Jack Kenna was a gaelic football

Gaelic football

Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...

 player from County Laois

County Laois

County Laois is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It was formerly known as Queen's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. The county's name was formerly spelt as Laoighis and Leix. Laois County Council...

 in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. He was born in Kilmullen.

He played for many years on the Laois GAA

Laois GAA

The Laois County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Laois GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Laois and the Laois inter-county teams.-History:...

 senior football team in the forwards and was widely regarded as one of the outstanding players in Ireland of the 1950s. He also played for his province Leinster, winning three Railway Cup medals in 1955, 1959 and 1961.

Kenna began his football career with the Jamestown

Jamestown, Laois

Jamestown is a small village in Ireland on a crossroads between Ballybrittas in Laois and Monasterevan in County Kildare.The football team, Jamestown GAA, existed in Jamestown during the middle of the 20th century before fading out of existence in the 1960s....

 club. From 1951 onwards, he played for the O'Dempseys

O'Dempseys

O'Dempseys Gaelic Athletic Association club is a gaelic football club in Killenard, County Laois, Ireland.The club was founded in 1951, won the Laois Junior Football Championship title in that same year and followed up by winning the Laois Intermediate Football Championship title the following...

 club and retired in 1962, the year before the club won its first Laois Senior Football Championship title.