Joe Kernan (born 8 April 1954) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

former sportsperson who played

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

for his local club

Crossmaglen Rangers Crossmaglen Rangers Gaelic Athletic Club ( ga, Raonaithe na Croise) is a GAA club in Crossmaglen, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. They cater for Gaelic football and camogie. Their home football ground is St. Oliver Plunkett Park, which was op ...

and at senior level for the Armagh county team. in the 1970s and 1980s. Awarded All Stars in 1977 and 1982, he is the former

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

of Armagh's senior football team, and led them to the 2002

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

title, their first before retiring in July 2007 after the team lost to

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

. He later managed

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

and the Ireland international rules team. A biography of his story was published in 2011 called ''Joe Kernan: Without a Shadow of Doubt''.

Early and private life

Joe Kernan was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, in 1954. The second son in a family of three boys and two girls, his father died when he was just 11 years old and his mother died in late 2007. Kernan was educated locally and later boarded in Omeath and then attended the

Abbey Christian Brothers Grammar School The Abbey Christian Brothers' Grammar School (Irish: ''Scoil na Mainistreach, Iúr Cinn Trá'' ) is a voluntary day school for boys aged 11 – 18 years in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. History The school was established in 1851 by membe ...

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Armagh, Armagh and County Down, Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry ...

. Following his secondary education there were few employment prospects in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

and Kernan considered emigrating to Australia where three of his siblings had already gone. In the end he decided to stay in Crossmaglen and in the 1980s he ran a bar in the town. He closed the pub in the early 1990s and currently works as a self-employed estate agent and mortgage broker. In December 1976 Joe married Patricia Morgan, in 1983 the first of their five sons was born, they are Stephen, Aaron, Tony, Paul & Ross. The four eldest boys are well known due to their successes in football with

and they are on the

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the ...

panel.

Playing career

Club

Kernan played his club

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

with the

team and, in time, would become one of the most celebrated players with the club. He won five senior

county championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It b ...

titles between 1971 and 1988. Kernan retired from club football in 1988.

Inter-county

Kernan made his senior

playing debut in a

Dr McKenna Cup The Dr McKenna Cup is an annual Gaelic football competition played between counties and universities in the province of Ulster. It is the secondary Gaelic football competition based in Ulster behind the Ulster Senior Football Championship, an ...

game against

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

in 1971. It took until 1977 for Kernan to have his first major success when he won his first

title. Armagh later played

in the

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

final; however, in spite of Kernan scoring two goals, he still ended up on the losing side. Kernan earned an All-Star award for his performances that year. In 1980 Kernan won another Ulster medal with Armagh; however, his side were later beaten by

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who buil ...

in the All-Ireland semi-final. A third provincial medal was claimed by Kernan in 1982; however, Armagh fell at the All-Ireland semi-final stage once again. In spite of this he was still presented with a second All-Star award. Kernan continued playing until 1987 when he retired after an Ulster final defeat to

. It was his sixth provincial final appearance overall. Kernan also won two

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

Division 2 in 1976 and 1979.

Managerial career

Crossmaglen Rangers (1)

In 1993 Kernan became manager of

. At the time Crossmaglen football was at an all-time low. Three years later in 1996, after the club had won four under-21 county titles in-a-row, Kernan guided the senior side to a first

in 11 years. Crossmaglen went on to claim the

club title before defeating

Knockmore Knockmore () is an upland area and townland situated in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland outside the village of Derrygonnelly, in the historical barony of Magheraboy. This area, together with the adjacent Barrs of Boho and most of the uplan ...

to win the 1997 All-Ireland club title. In 1997 and 1998 Kernan guided Crossmaglen to two further county titles. The latter win was later converted into a second set of Ulster and All-Ireland titles. In 1999 Cross captured a fourth county title in-a-row as well as a second successive Ulster title. On

St. Patricks Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

, 2000 Kernan's side went on to win a third All-Ireland title in four years. Following this victory Kernan decided to retire from club management. He would later return in 2013.

Armagh

In 1989 Kernan got a first taste of inter-county management when he served as assistant to the

Paddy Moriarty Paddy Moriarty (sometimes known as Pat Moriarty) is a former Gaelic footballer who played for the Wolfe Tone GAC, Derrymacash Wolfe Tone Gaelic Athletic Club ( ga, De Bhulbh Ton CLG) is a GAA club in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It ...

. After Armagh were beaten by the eventual Ulster champions in 1989, 1990 and 1991 Moriarty decided to resign as manager and Kernan also walked away. In November 2001, Kernan was appointed manager of the

senior football team.Kernan calls it a day, Séamus Maloney, ''

The Irish News ''The Irish News'' is a compact daily newspaper based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's largest selling morning newspaper and is available throughout Ireland. It is broadly Irish nationalist in its viewpoint, though it al ...

'', 19 July 2007, p. 56 No stone was left unturned in preparing the team. Eight months later Kernan's side later went on to win the 2002

title. This win allowed them to advance to an All-Ireland quarter-final meeting with

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the largest urban ce ...

; however, no Armagh team had won a championship game in

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and h ...

in twenty-five years. Kernan's side defeated Sligo after a replay before disposing of

in the All-Ireland semi-final. At half-time during that match Kernan pulled the first of two famous stunts designed to inspire the team. He produced the old Armagh jersey that he wore in the 1977 All-Ireland final, and told his players that this would be their reward. In the subsequent 2002 All-Ireland final, Kerry were leading Armagh at the interval. During his half-time speech he pulled the second of those famous stunts when he produced his runners-up plaque from the 1977 All-Ireland final and smashed it in the dressing room. Armagh later went on to defeat Kerry by a single point to win their first All-Ireland title ever. In the 2003 Championship Armagh reached the All-Ireland final once again, however this time they were beaten by Tyrone. Kernan's Armagh side recaptured the

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in early May. The final is ...

in 2004 against Donegal in the first ever Ulster final to be held at

. In 2005 he guided the county to their first ever

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

title, before successfully defending the Ulster Championship against Tyrone. The following year Armagh became the first team since the 1959–1961 Down side to win the Ulster Championship three years in a row. In Kernan's five seasons in charge, Armagh played 36 Championship games and lost just seven of them, winning 23 and drawing six. The side never lost a Championship replay under him. His record as manager of Armagh is unequalled and he has confirmed his status as a legend as both a player and manager.

Ulster

In August 2008, Kernan was announced the new manager of

for the

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

campaign. He replaced

man

Brian McEniff Brian McEniff (born 1 December 1942) is a former Gaelic football manager, administrator and player. McEniff played as a wing-back for the St Joseph's combination of clubs from Bundoran and Ballyshannon. He won seven Donegal Senior Football C ...

who had held the role since 1982.

Galway

In September 2009, Kernan was announced as the new manager of the

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

senior football team. However, in August 2010, he resigned after a very unsuccessful year with the result of

getting knocked out of the championship early by being defeated by

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...

Crossmaglen Rangers (2)

On 27 March 2013, Kernan was reappointed manager of Crossmaglen Rangers.

Ireland

In late March 2015, Kernan was appointed manager of the

Ireland international rules football team :''This article concerns the men's team; for information on the Irish women's team, see Ireland women's international rules football team.'' :''This article concerns the hybrid sport of International Rules Football; for information on Ireland's n ...

for the 2015 Series against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Media work

Kernan has worked on the BBC's championship coverage.

Honours

Manager ;Ireland 1 Compromise Rules Series 2015 ;Ulster 1 Interprovincial 2013 ;Armagh 1 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship 2002 5 Ulster Senior Football Championship 2002 2004 2005 2006 2008 1 National Football League Division 1 2005 ;Club 3 All-Ireland Senior Football Club Championship 1997 1999 2000 3 Ulster Senior Football Club Championship 1996 1998 1999 6 Armagh Senior Football Club Championship 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2013 4 Armagh Under-21 Football Club Championship 1993 1994 1995 1996

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kernan, Joe 1954 births Living people Armagh inter-county Gaelic footballers Crossmaglen Rangers Gaelic footballers Gaelic football managers Gaelic games writers and broadcasters People educated at Abbey Christian Brothers' Grammar School