A thread about the last All-Ireland football final played in December — on this day, 9 December, 1917 when Wexford played Clare in Croke Park at high noon. Post-1916 it was a highly politicised final, from the Clare point of view.

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Clare were captained by Jim Foran from Kilkee and Wexford by Sean O’Kennedy from New Ross, who was attempting to become the first to captain three All-Ireland winning teams in a row — a feat only matched 100yrs later by Stephen Cluxton & then surpassed.

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Clare went into special training in Kilkee for the final under the guidance of Kerry legend Dick Fitzgerald & All-Ireland winning hurler James ‘Sham’ Spellissy — one story being that they’d met when they were interned in Frongoch after the Rising.

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Support for the Clare cause from the Kingdom also came The Kerryman’s football correspondent ‘Mount Brandon’ who reported on the wave of national enthusiasm in the county.

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‘Mount Brandon’ also reported that the Clare team were to be met by Eamon de Valera, the recently elected Sinn Féin MP for East Clare when they reached Dublin.

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The Sinn Féin connection didn’t end there — Clare were led out onto the field by Harry Boland and under the Sinn Féin flag. Three years earlier the hurlers had been led out for the All-Ireland final by Dev’s predecessor as East Clare MP, Willie Redmond.

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Wexford were going for three in a row, having beaten Kerry in 1915 and Mayo in 1916, while Clare were appearing in their first ever football decider, three years after the hurlers won their first title.

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Wexford prevailed, winning on a scoreline of 0-9 to 0-5, while they competed a first ever four-in-a-row the following year when beating Tipperary in the final.

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In his book the 'Art & Science of Gaelic Football', Dr Eamon O’Sullivan said ‘unnecessary fouling by the Clare backs resulted in their loss of this All-Ireland’. Seven of Wexford’s points came from frees.
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Clare never again came close to winning a football All-Ireland - in April 1920 player Paddy Hennessy was murdered by the British military in Miltown Malbay, just a few weeks after Capt Jim Foran was pictured with the soon to be murdered Mayor of Cork Tomás Mac Curtain.

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