Waterford county football team
Gaelic football team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Waterford county football team represents Waterford in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Waterford GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Munster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.
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| Sport: | Football | |
|---|---|---|
| Irish: | Port Láirge | |
| Nickname(s): | The Déise[1] | |
| County board: | Waterford GAA | |
| Manager: | Ephie Fitzgerald | |
| Recent competitive record | ||
| Current All-Ireland status: | Munster (QF) in 2025 | |
| Last championship title: | 1898 | |
| Current NFL Division: | 4 (8th in 2025) | |
| Last league title: | None | |
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Waterford's home ground is Fraher Field, Dungarvan and Walsh Park, Waterford. The team's manager is Ephie Fitzgerald.
The team last won the Munster Senior Championship in 1898, but has never won the All-Ireland Senior Championship or the National League.
History
The team's greatest achievement is reaching the 1898 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, a game which was lost to Dublin by a scoreline of 2–8 to 0–4. Erin's Hope of Dungarvan represented the county in that game.
In 1999 and 2004, the team won the All-Ireland Junior Football Championship (JFC).
In 2003, Waterford unexpectedly won a Munster Under-21 Football Championship, defeating Kerry in the final.
Waterford has not reached a Munster Senior Football Championship (SFC) final since 1960, has not defeated Kerry since 1957, Cork since 1960 and Limerick since 1981. On 20 May 2007, the team broke a 19-year run without a senior championship win by defeating Clare at Fraher Field, Dungarvan, by a scoreline of 1–6 to 0–7. Manager John Kiely's starting team consisted of: Tom Wall; Justin Walsh, Thomas O'Gorman, Shane Briggs; John Phelan, Edmond Rockett, Paul Ogle; Mick Ahern, John Hurney; Brian Wall, Gary Hurney, Ger Power; Wayne Hennessy, Andy Hubbord and Liam O'Lonain.
The team defeated Clare again in 2010.
On 7 April 2024, the team beat Tipperary for the first time since 1988, in the Munster quarter-final, but were beaten by Clare in the Munster semi-final. Waterford have still the longest record without an appearance in a Munster final.
- League promotion
In 2010, after going so close to promotion in previous years Waterford went unbeaten in the league (defeating Leitrim, London, Kilkenny, Limerick, Clare and Wicklow and securing draws against Longford and Carlow), but fell short in the final against Limerick at Croke Park.[2]
Panel
Team as per Waterford vs Cork in the Munster SFC quarter-final, 27 May 2017
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INJ Player has had an injury which has affected recent involvement with the county team.
RET Player has since retired from the county team.
WD Player has since withdrawn from the county team due to a non-injury issue.
Management team
Managerial history
This is a list of people who have managed the Waterford county football team.
| Dates | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| ?–98 | Joe Curran | ? |
| 1998–99 | John Cummins | |
| 1999–01 | Greg Fives | Abbeyside/Ballinacourty |
| 2001–03 | Denis Walsh | |
| 2003–04 | Billy Harty | ? |
| 2004–09 | John Kiely | Kilrossanty |
| 2009–12 | John Owens | |
| 2012–14 | Niall Carew | |
| 2014–18 | Tom McGlinchey | |
| 2018–20[3][4] | Benji Whelan | Kilmacthomas |
| 2021[5][6] | Shane Ronayne | |
| 2021–23 | Ephie Fitzgerald | |
| 2023–25[7][8] | Paul Shankey | |
| 2025–[9] | Ephie Fitzgerald (2) | |
Players
Notable players
Records
- Goalkeeper Darren Mulhearne made his championship debut at the age of 46 in 2019.[10][11][12]
All Stars
Waterford has no All Stars.[13]
Honours
National
- All-Ireland Junior Football Championship
Winners (2): 1999, 2004
Provincial
- Munster Senior Football Championship
- Winners (1): 1898
Runners-up (9): 1891, 1896, 1904, 1908, 1911, 1940, 1946, 1957, 1960
- Munster Junior Football Championship
- Winners (3): 1948, 1999, 2004
- Munster Under-21 Football Championship
- Winners (1): 2003
- McGrath Cup
- Winners (2): 1981, 2015
Rivalries
- Clare–Waterford Gaelic football rivalry
- Cork–Waterford Gaelic football rivalry
- Kerry–Waterford Gaelic football rivalry
- Limerick–Waterford Gaelic football rivalry
- Tipperary–Waterford Gaelic football rivalry