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2011 MBNA Kick Fada
Big boot: Duffy lifts Kick Fada title
Monaghan goalkeeper Shane Duffy lifted the 2011 MBNA Kick Fada title on Saturday afternoon. Duffy held off competition from Crossmaglen Rangers and Armagh star Paul Hearty and Paul Flood, from Maynooth in Co Kildare, to win the crown.
The Magheracloone man won with a 60-metre kick, edging out Hearty and Flood by a tight margin in windy conditions at the Bray Emmets club in Co Wicklow at the weekend. The Kick Fada competition is a relatively recent addition to the GAA calendar, as football’s version of the age-old Poc Fada which takes place over the Cooley Mountains on August Bank Holiday weekend.
The MBNA-sponsored event determines the longest and most accurate kicker in Gaelic football, with contestants required to kick the ball over the bar through specific competition goalposts which are twice the width of conventional goal sizes. Twice the width of conventional goal-posts? Duffy’s teammates in the Monaghan forward line could do with something like that to give them a chance of ending their 24-year wait for an Ulster football title.
Donegal’s Brian McEniff Recognised by Hall of Fame Award
GAA Stars Urged to Break 10 year Record at the 2011 MBNA Kick Fada
24th August 2011 – Donegal’s Brian McEniff today joined the ranks of the great and the good of Gaelic Football as he was inducted into the MBNA Kick Fada Hall of Fame at a special presentation ceremony in Croke Park.
Brian was joined in Croke Park for the announcement by former MBNA Kick Fada Hall of Fame recipients including Billy Morgan (2010), Frank McGuigan (2009), Jimmy Keaveney (2006), Donie O’Sullivan (2004), Paddy Doherty (2008), and Peter Nolan (2003).
A legend in both the Donegal and wider GAA community, Brian has enjoyed an outstanding career both as a player and manager for over forty years. An All-Star in 1972, he featured in the first Donegal team to win an Ulster Championship that year. A member of St Joseph’s GAA Club (a combination of Bundoran and Ballyshannon) Brian also won numerous club titles in both Donegal and Ulster.
It was his move into management where Brian really made his mark, leading Donegal to an All Ireland in 1992, Ulster to 10 Railway Cups between 1983-2007, a member of the management team when Sligo claimed a Connaught Championship in 1975 and also as Ireland Manager where he lead Irish Compromise Rules Teams in 2000 and 2001.
Commenting at the presentation, Suzanne Holmes communications director, MBNA said, “Brian’s achievements as both a player and a manager are matched only by his love and commitment to Gaelic Football and to the GAA as a whole. We are delighted and honoured to recognise Brian’s achievements and welcome him into the MBNA Kick Fada Hall of Fame. We have no doubt that Brian will continue to play an influential role within the GAA in the years ahead and we wish him every success.”
MBNA Kick Fada Hall of Fame
2010 Billy Morgan Cork
2009 Frank McGuigan Tyrone
2008 Paddy Doherty Down
2007 Mick O’Dwyer Kerry
2006 Jimmy Keaveney Dublin
2005 Dermot Earley (RIP) Roscommon
2004 Donie O’Sullivan Kerry
2003 Peter Nolan Offaly & New York
Now in its tenth year the MBNA Hall of Fame Award has recognised many of the greats of Gaelic Football and forms part of MBNA’s sponsorship of the Kick Fada competition which will be held at Bray Emmet’s GAA Club on Saturday September 10th 2011.
GAA players from across Ireland will be attempting to break the Kick Fada distance records for both male and female players which now stand for a decade.
The Kick Fada records which stand at 73m for men and 52m for women were set in 2001 by Mark Herbert from Kildare and Suzanne Hughes from Dublin.
Any GAA players interested in taking part in the 2011 MBNA Kick Fada competition can contact PJ Cunningham of Bray Emmet’s GAA Club on 086 8217631 or go to www.brayemmets.com and become a fan on facebook at
Fans can also follow the latest news from the MBNA Kick Fada competition on www.mbna.ie/kickfada
GAA Stars Urged to Break 10-Year Record at the 2011 MBNA Kick Fada
Male and Female Club Players Nationwide Urged to Compete!
Dublin, 27 July 2011: Placed ball specialists Bryan Sheehan of Kerry and Paul Durcan of Donegal took time out in advance of the eagerly anticipated all-Ireland Football Quarter Finals this weekend to launch the 2011 MBNA Kick Fada competition. They were joined in Croke Park by members of Bray Emmets GAA club and MBNA and current record holder Mark Herbert from Kildare where they issued a challenge to GAA players from both club and county to take part in the 2011 competition and break the Kick Fada distance records which now stand for a decade.
The Kick Fada records which stand at 73m for men and 52m for women were set in 2001 by four-time MBNA Kick Fada Champion Mark Herbert from the Ballyteague GAA Club and Suzanne Hughes from Ballyboden St Endas GAA Club in Dublin. Over 20 inter-county stars are expected to accept the record-breaking challenge and take part in the 2011 competition, which takes place in Bray Emmets GAA Club on Saturday, 10 September.
Speaking at the launch, Suzanne Holmes, communications director, MBNA, outlined the challenge facing 2011 competitors, “Breaking the 10-year record will be a considerable feat for any player. For the men, the distance required is equal to one and half times that of an Olympic swimming pool or placing 18 cars end to end! We are confident however that the 2011 competitors for the MBNA Kick Fada will have what it takes, and we are looking forward to the competition in September.”
The MBNA Kick Fada determines who is the longest and most accurate kicker of a Gaelic football in Ireland. Competitors must kick the ball over the bar through specific competition goalposts twice the width of conventional goal sizes.
Explaining the considerable interest in the MBNA Kick Fada competition among established GAA inter-county stars, competition organiser Dermot O’Brien of Bray Emmets GAA Club said, “Over the last 11 years, a huge array of inter-county stars have taken part annually in the competition. Ultimately, any player at inter-county level is a serious competitor at heart and the opportunity to test the core skill of kicking a Gaelic football against top quality opposition in a novel fashion becomes addictive. In 2010, we had players from over 15 counties represented, including 2010 Player of the Year Bernard Brogan, and our aim is to have every county in Ireland represented.”
Over the last decade, MBNA has contributed to the grass roots of Gaelic Games through their NUI Maynooth Scholarship programme; paid tribute to some of the greatest football players to have played the game with their Hall of Fame awards; and stimulated friendly inter-county rivalry with the hotly contested annual MBNA Kick Fada competition.
The MBNA ‘Hall of Fame’ will induct a new GAA legend into its ranks later this summer to join past inductees Cork’s Billy Morgan, Kerry’s Mick O’Dwyer and Donie O’Sullivan, Dublin’s Jimmy Keaveney, Offaly’s Peter Nolan and the late Dermot Earley of Roscommon.
Any GAA players interested in taking part in the 2011 MBNA Kick Fada competition can contact PJ Cunningham of Bray Emmet’s GAA Club or go to www.brayemmets.com and become a fan on facebook at
Fans can also follow the latest news from the MBNA Kick Fada competition on www.mbna.ie/kickfada.
