Persistence, intrigue, a vote and Sam: Armagh and a story of sticking together

By Michael McMullan

It’s impossible not to be intrigued by Armagh. For the rest of us, we can only hazard a guess at the level of intramural satisfaction within their bubble.

When their jet-black bus pulls out of dodge, you wonder about the vibe inside. What level does their ‘us against the world’ rise to? If it even does. Maybe that doesn’t float their boat.

But it doesn’t take a deep dig to realise that it should. Or at least that it could.

The butt of jokes for a perception of underachievement, they continually pick themselves off the canvas.

Perception of underachievement? We’ll get to that later.

Without a stagger, Armagh have kept taking slaps until they were down again.

And, so it continued until Joe McElroy threw himself at the boot of Paul Conroy in the dying embers of last year’s All-Ireland final.

The Footballer of the Year rolled the dice one last time.

Not this time.

McElroy was having none of it.

One those micro moments that make a difference. There was a bit of fortune with a post saying no to Dylan McHugh’s shot at an equaliser.

Armagh were entitled to a break. When you keep showing up, there is always a chance.

Do Sheringham and Solskjær pull the 1999 Champions’ League from Bayern if Fergie allowed his team to throw in the towel?

No sir.

Keep chasing. Keep showing up.

Armagh kept hammering at the door. The team who couldn’t win tight games beat Kerry, now Galway and were the greatest in the land.

If there is ever a documentary commissioned to tell a deep story of persistence, Kieran McGeeney should be on speed dial.

That’s where the intrigue comes. Anyone can kick a point when they’re 10 up.

When their team is two down, the clock is ticking and all is at sea, leaders put their head where others wouldn’t poke a shovel.

‘Geezer’ was in the trenches as a player. His head was always in. It’s the same now. And his players followed.

They all stayed on board. Plenty within Armagh questioned if there was progress.

Withing 14 days of Paul Grimley stepping down in 2014, McGeeney was appointed on a five-year term.

That stretched to nine by Monday, August 7,2023. A vote on his future.

Three years in Division Three. Three in Division Two, Three in Division One.

They’d two Division Three titles to their name.

Armagh lost their first four Ulster Championship games under McGeeney. Five of the first seven.

A summary… Six wins. A draw with Cavan. A penalty shootout at the hands of Derry. Eight other defeats.

On the All-Ireland stage, there was a 2017 quarter-final against Tyrone. A 3-17 to 0-8 defeat. Ouch.

The furthest they got was extra-time and penalties against Monaghan in 2023.

58 days later, McGeeney’s future was in the hands of the clubs.

To give his tenure some context, Armagh weren’t exactly pulling up many trees at underage.

The Crossmaglen club juggernaut wasn’t what it was. MacRory Cup medals were scare.

As a county, Armagh had only won a single All-Ireland and McGeeney was their on-field general.

The dressing room wanted him to stay. The best barometer. Men he asked to walk to the well.

Of the team that lost their gut-wrenching 2017 Division Three promotion decider to Michael Quinlivan’s 3-1, nine played in last summer’s All-Ireland final. Nine.

MISSED CHANCE…Dejection for Armagh after a final day home defeat to Tipperary ended their 2017 promotion hopes from Division Three

The vote reflected that. 46-16. It was time to step into a tenth year. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Listening to Johnny Doyle, on the Square Ball Podcast, the Kildare players wanted him to stay on when he was in charge of the Lily Whites too.

It’s last year’s All-Ireland final. Job done. Sam in the dressing room.

In the bowels of Croke Park, minutes before the Armagh cavalcade headed for the Carrickdale Hotel, Rian O’Neill and Kieran McGeeney, in two separate interviews, referenced Armagh as a small county.

An interesting take. They didn’t overly elaborate but history backs it up. They aren’t a Kerry or a Dublin. A Tyrone or Meath. A Cork or a Galway.

Armagh spent just three years of the previous decade in Division One but were now Kings of the land. The same number of years as they spent in Division Three.

It’s back to the persistence word. Those nine men who trucked since the darkest hour of losing to Tipperary 2017. Geezer’s gospel resonated with them.

When Ciaran McKeever took over as minor manager, McGeeney gave him a shopping list. Get something a bit different. Oisin Conaty was among those harvested from a team that didn’t even reach an Ulster final.

Kieran Donaghy’s infectious character came in. There was his basketball background and the fact he walked the walk. He was something different that transformed Kerry. A man that could win any sort of ball.

Conleith Gilligan was another piece. His role, reportedly, was to knit what McKeever was doing with the defenders to what Donaghy was coaching the forwards.

McGeeney pulled it all together. If that vote went the other way, the Gaels of Armagh would never have known what their clubs voted out.

Ask Kildare. They’re only coming out of the mire.

Back to the players. They completely bought in. The team came first. If you fell out of favour, the door would always open. If you wanted it to.

Some lads were allowed to tip away with some club football. It kept them fresh. And it’s a meaningful club scene. Not dead rubber games. Getting access to county players lead to clubs buying in.

Everyone is a winner.

The fact that Armagh’s men coming in off the bench helped them on the final push towards Sam says a lot about training games.

You’d love to get a look through the hedge. That’s what intrigue does.

How does a Jason Duffy, a Stefan Campbell or a Ross McQuillan have such an impact if training games aren’t on the money.

Speaking before the Ulster final, Aaron McKay revealed how the ‘B team’ duffed the first team during an in-house game before the All-Ireland semi-final win over Kerry.

Driving home, he wondered how they’d beat the Kingdom if they couldn’t corral their own reserves.

Then he realised. Men coming off the bench would add value. Real value. That’s exactly how it rolled.

Fast forward to now. Why could Armagh still be carrying a chip on their shoulder?

Despite being holders of the cannister, there would often be other names throw out as 2025 contenders before theirs.

Could that could be manufactured into a hunger to tap into? Possibly.

They didn’t retain it in 2003. It wasn’t been retained in Ulster since Down in 1961.

If there is a feeling they didn’t get the credit, then winning it again is the perfect answer.

They’ve had their own issues to deal with this season too.

Firstly, there is always a target on their back.

There was Rian O’Neill factor. Was he in or out.

They’d controversy from their team holiday to deal with.

But they did. If anything, it made the group even stronger.

Rian O’Neill strode off the bus on Ulster final day with very few outside the bubble knowing he’d even be on it.

That spoke volumes. Tell nobody nothing.

The injury card put up its hand. Aaron McKay has yet to make a 26. Joe McElroy and Niall Grimley are on their way back.

Ciaran Mackin has had another setback. Aidan Forker hasn’t played since the Ulster final.

Ross McQuillan has been in top form this season

Their most unlucky player, Oisin O’Neill, is fighting his way back too.

Will they retain Sam? Who knows, but they’ve a better chance than anybody.

They can take the Galway game whatever way the want knowing they are in the last eight.

The rest of the chasing pack can’t even think about that yet.

Armagh can potentially produce a new mantra.

A three-step process and put all their eggs in the basket of step one.

The negatives. Derry’s eight goal chances in game one. Some were half chances but the house was still down. Dublin kicked 17 wides against them the last day out.

It’s perfect to keep the squad competitive. There are improvements to be made. How can get mix their sitting in to clog runners with pressing out to prevent two-pointers?

The positives.

Confidence from being champions. Winning games in Croke Park.

Plenty of kick-out options.

Rian O’Neill and how well he knows the HQ kicking range.

Pace in the right places. Ross McQuillan (with 1-22 this year) in player of the year form.

Jarly Óg Burns (0-7) on the other wing. Darragh McMullen (2-7) and Oisin Conaty (0-24) on the half forward wings.

Of the four, only Conaty was a 2024 regular.

The problem an All-Ireland champion has is staleness. Armagh don’t have that.

They were met by a third gut-wrenching Ulster final day with nothing to show for it.

It means nothing now.

Will they retain Sam? Maybe, maybe not, but they’ve a better chance than most.