Remembering Callinafercy FC setting 65-hour 5-a-side soccer world record

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In August 1980, Callinafercy FC put Killorglin on the world map by setting a record for the longest recorded 5-a-side soccer match of more than 65 hours. They also won the League & Cup double during the 1979/80 season.

Under the leadership of John Joe O Sullivan and Jimmy Doona, a group of players whose dedication and commitment to soccer in Mid Kerry won the league and cup double. Not content with that, they also decided to put Killorglin Soccer on the map by breaking the world record for 5 a side soccer.
With no preparation done for this and just after finishing a hard season they decided to finish the year on a high by breaking the world record. They were a fantastic group of players. We have lost a few of these players now but they will always be a vital part of Killorglin AFC club history.
We will never forget their skills on the field, their friendship off the field and their love for Killorglin town, which they represented on the soccer field.

Below is the The Kerryman newspaper article from the time.

“The world record for non-stop soccer was smashed in Killorglin last weekend when 10 lads played their hearts out for 65 hours 1 minute. This tops the existing record by 1 hour and 40 minutes and hopefully ensures the soccer smashers a place in the Guinness Book of Records. More important, however, is the fact that they raised about £2,000 in the process.

“We broke the record” Mary Keane, a jubilant supporter told The Kerryman this week. She said that the organisers of the sponsored soccer marathon were now going to send away a copy of the recrod kept over the weekend to the compilers of the Guinness Book of Records for ratification by them.

The marathon began on Friday at 1am and finished on Sunday between 6 and 7pm. The players were allowed a 5-minute break every three-quarters of an hour. Mary Keane revealed that two of the ten starters found the going too tough and that they dropped out on the way. She also said that 2,877 goals were scored. 

The sponsorship money is to be donated to the national schools of Killorglin and Milltown.”

The team members included Ml Johnston, John Byrnes, Pat Clifford, Johnny O’ Connor, John Joe O’ Sullivan, Jack Reen, Phil Delaney, John A Doona, Sean O’ Sullivan and Tom Johnston.

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