Mike Frank Russell

Mike Frank Russell
Personal information
Irish name	Mícheál Prionsias Ruiséal
Sport	Gaelic football
Position	Right corner forward
Born	1977; Killorglin, County Kerry
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Occupation	teacher
Club(s)
Years	Club
1995-present	Laune Rangers
Club titles
Kerry titles	2 (1 as sub)
Munster titles	2 (1 as sub)
All-Ireland Titles	1 (1 as sub)
College titles
Sigerson titles	1
Inter-county(ies)
Years	County
1997-2009	Kerry
Inter-county titles
Munster titles	8
All-Irelands	5
NFL	4 ( 1 as sub)
All Stars	1

Mike Frank Russell (born 1977) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays Gaelic football with his local club Laune Rangers and was a member at senior level of the Kerry county team from 1997 until 2009. Mike Frank is also known as the best player to ever emerge from the Mid Kerry region.

Early life[edit]

Born in Killorglin, County Kerry in 1977, Russell was educated at Scoil Mhuire national school before later attending the Intermediate School in Killorglin. It was here that Russell's football skills were first developed and he became a key member of the school's senior team. In 1996 he captured a Corn Uí Mhuirí winners' medal as the Killorglin school captured the Munster colleges' title. An All-Ireland colleges' final appearance beckoned for Russell's side with St Patrick's of Maghera providing the opposition. Killorglin went on a goal scoring spree and proved more than a match for the point-scoring abilities of St Pat's. A 4-8 to 1-14 score line gave Killorglin the win and gave Russell an All-Ireland colleges' winners' medal.

Russell currently works as a teacher in Mercy Holy Cross primary school in Killarney.^[1] In 2009, he married Sinead O'Brien in Killorglin.

Playing career[edit]

College[edit]

Russell attended the Institute of Technology, Tralee (ITT), where he lined out with the institute's senior football team and enjoyed some success. In the 1997-98 season his side reached the final of the inter-varsities football competition. The University of Ulster provided the opposition on that occasion in Austin Stack Park; however, ITT won the game by 0-10 to 0-8, giving Russell a Sigerson Cup winners' medal.

Inter-county[edit]

Russell made his debut for Kerry in the 1997 season. He became a key forward for Kerry over the next decade, winning a total of five All-Ireland medals with Kerry. He was also selected for the All-Star team in 2000. He retired from inter-county football in 2009.^[2] Went to New York for the summer 2009 to play for Roscommon New York who won the Championship

Honours[edit]

Institute of Technology, Tralee[edit]

Sigerson Cup (1)
- 1997-98

Laune Rangers[edit]

All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship (1)
- 1996 (sub)
Munster Senior Club Football Championship (1)
- 1995 (sub), 1996
Kerry Senior Football Championship (2)
- 1995 (sub), 1996; runner-up 1997, 2003, 2004
Kerry Under-21 Football Championship (1)
- 1995
Kerry Minor Football Championship (1)
- 1995
Kerry County Football League – Division 1 (4)
- 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998

Awards[edit]

GAA GPA All Stars Awards (1)
- 2000

References[edit]

^ Mercy Holy Cross School Archived 2017-02-15 at the Wayback Machine website
^ "End of an era as Mike Frank retires". The Kerryman. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2010.

Awards
Preceded by Mark O'Reilly (Meath)	All-Ireland Senior Football Final Man of the Match 2000 (Drawn game)	Succeeded by Seamus Moynihan (Kerry)

[1] Mercy Holy Cross School Archived 2017-02-15 at the Wayback Machine website

[2] "End of an era as Mike Frank retires". The Kerryman. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2010.

[1]

[2]