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A captain of a
Gaelic games Gaelic games () are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the most popular of the s ...
team, sometimes known as a ''skipper'', is a player who, during the course of a match as well as before and after it, has several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of his teammates. Tradition means that some teams rotate the captaincy annually, though others may adopt a permanent captain. As well as being an onfield leader, a captain takes the coin toss and raises the trophy when this is the game's prize.


Responsibilities

The captain leads the team out onto the pitch. Before the start of a match, a coin toss between captains of the opposing teams is used to determine which end of the ground each team will kick to. Ahead of the All-Ireland final, the captain is the first member of the team to shake the hand of dignitaries who may be attending the game, for example the president of the GAA or the
president of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...
. He then proceeds along the
red carpet A red carpet is traditionally used to mark the route taken by heads of state on ceremonial and formal occasions, and has in recent decades been extended to use by Very Important Person, VIPs and celebrity, celebrities at formal events. History ...
and introduces the other players on his team to the president(s), who then shake that player's hand. It is tradition following an All-Ireland final that the captain raises the
Sam Maguire Cup The Sam Maguire Cup (), often referred to as Sam or The Sam, is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the main competition in the sport of Gaelic fo ...
(in football) or
Liam MacCarthy Cup The Liam MacCarthy Cup () is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Based on the design of a medieval drinking vessel, the trophy was first awarded i ...
(in hurling) first before handing the trophy to his teammates. The captain is required to make a speech, including thanking the opposition team.


Rotation

Traditionally, the captaincy of a county team has been rotated annually among different players, meaning that most captains may lead their team to one All-Ireland and/or Provincial Championship (occasionally two), even when their county teams have been dominant. Kerry maintain the tradition of having the
Kerry Senior Football Championship The Kerry Senior Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as Garvey’s SuperValu Senior Football Championship) is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 18 ...
winning club nominate their captain each season.
Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...
do likewise regarding the
Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship The Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the St Canice's Credit Union Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Kilkenny SHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Kilkenny County Board of ...
. This has increasingly become a disadvantage as the
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
of the county team does not get to make the decision.


Permanence

The idea of a permanent captain of a county team was introduced by
Jim McGuinness Jim McGuinness (born 16 November 1972) is a Gaelic football coach, and former player, who won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship as a player with, and later manager of, the Donegal county team. Since 2023, he has been manager, for ...
when he named Michael Murphy "to succeed
Kevin Cassidy Kevin Cassidy (born 1981) is an Irish-Scottish Gaelic footballer, businessperson, columnist and commentator. Though born in Glasgow, Scotland, he has been living in Gaoth Dobhair, County Donegal from a young age. Cassidy plays his club football ...
as captain of Donegal for the 2011 season" (as the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
stated at the time) after taking over as Donegal manager in 2010. Murphy, in an unprecedented development, held the captaincy throughout McGuinness's time in charge (until 2014) and then became the first to hold it throughout a second manager's time in charge (
Rory Gallagher William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as "Ireland's first rock star", he is known for his virtuosic style of guitar playing and live performances. He has sometim ...
: 2014–2017). When
Declan Bonner Declan Bonner (born 11 August 1965) is an Irish Gaelic footballer and manager. He played at senior level for the Donegal county team, winning an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship title in 1992. He later managed the Donegal county team ...
took over as manager in 2017 he retained Murphy as captain. Murphy reached a decade as captain in 2021. Jim Gavin upon taking over as
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
manager, adopted a similar practice by naming
Stephen Cluxton Stephen Cluxton (born 17 December 1981) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays as a goalkeeper at senior level for the Dublin county team. Cluxton made his senior debut for Dublin during the 2001 Championship. Since then he has established h ...
as his captain. This allowed Cluxton to become the first man to captain a team to three All-Ireland Senior Football Championships (2013, 2015, 2016). Cluxton won eight All-Ireland SFC titles, seven of which were achieved as captain (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020), as well as the 2011 All-Ireland SFC when Bryan Cullen was captain.
Declan Hannon Declan Hannon (born 25 November 1992) is an Irish hurler who plays for Limerick Senior Championship club Adare and at inter-county level as captain of the Limerick senior hurling team. He captained Limerick to the All Ireland hurling title i ...
became the first person to lift hurling's
Liam MacCarthy Cup The Liam MacCarthy Cup () is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Based on the design of a medieval drinking vessel, the trophy was first awarded i ...
on four occasions as captain in 2022 (following 2018, 2020 and 2021). He did so alongside the injured Cian Lynch, who later revealed that he was not anticipating Hannon asking him to lift the trophy with him.


Joint-captains

The 2021 GAA Congress outlawed the possibility of joint-captains, which had crept into the games over the previous decade, raising a trophy. Kerry football captains Kieran O'Leary and
Fionn Fitzgerald Fionn Fitzgerald (born 27 April 1990) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays as a left corner-back with the Kerry senior team. Born in Killarney, County Kerry, Fitzgerald first played competitive Gaelic football during his schooling at St. ...
raised the
Sam Maguire Cup The Sam Maguire Cup (), often referred to as Sam or The Sam, is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the main competition in the sport of Gaelic fo ...
together in 2014. A young supporter with cancer helped
Dr Crokes Dr Crokes is a Gaelic football and hurling club based in Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland. Notable players include Colm Cooper, Eoin Brosnan, Johnny Buckley and Tony Brosnan. Founded in 1886, the club's successes include the capture of the ...
captain Johnny Buckley raise the Andy Merrigan Cup after the 2017
All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament which began in season 1970–71. It is the top-tier competition for the senior football clubs of Ireland and London. The current champions are Cuala of D ...
final.
Coalisland Coalisland () is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, with a population of 5,682 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. Four miles from Lough Neagh, it was formerly a centre for coal mining. History Origins In the late 1 ...
captain
Stephen McNally Stephen McNally (born Horace Vincent McNally; July 29, 1911 – June 4, 1994) was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many Westerns and action films. His dark features often cast him as hard-hearted characters, crimina ...
performed a similar gesture with a supporter after the
2018 Tyrone Senior Football Championship The 2018 Tyrone Senior Football Championship is the 113th edition of Tyrone GAA's premier gaelic football tournament for clubs in Tyrone Senior Football League Division 1. 16 teams compete with the winners receiving the O'Neill Cup and represen ...
final. Corofin joint-captains
Micheál Lundy Micheál Lundy is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Corofin and the Galway county team. He was joint-captain with Ciarán McGrath for his club's run of three consecutive All-Ireland Club SFC titles between 2018 and 2020. When Alan Mu ...
and
Ciarán McGrath Ciarán McGrath (born 25 February 1985) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for Corofin and the Galway county team McGrath made his championship debut for Galway in the 2012 Connacht SFC quarter-final against Roscommon. With Corofin, M ...
raised the Andy Merrigan Cup together after the
2018–19 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship The 2018–19 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship was the 49th annual Gaelic football club championship since its establishment in the 1970–71 season. The winning team received the Andy Merrigan Cup. The 2017–18 All-Ireland Senior ...
final.
Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...
hurling captains Matthew O'Hanlon and
Lee Chin Lee Chin (born 8 October 1992) is an Irish hurler who plays for Wexford Senior Championship club Faythe Harriers and at inter-county level with the Wexford senior hurling team. Playing career Faythe Harriers Chin joined the Faythe Harrie ...
raised the Bob O'Keefe Cup together in 2019.
Ballymun Kickhams Ballymun Kickhams ( Irish: ''Ciceam Bhaile Munna'' ) is a GAA club in Ballymun, Dublin, Ireland. The club has a clubhouse and its home pitch, ''Pairc Ciceam'', just off the Ballymun (junction 4) exit of the M50. Ballymun also has a full size ...
players James McCarthy and
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
and Paddy Small all raised the trophy together after winning the 2020 Dublin Senior Football Championship. The Limerick footballers persisted with joint captains in 2021, ignoring the earlier vote at Congress. Cork won the 2021
Munster Minor Football Championship The Munster Minor Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1928 for the youngest competitors (under-18) in the province of Munster in Ireland. It is ...
, with joint captains Rory O'Shaughnessy and Hugh O'Connor both raising the trophy afterwards.


See also

*
Captain (sports) In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...
*
List of All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winning captains This is a list of players who have captained a winning team to the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the premier competition in Gaelic football. The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship is an annual series of games usually played in Ir ...
* List of All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winning captains


References

{{Reflist Gaelic games terminology Leadership positions in sports Sports captains