A great spell for Antrim football to be remembered on Friday
Dónal McAnallen's lecture takes place at St Mary's University, Belfast on Friday November 6.
On Friday November 6, Dónal McAnallen will give a talk about a brilliant era for Antrim football between 1926 and 1946.
St Mary's University, Belfast hosts the event which will commence at 7pm.
The remarkable story of one of the greatest periods in Antrim football history will be brought to life at a special event in Belfast early next month.
As well as McAnallen's lecture, the evening will hear from family members of some of the players who represented Antrim during this extraordinary period, bringing a personal dimension to the story of a generation which came tantalisingly close to making Gaelic football history.
Dónal McAnallen said: "This was a truly special era in the history of Antrim football and one which deserves to be much better known. Antrim were competing with – and coming very close to defeating – the very best teams in Ireland.
"The 1946 team is particularly fascinating, not least because of the controversial circumstances surrounding the defeat to Kerry, but this event is about much more than one match. It is about remembering an exceptional generation of Antrim footballers and putting their achievements in their proper historical context.
"We are especially pleased that family members of some of those players will join us. Their memories and family stories will help us understand the people behind the names and the significance of what they achieved."
Event organiser Hugh McGettigan has compiled a detailed and informative booklet which will be available to buy at the event and explains what drove him to help put the spotlight on this era.
“We haven’t really made a mark in the senior championship since that era and have not appeared in an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-final since 1951," he says.
"To me that underlines the exceptional standing of the teams which competed more in the 1920s and the 1940s. The names of the players and the clubs they came from resonate down the generations and this is a chance to give them a bit of the spotlight they deserve."
Click here to register.
