Mullin, Canavan and Kelly just three of the U-20 young guns who have fired their way onto the senior stage
A CYNIC might quip that 2020 was such an unbearably long year that some of the Galway and Dublin U-20 footballers lining out in Croke Park on December 19 needed zimmer frames to help them onto the pitch, and a PR consultant to pen their retirement statements as they left it.
Arguably more than any other GAA competition, the EirGrid GAA Football U-20 All-Ireland Championship suffered at the malign hand of Covid. A championship incorporating 30 knockout matches, 23 of those played at breakneck speed through February, had taken 10-and-a-half months to complete.
But patience paid off in the end, especially for Galway. And as EirGrid signed off another successful year by announcing its top 20 performers from this year’s championship – with the annual ‘20 U-20 awards’ – it was only fitting that GAA president John Horan should pay tribute to that perseverance.
“I commend all of the players honoured on this list,” Horan commented, “but also all of those who competed in the EirGrid GAA Football U-20 All-Ireland Championship in 2020, given the testing set of circumstances everyone involved faced.
Aspirations
“As ever with this grade of football, the talent on show was difficult to ignore, and I have no doubt that many of the names that feature on this list will have aspirations of further county representation in years to come.”
Here’s the thing: even though the vast majority of this year’s crop have yet to experience the pressure-cooker senior arena, some have taken to it like a duck to water.
Think of Oisín Mullin, who doesn’t even make the top 20 list for the understandable reason that Mayo fell at the first fence. On the same Croke Park bill where Galway and Dublin were chasing U-20 glory, Mullin gave a barnstorming exhibition of defending on the front foot in a standout duel with Dublin’s Con O’Callaghan. He is on most shortlists to win an All-Star.
Think of Darragh Canavan (right) who, in the space of one October week, transitioned seamlessly from Tyrone U-20 to senior.
Think of Paul Kelly, who looked well at home on his SFC debut even as Galway fell narrowly to
Mayo in the Connacht final; a month later he got to savour All-Ireland underage success. But football is a game of fine margins. Whereas the Galway U-20s withstood Dublin’s grandstand finish, they had barely survived on the very first day, in Castlebar back in February, after an absorbing drama played out in the midst of Storm Ciara.
Six of the starting Galway team facing Mayo that day – goalkeeper Conor Flaherty, corner-back and skipper Jack Glynn, midfielder Conor Raftery and forward triumvirate Kelly, Matthew Tierney and Tomo Culhane – were selected for a ‘20 U-20’ award.
Yet they needed an injury-time equaliser to force that first round clash into extra-time, after which the two rivals were still inseparable. Flaherty fluffed his chance to win the penalty shootout, but the ’keeper quickly atoned by making the matchwinning save from – Oisín Mullin! Fast-forward to October/November for further evidence of another underage star already made of the right stuff. Canavan’s three firsthalf points weren’t enough to save Tyrone as Dublin came with a late burst to win their long-delayed U-20 semi-final.
A week later, son of Peter was on Tyrone league duty, escaping the clutches of Mullin (wouldn’t you know) to steer a low finish past David Clarke. And another week later he was in Ulster SFC action, capitalising on a defender’s fumble to sidestep Donegal ’keeper Shaun Patton for another goal. Both finishes carried the stamp of an ice-cold assassin: like father, like son.
No surprise, given his earlier U-20 form, that Canavan is one of four Tyrone men on this year’s top 20 list.
The Dubs enjoy similar representation. And whereas none of Tom Gray’s team has yet to feature at senior level, this is due in large part to the riches already at Dessie Farrell’s disposal. Dublin don’t have to rush the likes of Lee Gannon, Mark Lavin, Lorcan O’Dell and Ciarán Archer, even if the latter has long been touted as a future star. With Paul Mannion, another prolific ciotóg, having just opted off the panel, Archer’s chance could come sooner than you think.