Month: September 2021

1. Mayo enter ‘do or die’ territory

A MONTH AFTER their Connacht semi-final defeat to Roscommon, Mayo are set to come back under the national spotlight for this weekend’s away trip to Down. 

They’ll be without promising young midfielder Matthew Ruane who suffered a broken collar bone in training last week. Seamus O’Shea and Tom Parsons are still rehabbing injuries, so Stephen Coen, Donie Vaughan or Diarmuid O’Connor could be paired with Aidan O’Shea at midfield.

There’s a real danger that Mayo’s season could end on Saturday night if they get dragged into a dogfight.

Down have Caolan Mooney back from suspension and will fancy their chances of causing an upset at a packed Pairc Elser. Particularly given Paddy Tally’s recent involvement with Galway, who defeated Mayo in the Connacht last season.

Cathal McShane proved an effective target man for Tyrone during the league.

Source: Evan Logan/INPHO

2. Tyrone look to bounce back

The most worrying aspect of Tyrone’s Ulster exit was how clueless they looked in the face of Donegal’s packed defence.

The Red Hand were the market-leaders in the defensive, counter-attacking game over the past few seasons, but have pivoted to a more offensive system where they look to hit Cathal McShane with early kick-passes inside.

Donegal cut out the early ball into McShane by dropping bodies in front of him and it was puzzling that Tyrone were unable to switch back to their old style of play to counteract that ploy. 

Longford have made a habit of giant-killing in the qualifiers over the years. Mayo, Monaghan, Down and Derry have all suffered backdoor defeats at Pearse Park in recent years and Longford will be targeting a similar outcome this weekend. 

If they do flood numbers back behind the ball and look to frustrate Mickey Harte’s team, have Tyrone the wherewithal to think on their feet and run the ball through the blanket?  

Armagh’s Rian O’Neill has been one of the best newcomers of the summer.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

3. All-Ulster tie of the round

From the moment the draw was made, Monaghan vs Armagh was the stand-out tie of the round. Both counties were dumped out of Ulster by Cavan, although the Breffni needed a replay to get over Kieran McGeeney’s team.

Monaghan went to the last four of the All-Ireland series last year and there are question marks around whether this group have already hit their ceiling under Malachy O’Rourke. 

In the final season of the five-year term he agreed with Armagh, McGeeney is under pressure to deliver a big championship victory with this group. They’ve got talented forwards in Jamie Clarke and Rian O’Neill, plus brilliant young midfielder Jarlath Og Burns. 

Whoever progresses here will fancy their chances of powering into the Super 8s, while defeat could spell the end of the road for McGeeney or O’Rourke. A summer playing ball in the States beckons for the players on the losing team.

Sligo’s dual star Gerard O’Kelly-Lynch.

Source: Tommy Grealy/INPHO

4. Sligo dual pair facing busy weekend

It will be a busy weekend for Sligo’s dual duo Gerard O’Kelly-Lynch and Michael Gordon.

The pair will line out for the Yeats County against Armagh in the Nicky Rackard Cup final on Saturday, before they turn their attention to the big ball code for Sunday’s visit to Tullamore to take on Offaly. 

Both games were due to take place on Saturday but the GAA granted Sligo’s request for the football qualifier to be fixed for Sunday.

Even if they deliver silverware in Croke Park, Gordon and O’Kelly-Lynch won’t be indulging in the celebrations as they rest up for the round 2 qualifier clash. 

O’Kelly-Lynch, in particular, has been an outstanding hurler for Sligo since making his debut as a 17-year-old in 2013.

Offaly manager John Maughan.

Source: Ken Sutton/INPHO

5. Could be the last qualifier game for many

With GAA president John Horan intent on introducing a two-tier football championship for next season, this weekend could mark the last qualifier game for a number of counties.

Under one proposal for a Tier 2 competition, Division 3 and 4 sides would be excluded from the backdoor system unless they reach a provincial final.

If that format were to apply this season, Antrim, Derry, Longford, Limerick, Leitrim, Down, Sligo and Offaly would not have been eligible for the qualifiers.

For the sides that are defeated this weekend, it could be a while before they experience the backdoor again.

*******

All-Ireland SFC qualifiers round 2

Saturday
Antrim v Kildare, Corrigan Park, 3pm
Derry v Laois, Owenbeg, 5pm
Longford v Tyrone, Pearse Park, 5pm
Westmeath v Limerick, TEG Cusack Park, 6pm
Leitrim v Clare, Pairc Sean MacDiarmada, 6pm
Monaghan v Armagh, Clones, 7pm
Down v Mayo, Pairc Esler, 7pm

Sunday
Offaly v Sligo, O’Connor Park, 2pm

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PETER KEANE HAS named his team for this weekend’s highly-anticipated Munster Senior Football Championship final against Cork at Páirc Uí Chaoimh [throw-in 7pm].

The Kerry boss makes four changes from his side’s six-point semi-final victory against Clare two weeks ago at Cusack Park.

James O’Donoghue picked up a hamstring strain against Clare and misses out on Saturday’s final, however Sean O’Shea has recovered in time having collided with defender Kevin Hartnett late on in the second half.

Gavin Crowley, Adrian Spillane and Shane Enright all drop to the bench, replaced by Paul Murphy, Gavin White and Dara Moynihan.

Moynihan will make his Championship debut against Cork this weekend at corner forward as Kerry seek their seventh consecutive Munster crown.

Last year Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s side beat Cork 3-18 to 2-4. The rivals contest their seventh provincial football final in nine seasons on Saturday, with Cork having overcome Limerick by 21 points in their semi-final meeting at Páirc Uí Rinn at the start of June.

Kerry starting XV versus Cork:

1. Shane Ryan (Rathmore)

2. Jason Foley (Ballydonoghue)
3. Tadhg Morley (Templenoe)
4. Tom O’Sullivan (Dingle)

5. Paul Murphy (Rathmore)
6. Jack Sherwood (Firies)
7. Gavin White (Dr Crokes)

8. David Moran (Kerins O’Rahillys)
9. Jack Barry (Na Gaeil)

10. Diarmaid O’Connor  (Na Gaeil)
11. Sean O’Shea (Kenmare)
12. Stephen O’Brien (Kenmare)

13. David Clifford (Fossa)
14. Paul Geaney (Dingle)
15. Dara Moynihan (Spa Killarney)

Substitutes:

16. Brian Kelly (Killarney Legion)
17. Gavin Crowley (Templenoe)
18. Adrian Spillane (Templenoe)
19. Mark Griffin (St Michaels/Foilmore)
20. Shane Enright (Tarbert)
21. Tommy Walsh (Kerins O’Rahillys)
22. Brian Ó Beaglaíoch (An Ghaeltacht)
23. Michael Burns (Dr Crokes)
24. Graham O’Sullivan (Piarsaigh na Dromoda)
25. Killian Spillane (Templenoe)
26. Gavin O’Brien (Kerins O’Rahillys)

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IN THE TUMULT of 1997, back in the days when reporters were allowed to bear witness and bring to life such scenes, the Irish Independent’s Vincent Hogan was on hand to record Ryan McHugh’s first experience of an Ulster title winning dressing room.

Cavan had just beaten Derry to win their first Anglo-Celt Cup in 28 years and Hogan takes up the story by assessing Cavan manager Martin McHugh’s deportment.

‘Flanked by his two sons (Ryan and Mark), McHugh seeks to offer perspective on the evening. No, nothing will ever cap winning an All-Ireland medal with his county five years back. But this? This opened different windows.

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‘In my whole life,’ he gasps, wiping the perspiration from his forehead, ‘I’ve never experienced anything like the buzz in Cavan this week. And I mean nothing.’

22 years on, and while his older brother Mark may no longer be part of the Donegal senior team having won an All-Ireland and an All-Star in 2012, Ryan McHugh is one of the players that Cavan will have to curtail if they expect to win this Sunday’s Ulster final.

Asked about the connection between the McHughs and Cavan, he laughs of his father; “Sure he hasn’t shut up about it!

“Nah listen, Cavan will always have a special place in the McHugh household. Unfortunately I can’t really remember it, I was only three at the time, but some of dad’s closest friends are from Cavan. The people of Cavan will always have huge time for Dad but I think friendships are going to have to be put aside for a week.”

While McHugh was coming up through the underage ranks, he was unfortunate to run into a Cavan U21 team that beat them in the 2013 and 2014 Ulster finals.

In that Cavan teams of that vintage, Killian Clarke, Padraig Faulkner, Gerry Smith, Conor Moynagh, Ciaran Brady and Dara McVeety are the spine of the senior team now.

Alongside McHugh, he had the present vice-captain Hugh McFadden, Paddy McBrearty and cousin, Eoin McHugh.

McBrearty’s ruptured cruciate in last year’s decider put him out of football for the league campaign, but his return to action this season has been nothing short of miraculous. His Kilcar club mate knows better than anyone the lengths he has gone to.

“To be fair to Paddy he is a top professional and completely devoted to football,” says McHugh.

“He was so unlucky to pick up such a bad injury in the final last year but he’s done everything to the letter of the law, all his rehab, and he’s getting back to his best. At the end of the game the last day he kicked some scores when we really needed them.

Patrick McBrearty in action for Donegal against Tyrone.

Source: Evan Logan/INPHO

“He is a phenomenal footballer and I’m fortunate to play with him at club and county level so I see first-hand what he’s like. The amount of times you drive past Towney football pitch and you see Paddy kicking ball is unbelievable and he practices so much and all the time.”

Last year, Eoin McHugh dropped out of the Donegal panel to focus on his studies but he is another to have returned and made an impact with his performances.

“(It’s) great to have Eoin back, he’s really built himself up this year and asserted himself and done what needs to be done to be a Donegal footballer and he is reaping the rewards,” says McHugh.

“Throughout the league he had a wee hamstring knock and couldn’t get a run at training but to be fair to Declan he’s always said if you’re training well, you’ll get a chance and we will all have to prove ourselves again for the Ulster final.”

Ryan McHugh celebrates after Donegal’s win over Tyrone.

Source: Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Eoin’s return has allowed Ryan to drop back into the half-back line. He is not scoring as heavily as a result, but for a couple of seasons his ability to squeeze through tight spaces in attacking positions led to a couple of concussions.

He made a vow to change how he played the game last winter, but when you break it down, he has found the transition almost impossible to affect.

“When you’re in the heat of championship battle it’s difficult to try and change your game. As a team we’re trying to kick the ball more and be more offensive,” he says.

“A defender’s number one job is to mark a man and try to take him out of the game as much as possible. You talk about the best half-backs in Ireland, the Lee Keegans, the Jack McCaffreys, the James McCarthys, those kind of players seem to get the balance right and know when to go forward.

“Growing up I always played centre-back for Kilcar. It’s an old cliché but any day you get a jersey you play wherever you’re lucky to get it, but I always enjoyed centre-back.”

But Cavan will watch for him making the breaks forward.

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FOR ALL THE excitement the Ulster and Connacht championships have thrown up in recent weeks, Leinster and Munster will run along expected lines this weekend – barring a seismic shock.

Dublin are bidding to become the first ever side to win nine provincial titles in-a-row when they take on Meath at Croke Park on Sunday.

Priced by bookmakers as 1/50 favourites to see off the Royals, Dublin would better the eight crowns in succession Kerry put together between 1958-65 and 1975-82.

Meath remain the last team to beat Dublin in Leinster. Their shock 5-9 to 0-13 victory in the 2010 semi-final ended Dublin’s ambitions of lifting a sixth Delaney Cup in succession that summer. 

The Sky Blues have put together an even more impressive run since then. Their average winning margin in the last eight years in Leinster stands at 13.5 points. They’re looking to extend their winning run in the province to 27 games.

Jim Gavin’s side saw off Louth and Kildare by 26 and 15 points respectively this season and the handicap on Sunday stands at 12 points. 

If Meath were to lose by single digits, it would be seen as a positive result for Andy McEntee’s team. The Royals have beaten Dublin just once in their previous 10 attempts, while Gavin’s team have won by an average of 11 points over their last three encounters.

It’s a far cry from the glorious rivalry between the two counties in the 1980s and 90s, which culminated in the four-game saga in 1991.

The clashes that summer 28 years ago gripped the nation as Meath eventually prevailed in the third replay, after the teams drew three games – including two after extra-time. 

Croke Park is set to be only half-full this weekend, with a crowd of around 40,000 expected to turn up for the meeting of the old foes.

Meath haven’t reached the Leinster final since 2014 but avoiding a morale-sapping loss is the priority for McEntee’s side ahead of a likely round 4 qualifier. Win that game and they’ll make the Super 8s.

Regardless of how Sunday goes, reaching the last eight will represent major progress for for Meath in year three of the McEntee’s reign. 

Dean Rock is expected to make his return to the Dublin matchday panel from a hamstring injury, although he’s unlikely to shift Cormac Costello from the starting XV just yet. 

Costello has enjoyed a fine run of form in 2019 and he’s the current top-scorer in the All-Ireland SFC after posting 1-21 in his first two games of the summer. 

Meanwhile in Munster, Kerry are bidding for their seventh provincial crown in succession. Their once great rivals Cork have fallen to Division 3 of the league and their supporters head to Pairc Ui Chaoimh in hope rather than expectation.

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Like Dublin-Meath, the Kerry-Cork rivalry has lost its lustre. Of the current Kingdom squad, only James O’Donoghue, Tommy Walsh and Michael Geaney have experienced a Munster SFC loss to the Rebels in the past – and that defeat came way back in 2012.

While Ulster and Connacht brought some welcome excitement back to provincial football in recent weeks, the one-sided nature of Munster and Leinster backs up the argument that the provincial structure is well past its sell-by date. 

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LONGFORD HAVE MADE two changes ahead of their Round 2 All-Ireland SFC qualifier against All-Ireland finalists Tyrone on Saturday at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park [throw-in, 5pm].

Both switches are in attack, where Barry McKeon starts in place of Andrew Farrell while Darragh Doherty makes way for Joseph Hagan.

Padraic Davis’ side come into this tie following a 10-point win over Carlow earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the Limerick footballers have also named the team that will take on Westmeath in their All-Ireland qualifier on Saturday evening in Cusack Park [throw-in, 6pm].

James Naughton, Tony McCarthy and Pádraig De Brún all come into the Limerick forwards after they were introduced as subs in their Munster SFC semi-final loss to Cork.

Paul Maher, Sean McSweeney and Adrian Enright all make way ahead of trip to Mullingar. The Limerick Leader reports that Maher has departed for America since bowing out of the Munster championship.

Cillian Fahy moves from centre forward to wing back.

Team is in @TyroneGAALive #WeAreWaiting @ShannonsideFM @The42GAA @ballsdotie @Longford_Leader @gaaleinster #Qualifiers pic.twitter.com/MH0Umoz29j

— Longford GAA (@OfficialLDGAA) June 21, 2019

Longford

1. Paddy Collum (Fr Manning Gaels)

2. Patrick Fox (Mullinalaghta)
3. Donal McElligott (Mullinalaghta)
4. Barry O’Farrell (Carrickedmond)

5. Colm P. Smyth (Abbeylara)
6. Pádraig McCormack (Killoe)
7. Darren Quinn (Clonguish)

8. John Keegan (Mullinalaghta)
9. David McGivney (Mullinalaghta)

10. Gary Rogers (Mullinalaghta)
11. Barry McKeon (Colmcille)
12. Michael Quinn (Killoe)

13. Daniel Mimnagh (Killoe)
14. James McGivney (Mullinalaghta)
15. Joseph Hagan (Dromard) 

Limerick

1. Donal O’Sullivan (Monaleen)

2. Brian Fanning (Pallasgreen)
3. Sean O’Dea (Kilteely Dromkeen)
4. Colm McSweeney (Gerald Griffins)

5. Gordon Brown (Na Piarsaigh)
6. Iain Corbett (Newcastlewest) 
7. Cillian Fahy (Dromcollogher Broadford)

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8. Darragh Treacy (St Kieran’s)
9. Tommie Childs (Galtee Gaels)

10. Tony McCarthy (Kildimo Pallaskenry)
11. Michael Fitzgibbon (Feohanagh/Castlemahon)
12. James Naughton (St Senans)

13. Pádraig De Brún (Firies)
14. Seamus O’Carroll (Castleknock)
15. Jamie Lee (Newcastlewest)

Subs:

16. John Chawke (Kildimo/Pallaskenry)
17. Gareth Noonan (Dromcollogher Broadford)
18. Michael Donovan (Galbally)
19. Adam Kerins (St Senans)
20. Tommy Griffin (Gerald Griffins)
21. Sean McSweeney (St Kieran’s)
22. Peter Nash (Kildimo Pallaskenry)
23. Adrian Enright (Fr Caseys)
24. Padraig Scanlan (Glin)
25. Ronan Lynch (Na Piarsaigh)
26. Kieran Daly (Na Piarsaigh)

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GALWAY HAVE BOOKED their spot in the Connacht MFC final while Mayo and Sligo are set to battle it out for the other place in the decider.

The reigning champions put five goals past Leitrim in their final round-robin tie to ensure their progression to the final where they will be bidding to complete five-in-a-row.

It was a routine win for the Tribesmen, who led by 1-12 to 0-2 at half-time with Nathan Grainger finding the net five minutes before the break.

They continued to control proceedings after the restart, adding four more goals to cruise to a 33-point win.

Source: Galway GAA Coaching & Games Twitter

Sligo secured a Connacht semi-final against Mayo after they rallied to record a two-point win over Roscommon.

After conceding three first-half goals, Sligo were trailing by five points at the break before springing to life after the restart.

Gavin Duffy posted 2-3 to finish as Sligo’s top-scorer, with his second goal pushing his side into a two-point advantage on 49 minutes.

Sligo continued to lead until the final whistle and will now prepare for a semi-final meeting against Mayo on Wednesday.

Source: Sligo GAA Twitter

Meanwhile, Tyrone and reigning champions Monaghan progressed to the Ulster MFC final following their respective wins.

Luke Donnelly scored a vital goal from the penalty spot to help Tyrone to a seven-point win over Derry and send them through to the decider.

Monaghan clinched their win after producing an impressive second half display against Donegal. Both sides were level at the break, but the Farney County pulled away after the restart with corner-forward Liam McDonald hitting a hat-trick of goals throughout the tie.

Finally, Kildare managed to hold off a strong challenge from Laois to book their spot in the Leinster minor final.

Source: Kildare GAA Twitter

An Oisin Hooney goal put Laois in the ascendancy in the first half as they held a one-point lead at the break. But Kildare improved in the second period and kept Laois to just three points to seal the win and send the Lilywhites through to the final.

Eoin Bagnall finished as Kildare’s top-scorer with 0-8.

Connacht MFC

Galway 5-25 Leitrim 1-4

Sligo 2-15 Roscommon 4-7

Ulster MFC

Derry 0-10 Tyrone 1-14

Donegal 2-11 Monaghan 5-10

Leinster MFC

Laois 1-6 Kildare 0-12

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THE GALWAY FOOTBALLERS have received a huge boost as they prepare for the All-Ireland qualifiers after captain Damien Comer made a return to club action this evening.

Comer, who hasn’t featured for Galway yet in 2019, was sidelined after fracturing a bone in his foot while playing a charity soccer game on St Stephen’s Day. 

The star forward was unable to regain his fitness in time for last Sunday’s Connacht SFC final, where Galway lost their crown following an incredible second-half display from Roscommon.

Source: David Connors Twitter

Comer previously admitted to reporters that the provincial decider was likely to come too soon for him, and said he was unable to put a timeframe on his recovery. 

“I don’t really know to be honest,” he said at the time. “I’m back doing a bit of running, straight-line running. I haven’t really put a time-frame on it. 

“I’m kind of going by pain-threshold. If it’s too sore I take a step back and if it’s okay I’ll push it on a small bit. That’s my gauge. How long it’s going to take, I genuinely don’t know.”

Source: Galway GAA Twitter

But it looks as though Comer is nearing a return for Galway’s All-Ireland qualifier campaign after he came on as a substitute for Annaghdown in their senior championship fixture against Tuam Stars, where they lost out by 1-9 to 0-7.

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IT’S A RUNNING joke among Ben Brennan and his pals at St Colmcilles that James Conlon could very well be Bernard Flynn’s long-lost son.

Meath great Flynn started out at the east-Meath club just outside Drogheda and made his name as a small but skilful forward who could kick points off either foot.

Meath’s James Conlon will be hoping to make a big impression on Sunday.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

Conlon is cut from exactly the same cloth and scored five points from play on his full championship debut against Laois last time out.

Like Flynn, he’s one of the shortest players on the pitch but ultra mobile and two-footed, kicking six of his nine championship points this summer off his right foot and the rest off his left.

At 21, the hope is that the 2017 All-Ireland intermediate club final goalscorer can go on to enjoy All-Ireland success in the future like Flynn with a Meath team on the up.

“We call him Bernard’s son!” smiled Brennan, who captained St Colmcilles to that club final at Croke Park two years ago. “It’s impossible to get away from the comparison, isn’t it? Coming from the same club, with the same way the two lads play, the same position, you couldn’t get away from it.

“It’s just good to have someone doing what he does. He’s something different. In an age where it’s all about athleticism and how big and strong you are, it’s good to see a fella with a skill-base and a bit of agility doing well. It’s just something different and I suppose that’s why he catches the eye.”

Conlon got his opportunity after impressing as a sub against Offaly and Carlow and lit up Croke Park on his first summer start against Laois.

Brennan knows Dublin will be forewarned though and doesn’t want to heap any extra pressure on his young colleague.

“He’s always showed that promise inside the county with the club, I suppose he just showed it on a bigger stage the last day,” said Brennan.

“But he’s played one good game really, I wouldn’t want to be too quick to say how great he is going to be. If he keeps improving the way he is then he’ll be a good addition to Meath football.”

Brennan, six years older at 27, is still finding his own way in the Meath attack. He made his championship debut against Longford last summer and was top scorer with 0-6 in the subsequent qualifier defeat to Tyrone.

Brennan pictured ahead of the Leinster senior football championship.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

Months later, he and his partner had their first child, baby Tadhg, making Brennan the only father on the entire panel.

“It’s tough going when he’s up a couple of times a night,” said Brennan. “My girlfriend would probably say she’s the one up most of the time but I still get woken up. Ah, I’m used to it all now. He was born in December so it’s not as if it happened just in the middle of the league or just before the championship.”

Tadhg wore a Meath jersey with number 11 on the back for the recent win over Laois at Croke Park.

It was a new and novel experience to have his young family supporting him and Brennan admitted his outlook has shifted, on life and football.

“Match days used to consume my thinking,” he said. “But now, once you’re at home you’re at home and you’re busy. You can’t be anywhere else apart from looking after a crying baby.

It’s your role now and I suppose it takes your mind off football too, it’s a positive if you look at it that way, that you are not bogged down with what’s coming up and you’re not overthinking things. You are busy looking after a baby.

With the demands on inter-county players never as high, it’s no surprise that so few are fathers but Brennan is confident he can make it all work.

“My partner has been great, she’s very supportive,” he said. “She knows it’s not forever. I’ve only started playing for Meath last year and I might only get another couple of years out of it at the most. And sure look at the memories it has brought us already, going to Croke Park with Tadhg and seeing me in a league final, it’s stuff you can’t buy. It might be hard work now but in years to come when you look back it’s priceless stuff.”

Maybe Tadhg will get to see his Dad help Meath to a famous win over the old enemy tomorrow. He’s a key player now, starting 10 of their 11 league and championship games this season, returning 0-13 in the process.

“We are just immersing ourselves in what we do and concentrating on how we can perform to the best of our ability,” said Brennan. “If we’re going to perform in a Leinster final as we want to do then we can only think about ourselves.”

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1997. ANOTHER TIME, another place.

You only have to study the evolution of the GAA jersey as a starting place. Back in 1997 Cavan were the envy of most counties with their cool strip, but what was most illuminating about it was that their young manager Martin McHugh had a hand in its’ design.

Cavan players celebrating their 1997 Ulster final success.

Source: © Billy Stickland/INPHO

That’s the kind of detail McHugh brought to the job.

In his first year, they made it to an Ulster final only to get caught up in the hype of a first provincial decider since 1983. The newspaper supplements, the back-slapping, all those little intangibles that led Fermanagh manager Rory Gallagher to bemoan their build-up to last year’s final as being destroyed by a ‘giddiness’ that crept into the panel.

In the interim, McHugh dialled down on everything. The introduction of Arsène Wenger into English soccer changed the attitude of sportsmen to their diet. The waves from north London were felt as far away as Gowna, Cavan Town and Bailieborough.

Cavan would win that 1997 Ulster title, a Jason Reilly goal being the difference in a 1-14 to 0-16 win over Derry.

The present Cavan manager Mickey Graham was a late sub in that final, coming on for the teenage Larry Reilly. He admits now that changing their thinking led to some comical scenes.

“There were a couple of players who when we had pre-match meals before big games – we’d get spaghetti bolognese – they used to ask ‘Where’s the low-calorie full Irish?’ recalls Graham.

“I’ll not mention the names. I wasn’t one of them.

“They used to look at this spaghetti as if it was alien, they were more interested in a breakfast roll or something else. It was a culture shock at that stage for them – we’d a few farmers on the team and a few country boys who liked their full Irish the morning of a game.

“It would’ve taken a while to convince them that this was the way the game was going, let me tell ya.”

All the little extras culminated in that glorious day in Clones sunshine when they delivered their first Ulster crown since 1969.

“I still remember it like it was yesterday. I think I hadn’t time to breathe before the place was converged upon,” says Graham now, a few days before he attempts to halt the 22-year drought back to Cavan’s last provincial triumph when they face Donegal this Sunday.

“I turned around and I think I was hit by a herd of buffalo, I’ve never seen a pitch fill up as quick. The one memory I have, because I went to grab one of my team mates beside me, but I couldn’t get near him because the crowd was on so quickly.

“You have all seen the interviews, sure Martin McHugh was barely able to talk. We couldn’t get near the stand. It was just so much joy and, I suppose, hurt. A lot of people had never seen Cavan win an Ulster title before.

“It just shows you the tradition and what people think of football in Cavan.”

Mickey Graham was part of the Cavan playing ranks in 1997.

Source: © Matt Browne/INPHO

While he always hankered ambitions to manage in football, Graham states his appetite for the county scene was on the wane prior to landing the job.

“It would have been a job I would have liked. And as I got older and probably wiser, I said to myself, ‘do you really need the hassle of all this?’

“Because the game had gone to a different level in terms of commitment, training five nights a week, weekends away from your family and stuff,” he says.

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“As I got older, I was saying, ‘no, maybe not.’ To be honest with you, I was happy enough working away with the club scene.

“Then the job came along and my name was thrown out there. Even at that I wasn’t really pushed on it until it came to a decision I had to make and I was asked if I would come and talk to them.

“It snowballed from there, I got the job and here I am now.”

So here he is, in his first year, a Leinster title in the bag with tiny Longford outfit Mullinalaghta last winter prior to a relegation from Division One with Cavan and an appearance in the Ulster final in his first year.

Mickey Graham celebrating Mullinlaghta’s Leinster final victory last December.

Source: Oisin Keniry/INPHO

It’s not unusual. Of the last twelve Ulster finals including this one, nine managers of the competing counties were in their first year managing that county.

And now that he is there, facing a Donegal team in their eighth final in nine years?

“We’ve earned the right to be there, we’ve come through three tough games and when you get to the final, the old cliché goes that it’s all on the day.

“I don’t believe it’s all on the day, you have to believe you can win it before you even get there. If you don’t believe you can win it, what’s the point? You might as well sit at home.”

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GIVEN THE LENGTHS he has had to go to just to get on the football pitch, Cork’s Brian Hurley certainly doesn’t see tonight’s Munster SFC final against Kerry (7pm) as an impossible task.

Two horrific hamstring injuries – the first in 2016 and then, following recovery, another a year later – threatened his career, with Cork and his club Castlehaven, but an iron will ensured that the negative prognoses weren’t borne out.

Brian Hurley found the net twice in Cork’s win against Limerick in the Munster semi-final.

Source: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO

Hurley played last year in what was a disappointing campaign but he admits that, while he was mentally tuned in, his physical levels were short. More hard work in the winter and spring paid off as he scored two goals in the Munster semi-final win over Limerick and now he is relishing the prospect of taking on Kerry.

Despite a 17-point loss to the Kingdom at the same stage last year, nobody in the Cork camp is looking at this as a free hit or a warm-up for a qualifier fourth-round tie.

“Not a hope,” he says. “Not a hope. If you think we’re going to back down from any opposition, especially Kerry, you’re interviewing the wrong man or the wrong lads around here.

“That’s being straight-up. I don’t paw off questions, I love challenges, I love big games. This is what I thrive on and I can’t wait for it. There seems to be a lot of talking Kerry up but it’s a two-horse race.

“You see Liverpool against Barça, 3-0 down and [Liverpool] came back to win it. You look at Anthony Joshua against [Andy] Ruiz, Ruiz knocked him out even though Joshua was supposed to be unbeatable.

“You work hard enough, you put it in, you believe in it, you won’t be far away.”

It could be dismissed as bravado, but Hurley has proof of how far his strong belief has carried him, especially given the initial medical verdict.

“There was plenty blunt, I can tell you. There was plenty blunt enough,” he says. “There was. Of course there was. He told me that I more than likely… that they wouldn’t be able to operate on my hamstring again and then the other thing was that I would not make it back to this level and here I am so, as I said, hard work does pay off.”

Even then, there were times when he doubted his ability to make it back.

“Yeah, like, I won’t lie to you, there was of course,” he says. “I came out of a brace after eight weeks, a 90-degree brace and I took the brace off and my leg was about a third of the size of my right leg, so it was frightening, to be honest with you.

Hurley has endured rotten luck with injuries.

Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

“I won’t lie to you. I had a lot of lows at times but you have them on comebacks and you speak to any other player out there that’s been through similar injuries, they have them also but it’s the willingness of people telling you, ‘He won’t make it back,’ or whatnot that drives me on. I love that. I actually live off that stuff, like. Fellas telling you that he’s done or he’s finished and all this.”

After two years out, the natural instinct would be to try to make up for lost time, but Hurley — part of Cork teams which reached All-Ireland finals at minor and U21 levels — has to be careful with how he manages things.

“Probably the hardest part of my training scheme now is that,” he says. “You see, I need to do more on my hamstring to make sure my muscle is kept up and it takes the pressure off the hamstring but, at the same time, you don’t want to overdo it, so my hardest challenge is pulling out of training and saying, ‘Do I have enough?’ or is it fatigue?

“There’s nights I have to come in and do extra work on my hamstring and try to perform the night after, like. Inter-county fitness now is gone through the roof, training’s gone through the roof. For a fella that’s after two hamstrings off the bone, it’s kind of hard to keep up with at times but you’ve no other choice.

“So some nights you might have to hit the gym session instead of doing a pitch session but yeah, it’s the hardest challenge, trying to pull out of a training when you’re trying to get the most out of yourself. It’s beneficial because you might be able to perform better the next night.”

The approach certainly paid off against Limerick, with Hurley putting a forgettable 2018 behind him. Not that he’s in the mood to ease off.

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“I’ll be honest with you, I was 120% there mentally last year but if I was being honest, physically I probably wasn’t,” he says.

“My head was thinking differently to my body. My body wasn’t capable or something. I don’t know, it’s fairly hard to explain, to be honest with you, because you’re in good shape but it’s not moving as it should be.

“That killer instinct, that ridiculous sharp speed, it just wasn’t there and I’m feeling it back this year. I’m not saying I’m where I want to be yet but I’m certainly hopeful that there’s a big game on the way.”

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