Players of the Faithful

Players of the Faithful is a documentary on Offaly's bid to stop Kerry becoming the first team to win five consecutive All-Ireland Senior Football Championships in 1982.

Players of the Faithful
GenreDocumentary
StarringSéamus Darby
Martin Furlong
Gerry Carroll
Matt Connor
Richie Connor
Eugene McGee
Country of originIreland
Production
Production companyLoosehorse

Loosehorse were responsible for putting it together; it followed on from their documentary Micko which debuted earlier that year.[1][2]

It first aired on RTÉ One on Friday 28 December 2018 at 9:30 pm.[1][2][3][4] At that time Dublin had just won their fourth consecutive All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and would be bidding for their fifth in 2019.[2] Players of the Faithful was repeated on RTÉ One on the night of 1 September 2019, following The Sunday Game's highlights of the drawn 2019 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final in which Dublin's opponents were Kerry.

The title is a pun both on Offaly's nickname ("The Faithful County") and the series of prayers said by members of the Catholic Church.

The documentary shows how Bord na Móna and the ESB's role in employing young local men during this time led to many footballers for the county to choose from.[5] It features contributions from five members of the 1982 Offaly team, including goalkeeper Martin Furlong (who saved a Mikey Sheehy penalty) and Séamus Darby (who scored the most famous goal in the sport's history past Charlie Nelligan). Also featured are brothers Matt and Richie Connor and Gerry Carroll. Carroll and Furlong are interviewed in New York, to where they both moved in later life.[1] Also featured was 1982 Offaly manager Eugene McGee.[6] McGee died shortly afterwards.

References
  1. "Players of the Faithful".
  2. O'Toole, Fintan (19 December 2018). "New documentary to look back at Offaly's famous All-Ireland win that ended Kerry's five-in-a-row dream: Players of the Faithful will be broadcast on RTÉ One on 28 December". Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  3. McCarthy, Michael (29 December 2018). "The Whole Country Loved The Brilliant "Players Of The Faithful" Documentary". Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  4. "'Players of the Faithful' to be screened on RTE tonight". Hogan Stand. 28 December 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  5. O'Brien, Kevin (13 December 2018). "'Matt Connor was the best footballer I've ever seen, even now — he was just an absolute genius'". Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  6. Farrell, Sinead (29 December 2018). "'What a story', 'magic moments', 'great show', — Glowing praise for Offaly-Kerry documentary: 'Players of the Faithful' captured the incredible story of Offaly's victory over Kerry in the 1982 All-Ireland SFC final". Retrieved 29 December 2018.
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