The A-Z of Sam

The intercounty scene has been and gone for another season. Michael McMullan takes a look back his moments to remember…

Armagh: There is only one place to start. Armagh are the story, the championship Kings. In interviews after their final win over Galway, Rian O’Neill and Kieran McGeeney both spoke of them being a small county. Many felt they weren’t in the conversation with the big boys. They stuck together and are All-Ireland champions.

Bench: Armagh’s All-Ireland success was built on what Kieran McGeeney was able to take in off the bench. It was a diluted down version of what Jim Gavin had in Dublin. Diluted in terms of medals but not in impact. Ross McQuillan’s pace. Stefan Campbell’s 0-5 across the quarter and semi-finals was followed up by making Aaron McKay’s goal. Oisin O’Neill, Jarly Óg Burns, Aidan Nugent and Jason Duffy were others. Niall Grimley didn’t see a lot of action until cementing a place.

Comeback: Blaine Hughes could well have been looking at Armagh’s success from the outside. Having stepped away from the panel, he made an approach to re-join after Ethan Rafferty’s injury. And he didn’t look back. He was consistent in every game as part of Armagh’s mean defence. Had he not come back, there may have been no Sam Maguire. One of the year’s stories.

Despair: After winning the Division One league title, Derry were the team who looked like the one to watch for the rest of the summer after their years of climbing the ladder. Now, they are down the chasing pack. Their dreadful championship campaign had the peak of beating Mayo after penalties. Now, all the talk surrounds who takes over as manager and if they’ll bounce back.

Empty: The one disappointing factor of the season was the amount of empty spaces in the crowd at Croke Park and other venues. The atmosphere at the final was electric and the crowd played a huge part in all of that. Getting more fans to games is one the GAA’s biggest priorities.. They could do worse than survey fans to see what the main reasons are for staying away. Players would rather play in packed stadiums and it would lead to a better product.

Front foot: Donegal played a brand of football where the best form of defence was attack. Brendan McCole was often the only out and out defender on the field. With Caolan McGonagle’s positional sense, and Shaun Patton as sweeper on occasions, it allowed every other person to bomb forward. It took them a considerable distance until Galway issued them with key players to mark.

Geezer: As the Armagh fans’ song says, ‘G stands for Geezer I suppose’ and it’s hard to look past the Armagh manager. The man who lifted Sam Maguire in 2002 won a fight to keep his job for a tenth season. He managed to keep 42 players on board to have the strength in depth that drove them to success.

Hysteria: Having driven through south Armagh in the weeks after the All-Ireland final, the amount of flags in the Dromintee, Meigh and Killeavy areas was off the charts. There were sheep and cars painted. Galway also had that buzz of a novel finalist. The Gaels of Donegal were on cloud nine with Jim’s magic dust. A more open race for Sam brings out the best in everyone.

Inconsistent: Tyrone definitely tick this box. They struggled to back up a win with another. They will look back on the regret of being ousted by Roscommon but they can have no complaints. With their three All-Ireland winning u-20/u-21 teams of the last decade they’ve the tools and the best goalkeeper in the game. But without consistency, they’ll not challenge for the biggest prizes.

Jarlath: What a start to Jarlath Burns’ tenure as GAA President. Peter Quinn presented Sam to three Ulster champions in 1991, ’92 and ’93. Burns has nearly surpassed that already. Club All-Ireland titles and league silver. He gave them all to Ulster captains with speeches to match what he brings to the table. As for presenting Sam to Aidan Forker, that’s dreamland stuff.

Kick ‘er in: There is still a huge reward for lamping the occasional ball into the opposition defence. Galway got 1-2 off long balls played into the Donegal square. Both Kerry and Armagh’s quarter-final goals came from high balls not being dealt with. Let’s hope managers can take a piece of it -without wasting a load of possession – into next season and it will make games less predictable.

Louth: If a county is ever looking an example of how to progress, it’s the Wee County. After losing Mickey Harte and Gavin Devlin before a ball was kicked, they moved on under Ger Brennan. A county with small numbers and no home ground, they continued to punch well above their weight. Brennan is already putting out feelers about how to climb higher in 2025.

Messiah: The return of Jim McGuinness as the Donegal manager had a fruitful first season. With virtually everyone back on board, he set out about getting Donegal back to Division One. With that box ticked, a league title helped gather momentum. With everyone on the same page, they conquered Ulster and were in the mix for Sam.

New rules: Jim Gavin was a regular set of eyes at games across the championship as he, and his Football Review Committee – took a deep dive into the state of football. They’ve since drawn up a set of proposals that have been unpacked into trials games. It’s hard to see them all sticking but you’d imagine some will make their way into football for the future.

Overload: After a litany of group games, the seven games that meant the most were again squeezed into a four-week window. The quarter-final, semi-final and final weekend are what we look forward to the most and it’s all over in the blink of an eye. There is an overload of coverage and debate before the All-Ireland final but it leaves an anti-climax. We love the club season and look forward to it but the latter stages of the All-Ireland race is way too congested.

Persistence: Losing a penalty shoot-out is tough. Two is worse. Three or four would be unthinkable. And with the same bunch of players. That’s the well told story of Armagh. Kieran McGeeney gave them two options – fade away or pull themselves back up on the horse. They chose the latter and are now the best team in the land.

Quick: They often say speed kills, ask anyone who came up against Oisin Conaty. There will be an inquest if he isn’t selected as Young Player of the Year. Two years ago he was in Hill 16 watching Armagh lose to Galway. His pace is frightening and it set the tone on All-Ireland final day with speed through the middle that matched his quick impact on Armagh. He’s not their secret weapon anymore.

Rest: A lot of the talk is the lack of jeopardy in the group stages. In the short term, there is none as teams like Derry can still advance after losing two games. The problems start when a team doesn’t finish top and doesn’t have a deep squad to absorb the knocks that week-on-week action brings. A week of rest between each game is the perfect scenario and the reward for group winners.

Star: The next topic for discussion will be the All-Star selection. One thing is certain, it will create controversy. In terms of Player of the Year, Paul Conroy and Dylan McHugh will be the Galway front runners. Armagh’s Barry McCambridge will be in the reckoning too. The other Armagh contenders are not as clear cut due to them being greater than the sum of their parts.

Tailteann Cup: Down were left empty handed last season but made no mistake this year in a competition with a considerable Ulster influence. Antrim and Fermanagh were well placed but Down justified their favourites’ tag to finish what they started. Conor Laverty’s side are guaranteed Sam Maguire Cup football next season. A job well done.

U-turn: The chat was that the people of Louth were incensed with Mickey Harte and Gavin Devlin’s decision to take over Derry. What was even more surprising was the news of Devlin taking over Louth’s underage football system. In terms of u-turns, it’s well up there.

Value: Are fans getting value for their money? I don’t think they are. We in the media are lucky in that we get into all the games free. I just feel there needs to be a better pricing structure so we are not continually milking punters at the turnstiles. With the technology available, there should be a facility for free tickets after attending a certain number of games. Some counties have championship passes to offer a reduced rate for those who attend many games.

Wide open: The minute Dublin and Kerry were beaten, the race for Sam Maguire opened up for all teams in the last four. They could’ve all made a case for 2024 being their team to take home the big prize. Armagh’s success will inspire many counties ahead of next season.

X-Factor: Have we seen the last of Conor McManus in a Monaghan jersey? Time will tell as ‘Mansy’ said he will leave the decision until his club season is over with Clontibret. If he does go, he will leave a magnificent legacy. Players can score when the pressure isn’tt on. Kicking to save your team is the real x-factor. McManus always delivered.

Yes: It was the year of ‘Ulster says yes’ as almost all the main All-Ireland football trophies made their way to Ulster. Club, county and school. Sam Maguire was icing on the cake. The three club All-Irelands, the Hogan and Sigerson Cups. All-Ireland Sevens. Men and women, All-Ireland u-20 and minor. Down’s defeat to Westmeath in the Division Three final was the only blip but Conor Laverty’s men made up for it by lifting the Tailteann Cup.

Zest: A walk through Drumcondra and the various areas close to Croke Park were awash with the zest of the orange army. Tickets were scare in the build up to All-Ireland final day but by the time Sean Hurson threw in the ball, there were more Armagh fans in the stadium. It helped urge their team to a second All-Ireland.