I wouldn’t be betting my house on it, but I have a sneaking suspicion Sam is heading west Rivals managers Padraic Joyce (left) and Kieran McGeeney are also the best of friends. Photo: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile Galway's Dylan McHugh in action against Rian O’Neill of Armagh. Photo: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile 16 June 2024; Rian O’Neill of Armagh is tackled by John Maher of Galway during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 3 match between Armagh and Galway at Markievicz Park in Sligo.
Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile 16 June 2024; Shane Walsh of Galway during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 3 match between Armagh and Galway at Markievicz Park in Sligo. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile 16 June 2024; Oisín O’Neill of Armagh is tackled by Tomo Culhane, left, and Johnny Heaney of Galway during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 3 match between Armagh and Galway at Markievicz Park in Sligo. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile Armagh’s Aidan Forker (left) and Ciaran Higgins tackle Galway’s Cein Darcy.
Photo: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile All-Ireland football final day: one of the special days in the Irish sporting calendar, and we have two new teams in Armagh and Galway bringing a splash of novelty and freshness to a Gaelic football championship that in recent years has been boring, stale and repetitive. As I write this, All-Ireland final day is bringing back many happy memories for me. I was privileged to play in 10 All-Ireland finals.
And they bring back a kaleidoscope of beautiful memories and craziness. In 1975, we were a team of youngsters, outsiders playing the reigning champions Dublin, when, with the innocence of youth, we didn’t think we’d be beaten. We weren’t.
The dressing room afterwards had hundreds of supporters packed in, there was live TV and 30 naked fellas trying to have a shower and put on their clothes. Bonkers. In 1976, we had disappointment, our focus dropped a few per cent and we paid the price.
The All-Ireland final morning regime included a big hearty Irish breakfast, and I would open my two packets of Maltesers at 12 o’clock, followed by tea and a lot of sandwiches at 12.30. No nutritionist in those days.
But 1978 was a special day. One has to experience the hurt of losing an All-Ireland final to appreciate success. There were the dressing-room superstitions, fellas sitting in the same place, the quiet lads in the corner and the long spells in the toilet.
The loud fellas shouting and one naked fella shouldering everyone in sight. He shall remain anonymous. In 1979, we were invincible.
I will say this, we had the best football team of all time that year. And would you believe it, in the dressing room before the match they realised they had forgotten to bring the jerseys. The 1980 final had us winning despite playing poorly, we got away with it.
And Mick O’Dwyer giving a dressing-room speech during which his false teeth fell out, but nobody noticed as we were in the zone! In the 1981 final, I was forever grateful to Micko, who gave me a few minutes on the field, even though I was injured. We weren’t allowed get into Croke Park on arriving at one of the stiles, even though we were playing, so we had to troop around to the other side of the ground to get it. The next year, 1982, is best forgotten.
It hurt. The memories are of heading to Quinns pub in Drumcondra within half an hour of the final whistle with my gear bag in hand to have a pint with the crowd. The hurt of losing our five-in-a-row bid drove us on to win the 1984 and ’85 finals.
And in 1986, I remember how we chanced our arm to see if we could get a post-final drink in Ceannáras, only to be told by security that it was for VIPs only. That final is also remembered for that goal I scored against Tyrone. A bit like Tony Kelly last Sunday, I can’t explain it, it was in the moment.
Finally, there are the memories of the train back home on the Monday and being on the back of the lorry moving around Killarney on the Monday night – magical. Great memories. I hope Armagh and Galway players will have similar ones to keep after today.
It is a day when your performance will be remembered for the rest of your life. A day when you can become a hero or a villain. A day that can change your life forever.
A day that you can sink or swim. My advice to the players is to enjoy the day, embrace it, soak it in. I always remember when my boots hit the sacred sod of Croke Park on All-Ireland final day being hit by a wall of sound and colour.
That feeling really lifted me, it was the trip of my life. Who is going to win? Let’s look at the strengths and weaknesses of both teams. Armagh’s Aidan Forker (left) and Ciaran Higgins tackle Galway’s Cein Darcy.
Photo: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile ARMAGH Strengths The Kieran McGeeney factor. Been there, done that as a player. An experienced manager and very much a players’ man.
Better still, he has assembled an impressive backroom team with plenty of experience and in recent weeks, for the first time, they have got the balance right between defence and attack. While an inspiration, McGeeney is also ruthless and sharp, like when bringing back Oisín Conaty and Conor Turbitt as substitutes in injury time in the semi-final win over Kerry. The team is resilient.
After so many heartbreaks in recent years and in particular this year’s Ulster final, they showed remarkable character to come back. Their support base is a 16th man and certainly proved that against Kerry. Blaine Hughes’ kick-outs give them plenty of variety.
Only one was lost against Kerry, which was very impressive. There is also good impact from their bench. Some of their finishers are probably better than their starters.
Against Kerry, Stefan Campbell had two points and Ross McQuillan and Jarly Óg Burns chipped in with one each. The team is athletic, physical and its fitness has been very impressive, notably in extra-time against Kerry. When they throw the shackles off, their attack is impressive, with quick transitions, hard running and plenty of variation.
And in Niall Grimley they have an unsung hero. They produced the best performance of the year when beating Derry by 3-17 to 0-15. Defensively, the team scores high too, with 14 clean sheets in 16 matches this year.
Their composure and game management, particularly in injury time against Kerry, also stood out. Weaknesses This is only their fifth All-Ireland final in 140 years. Dealing with the hype and how they will react to it are potential issues.
At times they have been too structured and stuck to the process and appear to be over-coached. Too often they play with the shackles on. Their attack has question marks.
I looked at some of the stats – 14 out of 24 scoring attempts converted against Roscommon. They went 43 minutes with no score from play and one point from play in the first half by a forward. Against Galway earlier in the championship, it was 13 scores from 25 chances when the teams drew.
And despite the impressive Kerry display, in the first half, their return was six scores from 15 attempts. And the starting six forwards scored just five points from play again Kerry. In that match, Kerry were for long spells by far the better team.
So question marks remain. Galway's Dylan McHugh in action against Rian O’Neill of Armagh. Photo: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile GALWAY Strengths Experience.
They’ve been there and will have learned from the final of two years ago. Their defence contains their unsung heroes and they showed good discipline against Donegal – just one free conceded that was scored. Also, they have only one goal conceded in nine championship matches and restricted Donegal to one point from play in the last 30 minutes.
Two men in particular stand out; Johnny McGrath is the best man-marker in the game at the moment and Dylan McHugh is probably in line for player of the year. They also have a stronger subs bench than two years ago, thanks to so many injuries accumulating during the league when they had no other choice but to bed in new players. Against Derry when they had an extra man, I was impressed with their game management.
They are battle-hardened – and that showed in the Dublin performance. John Maher is another of those unsung heroes and they have been winning without their key forwards being on fire. Against Dublin, Damien Comer, Rob Finnerty and Matthew Tierney didn’t score from play.
Against Donegal, Comer and Tierney failed to score, while Shane Walsh had just one point. Weaknesses There are question marks over injuries. Will Seán Kelly be fit? Comer has been rusty.
And of course, Shane Walsh. Their forwards have not been firing, scoring just four points from play against Donegal. The central defence can be a problem.
Liam Silke struggled for long spells against Oisín Gallen in the semi-final. Will Armagh target McGrath and Jack Glynn for their lack of size in the full-back line? Their build-up play in attack can be slow. They got one point from play in the first half against Monaghan from the forwards.
Take the London game out and in four of the nine games, they’ve scored no goal and averaged 16 points a game, which is not hectic. THE VERDICT Not making excuses, but it is a hard one to call. There isn’t much between the two teams.
They have so many similarities in physicality, athleticism, impact from the subs bench and defensive set-ups, but I think Galway have a slight edge. The learnings from the final of two years ago should be a factor. Secondly, looking back to the hurling final, Clare were in the semi-final for three straight years and had relatively recent All-Ireland success.
Cork, on the other hand, hadn’t experienced the big-match atmosphere. Galway have that experience advantage. Three of the their forward unit haven’t a good scoring rate.
But I genuinely think they have a big performance coming from the likes of Comer, Tierney and Walsh, or two of those three. What has impressed me about them is their game-management in the clutch moments this year. Against Sligo, they were two down in injury time, and the same again against Mayo in the Connacht final.
Against Dublin, they trailed by a point with less than eight minutes to go. In those clutch moments they have shown great composure, leadership and game-management and I think that will stand to them. But I wouldn’t be betting my house on it.
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