THE FINAL VERDICT: THE GREATEST OF MY LIFETIME
All-Ireland final trends have changed but core principles never will, writes Martin Breheny
The brief from on high sounded simple. Select twelve All-Ireland finals in football and hurling that surpassed all others for those special qualities that make the GAA’s biggest days so unique in Irish life.
They could come under several headings, including standard, individual star quality, shocks, powers of recovery, unpredictability, hard luck stories, controversies, etc. Historic elements such as first-time wins, doubles, trebles or four-timers needed to be taken into account too.
It looked like a very large canvass — especially since tomorrow will be the 98th senior final I have attended — but then came the restrictions. I could only choose two finals in either code in each decade ‘as far back as you can remember’.
It was said in a manner which suggested that I was around long enough to compare Cú Chulainn’s striking action with Joe Canning and Henry Shefflin but, no, I can only go back to the 1960s.
Even then, I was looking at that through the prism of young eyes and a decade when ‘live’ TV coverage of All-Ireland finals was launched.
Still, however young the viewers, the 1963 and 1968 hurling finals had so much drama that they could surely compare with the most exciting games from any era.
Who would have thought after Waterford lost the 1963 final to Kilkenny that they would still be waiting for their next All-Ireland win 55 years later? Incredibly, they lost despite scoring six goals in a 60-minute game.
In 1968, Tipperary appeared all set to land their 22nd title when they led Wexford by eight points at half-time before being reined in and beaten in the second half.
It was the decade, too, of Galway footballers’ three-in-a-row success, achieved without conceding a goal in any of the finals.
The 70s heralded an increase in the duration of championship games from 60 to 80 minutes, which lasted for five seasons before settling at 70 minutes in 1975.
It was the decade of Cork’s hurling treble, and the re-birth of Dublin football which led to an intense rivalry with Kerry.
The 1973 Cork-Galway football final remains the highest-scoring in championship history. Obviously both were going very well at the time but, in an indication of how quickly things can turn, it would be another 16 years before Cork next won the All-Ireland, while Galway had to wait 25 years.
In the context of Dublin’s current riches, on and off the pitch, it was so very different 45 years ago.
A few days before the 1973 final, Dr. Donal Keenan, the then GAA President, spoke of the need to do something for Dublin, who had been relegated to Division 2 after los-
Clockwise from left: Kilkenny’s Henry Shefflin commiserates with Cork players after the 2006 All-Ireland hurling final; action from the 1966 All-Ireland football final between Galway and Meath; Tyrone’s Peter Canavan slots home against Kerry in the 2005 final; and action from the 1963 hurling final between Kilkenny and Waterford. Pictures: Connolly Collection, Sportsfile The 1963 and 1968 hurling finals had so much drama that they could surely compare with the most exciting games from any era
ing a play-off on the previous Sunday and who hadn’t even reached a Leinster final for eight successive seasons.
“The GAA will have to consider what help can be given to the Dublin County Board,” said Dr. Keenan. Whatever the origin, Dublin re-ignited quickly after that, winning three of the next four All-Ireland titles. Surely, that’s a lesson that others could take aboard now.
Counties re-emerging after long barren spells or winning All-Ireland titles for the first time enriched September Sundays in the 1980s, 90s and Noughties. Kilkenny hurlers set record-breaking standards in the new Millennium, but far from dispiriting other counties, it encouraged them to work harder, creating the current healthy climate where there are nine genuine All-Ireland contenders.
Media coverage of All-Ireland finals — and indeed all GAA affairs — has increased out of all proportion over the last 50 years. However, it’s a far more remote process nowadays, with journalists being pushed further away all the time by regimes that appear racked by paranoia. It has also widened the gap between supporters and their teams. Indeed, the vast majority of managers won’t even allow the public to view a single training session.
Contrast that with the open approach towards the media in the past. For the 1987 All-Ireland hurling final, I spent the entire weekend with the Galway squad, granted access all areas from Saturday morning to Monday night.
Galway had lost the previous two All-Ireland finals so the pressure was immense but manager, Cyril Farrell, selectors, Phelim Murphy and Bernie O’Connor and the squad allowed me to become part of the group, including staying in their hotel on Saturday night, joining the players for meals, sitting in on all team meetings, travelling on the coach to Croke Park, remaining in the dressing-room before the game and at half-time and watching the action from the dugout.
Nor were there any restrictions on what I could write. Obviously, it didn’t have a negative impact as Galway beat Kilkenny by six points. Two years later, Babs Keating allowed my colleague, Vincent Hogan similar access with Tipperary for the All-Ireland final.
Ultimately, All-Ireland finals, whether in the 1960s-80s-Noughties or now, are won by how players perform on the day and not by what goes on around them before that. Trends and habits changes, but that core principle never will. It’s part of what makes All-Ireland final days so fascinating.