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09 Oct 2025
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09 Oct 2025
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Longford U-17 captain Mark Cooney raising the Leinster Cup amid jubilant scenes following the famous win over Dublin in the 2024 Leinster Minor Football Final
The 2024 Longford Leader Sports Star Awards, in association with Longford Sports Partnership, will be presented at a gala presentation function in the Longford Arms Hotel this Saturday night, November 30 at 8pm.
TEAM OF THE YEAR - LONGFORD MINOR FOOTBALLERS
Giantkilling acts do not come much bigger than the remarkable achievement of the Longford U-17 footballers in defeating Dublin twice on their way to winning the Leinster Minor Championship title.
Thus the so committed squad that was blended together by their inspirational manager Enda McGahern are the worthy winners in this year’s Longford Leader Sports Star Awards Team of the Year category in recognition of the remarkable feat in claiming provincial glory against all the odds.
On a memorable Monday evening in May at O’Connor Park in Tullamore, the mighty midlanders displayed a remarkable resistance to battle their way back into contention after trailing by four points (1-4 to 0-3) at the break.
Despite the sensational win over Dublin in the group stage, Longford were cast in the role of the underdogs yet again but they showed a serious bite to conquer their illustrious opponents for the second time in the provincial competition.
It took nerves of steel from the outstanding captain Mark Cooney to fire over the equalising point from a pressure long range free in the third minute of stoppage time to leave the sides all square (0-10 to 1-7) at the end of normal time.
20 minutes plus of extra-time was required to determine the eventual outcome and Dublin were unable to match the fierce intensity of so resilient Longford who eventually came out on top (0-15 to 1-10) in the fading light, much to the sheer delight of their vociferous supporters who comprised the vast majority of the estimated 1,500 attendance.
It was heartstopping stuff, to say the least, that will live long in the memory.
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