Fond memories of Fogie’s point in ’05 ‘
IT started in a sopping wet dressing-room in Portlaoise. We stood in our circle in the half light, soaking. The mood was foul. Wexford had just beaten us in the league semi-final. This was unthinkable stuff. What was this match saying about us? We had been outfought.’
Dear Alan,
The above lines are taken from Chapter 18 of Mickey Harte’s book, ‘Harte: Presence Is The Only Thing’, and were brought to mind by your recent coverage of the National Football League semi-final of April, 2005, between Wexford and Tyrone at Portlaoise.
As Conor Cullen relates in his report of the game, it was indeed a diabolical day weather-wise but an unforgettable one from a Wexford point of view as the Model county forged a famous victory over a team that had been All-Ireland champions less than two years earlier.
To the neutral observer it would have been unexpected and certainly not to Mickey Harte’s liking as the opening lines would indicate, but it was certainly well deserved as Conor states in his report.
It was great to have been there, and David Fogarty’s winning point will live forever in the minds of Wexford followers who were present that day.
As Conor said, David showed remarkable composure to kick the winning score, particularly in the terrible conditions that prevailed and with so much riding on the shot.
It was not, of course, the last time that genial David would kick the winning score in an important game; he also did so in the county Senior football final of 2014 for his club, St. Anne’s, against Gusserane, but this time it was from an even more difficult angle out on the terraced side of
Wexford Park.
Incidentally, Tyrone went on to win the Sam Maguire in 2005, playing ten games in the process, and the Wexford defeat may very well have been the catalyst in doing so.
Dealing in the book with their All-Ireland victory over Kerry in that year, Harte states the following: ‘This victory represented an endorsement of so many important things. This proved the value of the players’ own belief in themselves.
‘Five months after we stood in a sodden changing room in Portlaoise, having lost to Wexford, questioning everything we ever stood for, it told them the season and their efforts had been worth it.’
But, they had been ‘outfought’ back in April with heart and hand and the right foot of David Fogarty!
In conclusion, could I thank you and your paper for keeping us so well informed and entertained in these unusual times.
Yours sincerely,
Jim McGovern,
Killurin.