Joe Brolly (born Padraig Joseph Brolly; 25 June 1969) is an Irish

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

analyst, coach, selector, former player and

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

who played at senior level for the Derry county team. He is from

Dungiven Dungiven () is a small town, townland and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is near the main A6 road (Northern Ireland), A6 Belfast to Derry road, which bypasses the town. It lies where the river ...

. Brolly played for Derry in the 1990s and early 2000s and was part of the county's only

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) () is the premier inter-county competition in Gaelic football. County (Gaelic games), County teams compete against each other and the winner is declared All-Ireland Champions. Organised by the ...

winning side in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

. He also won two

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

s and four

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

titles. Brolly played club football for St Canice's Dungiven for most of his career, before transferring to St Brigid's GAC in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. He usually played as right corner forward and was renowned for his accurate point-taking, goal-scoring ability, pace and ability to take on opponents. He was also known for his goal celebration of blowing kisses to the crowd, and had his nose broken twice during his career immediately after scoring goals. After retiring as a player, Brolly fashioned a niche for himself in television

pundit A pundit is a person who offers opinion in an authoritative manner on a particular subject area (typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport), usually through the mass media. The term pundit describes both women and men, altho ...

ry, most prominently with

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

on ''

The Sunday Game ''The Sunday Game'' is RTÉ's main Gaelic games television programme. It is shown on RTÉ2 every Sunday during the Football Championship and Hurling Championship seasons. It is one of RTÉ2's longest-running shows, having been on air since 1 ...

'' until 2019.

Early and family life

Brolly is the son of noted traditional singer and

Limavady Limavady (; ) is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. Lying east of Derry and southwest of Coleraine, Limavady had a population of 11,279 people at the 2021 Census. In the 40 years between 1 ...

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

councillor Anne Brolly. His father Francie, also a traditional musician, played Gaelic football for Derry in the 1960s, and was later a Sinn Féin councillor and MLA. Brolly boarded in Saint Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh where he played basketball for Ireland as a schoolboy. After school he progressed to

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

to read law graduating in 1991 with a Bachelors in Laws degree, before doing a postgraduate course at

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

. He was a prominent member of the Dublin University Central Athletic Club (DUCAC) in his Trinity days, and became a member of the student executive. Brolly's first wife was Emma-Rose McCann from Ballymena, daughter of the famous Jack McCann, historian, raconteur and proprietor of Jack McCann & Son Solicitors, whom he met in Trinity where she studied French and English literature before qualifying as a solicitor. Emma is a first cousin of the actor

Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Liam Neeson, several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, BAFT ...

. The couple have five children. Brolly is now married to podcaster and radio presenter Laurita Blewitt. They married at the Ice House Hotel in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

in August 2022. Joe Brolly is a first cousin of Derry player Liam Hinphey and

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

player Vincent Corey, and second cousin to Tyrone footballers Colm and Plunkett Donaghy.

Playing career

County

Brolly made his Derry Senior debut against

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...

in the 1990

. In 1993 he was part of the Derry side that won the Ulster Championship and the county's first

. His All Stars Award recognition surprisingly came in the relatively barren years of 1996 and 1997. He was top scorer in the 1997 Ulster Championship with 3–15 (24 points). Brolly added a second

in 1998, in the final of which he scored the clinching goal in the last minute. Derry won the National Football League four times in a nine-year period from 1992 to 2000 (1992, 1995, 1996, 2000), with Brolly being part of all four. Brolly and Derry finished runners-up to

Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain ...

in the 1998 National League decider.

Club

As a 21-year-old, Brolly was part of Dungiven's Derry Senior Football Championship success in 1991. Brolly won another Derry Championship medal in 1997, and also won the Ulster Club Championship. He was top scorer in that year's Derry Championship with 1–25 (28 points) and was man of the match in the final at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...

. He played for St Brigid's GAC in

when it won the Antrim Intermediate Football Championship. In 2006 St Brigid's became the first GAA club to play against the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it ...

Gaelic football team. In 2009 Brolly broke his leg while playing in a challenge match against

Cookstown Cookstown (, ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the fourth-largest town in the county and had a population of 12,546 in the 2021 census. It, along with Magherafelt and Dungannon, is one of the main towns in the Mid-Ulster ...

. St Brigid's reached that year's Antrim Senior Football Championship semi-final, but were defeated after a replay by a point by Portglenone.

College

It was in the

Sigerson Cup The Sigerson Cup is the trophy for the premier Gaelic football championship among Higher Education institutions (Universities, Colleges and Institutes of Technology) in Ireland. It traditionally begins in mid January and ends in late February. T ...

that Joe Brolly first appeared on the national stage. He won his only inter-varsity medal in 1992, as a member of Queen's victorious

Ryan Cup The Ryan Cup is the tier 2 hurling championship for third level colleges, the Fitzgibbon Cup being the tier 1 hurling championship trophy. The Ryan Cup competition is administered by Comhairle Ard Oideachais Cumann Lúthchleas Gael (CLG), the GAA ...

team.

Hurling

Brolly played hurling for local club Kevin Lynch's when they won Division 2 of the All-Ireland

Féile na nGael Féile na nGael (; Irish for "Festival of the Gaels") is an annual tournament comprising the sports of hurling, camogie and handball organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. Its stated aim is to bond communities, forge friendships, prov ...

in 1982.

Coaching career

Brolly helped out with the Antrim team that finished runners-up in the 2007 Tommy Murphy Cup and winners of the 2008 competition. Brolly joined Mayo club

Knockmore GAA Knockmore GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club, based in Knockmore, County Mayo, Ireland. The club is a member of the Mayo GAA county board, and fields Gaelic football teams in competitions run by the board. The club was founded in 1960. ...

as a selector and head coach in 2025, working with Dessie Sloyan and manager Ray Dempsey.

Other work

Brolly writes a column for ''

Gaelic Life ''Gaelic Life'' is a Gaelic games newspaper. It has been published since 2007. As a weekly publication, it appears Thursdays. Though it offers coverage primarily of Gaelic games in the province of Ulster, it circulates through the other three pr ...

'' and the '' Sunday Independent''. A radio and television football pundit, he is a former regular on the long-running

programme ''

''. Keith Duggan, writing in ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'', described Brolly as "the most lippy and articulate pundit on Irish television". In 2012, he was dubbed "the

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...

". As a

he has specialised in criminal matters and has defended

Irish republicans Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...

in court. He appeared as Counsel in a

UK Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC) is the final court of appeal for all civil cases in the United Kingdom and all criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as some limited criminal cases ...

case in 2011 that established a right to compensation for a

miscarriage of justice A miscarriage of justice occurs when an unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Innocent ...

without the requirement to prove the innocence of the wrongly convicted person (in this instance the

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

republicans Eamonn McDermott and

Raymond McCartney Raymond McCartney (born 29 November 1954) is an Irish former Sinn Féin politician, and a former hunger striker and volunteer of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). IRA membership McCartney took part in the civil rights march in Derr ...

).''Irish Times''
report of Supreme Court case. Retrieved 13 May 2011.

Career statistics

Honours

County

(1): 1993 *

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(4): 1992, 1995, 1996, 2000 *

(2): 1993, 1998 *

Dr McKenna Cup The Dr McKenna Cup is an annual Gaelic football competition played between Counties of Ireland, counties and List of universities in Northern Ireland, universities in the province of Ulster GAA, Ulster. It is the secondary Gaelic football compe ...

(2): 1993, 1999

Club

Ulster Senior Club Football Championship The Ulster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament organised by Ulster GAA. It is played between the Senior championship winners from each of the nine counties of Ulster. The competition was first held in 1968 an ...

(1): 1997 * Derry Senior Football Championship (2): 1991, 1997 * Derry Senior Football League (2): 1990, 1991

College

(1): 1992

Individual

* All Stars Award (2): 1996, 1997

References

External links

Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brolly, Joe 1969 births Living people Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Barristers from Northern Ireland Derry inter-county Gaelic footballers Dual players Dungiven Gaelic footballers Gaelic football coaches Gaelic football selectors Gaelic games journalists Kevin Lynch's hurlers Lawyers from County Londonderry People educated at St Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh Sunday Independent (Ireland) people Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football) 20th-century Irish sportsmen 20th-century lawyers from Northern Ireland 20th-century people from Northern Ireland 21st-century lawyers from Northern Ireland