died in 2024.

Vincent Tierney won two Railway Cup medals in 1953 (as a player) & 1954 (as a sub). He was an integral part of the Longford setup of the late 1940’s and 1950’s playing Minor for Longford in 1945 & 1946 and played Senior and Junior for Longford from 1947 until 1958 when he retired from inter-county. Vincent played club football with St. Marys Granard, United Gaels, Abbeylara, Colmcille and Mullinalaghta and briefly played Minor for Killoe. He won a Longford JFC title with Abbeylara in 1946 and played in three SFC finals in 1947 (United Gaels), 1949 (Colmcille) and 1952 (Mullinalaghta), winning the Longford SFC title once with Colmcille in 1949. In 1950 and 1951 he played club football with Letterkenny and Seán McDermotts (Dublin). He won two Leinster Colleges SFC titles with St. Mels College in 1946 & 1947. Vincent Tierney died in August 2023.

2024 Darren Gallagher: The inter-provincial series (aka Railway Cup) was resurrected in 2024 to enable the GAA to showcase a number of new rules which are under consideration for imminent introduction. Darren Gallagher was selected as part of the Leinster panel and played in Leinster’s losing semi-final game. Leinster was managed by former St. Mels College and Westmeath footballer Dessie Dolan.

Note: Pearse Park was the venue for three Railway Cup semi-finals down the years: 1942 (MU v LE), 1993 (LE v CO) & 2013 (UL v MU). 

• 1989 All-Ireland (U14) Kick Fada:
  🏅 Oliver Barry (Longford Slashers)
• 2010 All-Ireland Kick Fada:
  🏅 Damien Sheridan (Dromard)
• 2012 All-Ireland Kick Fada:
  🏅 Damien Sheridan (Dromard)
• 2013 All-Ireland Kick Fada:
  🏅 Damien Sheridan (Dromard)
• 2014 All-Ireland Kick Fada:
  🏅 Damien Sheridan (Dromard)