Kick Fada line-up announced

The line-up of players for the sixth annual MBNA Kick Fada competition, which takes place next Saturday at the Bray Emmets GAA club, has been announced.

Over 20 inter-county Gaelic footballers will shoot out for the title in the Wicklow town. The MBNA Kick Fada competition, football’s equivalent of the Poc Fada, determines the champion "long and accurate kicker" of Gaelic football and will be hosted this year by RTE’s Michael Lyster.

Competitors must kick the ball over the bar through specific competition goal posts with distances measured from the posts to where the ball was kicked.

The champion male and female kickers will receive a €1,500 holiday voucher and an MBNA Kick Fada All-Ireland medal, with the overall winning kicker receiving the MBNA Kick Fada Champion Trophy.

Offaly goalkeeper Paraic Kelly will defend his All-Ireland title and will be joined by a host of top class footballers including:

Mark Herbert (Four-time champion and record holder) (Kildare)

Mattie Forde (Wexford)

Ciaran McDonald (Mayo)

Liam McBarron (Fermanagh)

Mark Vaughan (Dublin)

Fergal Byron (Laois)

David Gallagher (Meath)

Ian Burke (Wicklow)

Fintan Ruddy

David Heaney (Mayo)

Stephen Gallagher (Westmeath)

Mick Wright (Kildare)

Enda Murphy (Kildare)

Darren Magee (Dublin)

Jonny Magee (Dublin)

Dan Nelligan (Kerry)

Paul O’Keeffe (Wicklow)

Conor Flannery (Wicklow)

Niall Kelly (Meath)

James Kindregan (Kildare)

Brendan O hAnnaidh (Wicklow)

Niall Gaffney (Wicklow)

Ciara Kennedy, Head of Business Development, MBNA Ireland, said: "The MBNA Kick Fada has grown in stature over the last six years and we now have the very best of the best in Gaelic Football competing for this All Ireland title. With an impressive line up already confirmed, we are looking forward to another exciting final at Bray Emmets and we’re sure that it will prove to be a great family day out."

The current All-Ireland and world record is an impressive 72 metres, kicked over the bar from the ground by Kildare man Mark Herbert.