Nostalgaa: A look through the archives

10 YEARS AGO

MAYO booked their spot in the All-Ireland SFC final, but they weren’t exactly in red-hot form against Tipperary.

A 64th minute goal from Conor O’Shea finally knocked the stuffing out of Tipperary, Mayo doing enough to record a 2-13 to 0-14 win at Croke Park.

There were a few positives from a Mayo perspective, including the performance of targetman Andy Moran, who at 33 showed he was still one of the best forwards in the country. Aidan O’Shea and Colm Boyle also had big games as they earned a date with Dublin in the All-Ireland final.

Meanwhile, Donegal minors’ All-Ireland campaign came to an end at the penultimate hurdle with a 2-12 to 1-11 defeat to Galway.

The Connacht champions’ superior kickpassing contributed to a victory that probably should have been more convincing than the final scoreline suggested.

20 YEARS AGO

FOLLOWING an epochal All-Ireland SFC quarter-final win over Armagh, Kerry edged a far less exciting encounter against old rivals Cork to book their place in the All-Ireland semi-final.

There were six points between the teams at the final whistle, but in truth Cork were outclassed by a resurgent Kerry side. Leading the way in the scoring stakes for the Kingdom were Colm Cooper and Mike Frank Russell in a fairly unremarkable match at Croke Park.

In the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final replay, Mayo got the better of Laois on a scoreline of 0-14 to 0-11 to set up a date with Dublin. It wasn’t a great game with Laois lacking zip and coherence and they never really looked like they could mount a serious charge. It also marked Mick O’Dwyer’s final game in charge of the Leinster side.

30 YEARS AGO

CAVAN made it through to the Ulster U21 Championship final with a 1-11 to 1-9 vctory over Meath. Points from Dermot McCabe, Roy Brennan and Michael Reilly helped Cavan into a 0-6 to 0-2 lead. McCabe continued to be highly influential after the break and was involved in a crucial goal finished off by Jason O’Reilly. Also playing that day were the likes of Anthony Forde and Mickey Graham.

There was also plenty of happenings on the club front. Ballycastle and Cushendall won their respective Antrim Senior Hurling Championship semi-finals while Devenish edged Lisnaskea in the Fermanagh Senior Football Championship decider.