Andy Moran’s enthusiasm has always been intense and infectious
Andy Moran consoles Roscommon duo, Sean McDermott and goalkeeper Darren O'Malley, following the 2014 Connacht SFC semi-final at Dr. Hyde Park. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie
Way back in winter 2008, I remember one of the first occasions I spent time with Andy Moran. Seánie Mac, Ger Heneghan and himself travelled with me to Portlaoise to play for Connacht against Leinster in the Railway Cup final.
Now, if you’ve spent any time with Seánie, you’ll know he’s a ball of constant energy. Andy was cut from a similar cloth. The two lads were good buddies from their time in St. Nathy’s and Sligo IT. Both bouncing off the walls. Neither myself, nor Ger, could get a word in edgeways.
Moran’s enthusiasm, it seems, was always intense and infectious. We had beaten Leinster in the semi-final the week before and Pádraic Joyce had put on a display for the ages. He was coming to the end of his career but was still clearly a cut above the ordinary.
From Roscommon to Portlaoise, Moran was jumping out of his skin with excitement at the thought of seeing Joyce do his stuff again. He was like a child on Christmas Eve.
He had us all buzzing. The balloon abruptly burst when we arrived in O’Moore Park to find out that Joyce was out injured. Andy was devastated. He’d have nearly turned around and gone home! We stayed and played, but lost by a few points.
As the years have passed by, Andy’s public profile has grown through an outstanding playing career, some media work and now into management. That incessant enthusiasm has been clear to all who have encountered him. It’d be very hard not to feel happy for him as Mayo ended their 75-year wait for Sam Maguire on Sunday.
It’s been said to me many times, mostly from non-footballers, that we should be supporting our Connacht neighbours when they get to Croke Park. That never sat well with me at all, and so I wasn’t shouting for them last Sunday.
We all know plenty of Mayo people, fine footballing folk mostly. We can be happy for them individually, sure. That doesn’t mean we have to support them.
I had a few conversations in the days leading up to the match where it was pointed out that Mayo mightn’t even be in the top five teams in the country. It was the luck of the draw more than anything that got them to the final. Just like a lot of predictions and conclusions drawn from championship games this year, that couldn’t have been further from the mark.
Moran hinted after the match at that obvious underestimation of his team. He made the fair point that they beat a Louth team in the semi-final, who themselves had beaten Dublin and Armagh earlier in the championship.
Dublin and Armagh were the teams Kerry beat in the quarters and semis, so there was a fairly simple line of form there that should have indicated Mayo were at least on a par with the Kingdom.
It’s easy to look back and say that makes sense now. In the build-up though, no one could present a compelling argument in favour of Mayo being able to live with Kerry. I thought the only way Mayo could possibly win was if there was a severe underperformance by Kerry.
That’s not the way it played out. Yes, Kerry might feel they underperformed, but it was more a case of Mayo not letting them play than them just not showing up. From pillar to post, I thought Mayo were outstanding.
Even in the first quarter, it felt like they were playing well, on top even, yet they still found themselves six points down. Seán Ó’Shea looked awesome at that stage and David Clifford had already scored 1-2. Yet the reason Mayo were six points down at that stage was more to do with the fact that they were dropping shots short. Everything else about their play was excellent.
Still, they could have very easily faded away at that juncture. Instead, their leaders stood up. Jack Carney and Ryan O’Donoghue, among others, dragged them back into it.
The most striking thing about them was their athleticism all over the field. Their high press will rightly come in for huge praise. Winning a short kickout became a disadvantage for Kerry. On countless occasions, Mayo forwards squeezed in on them and forced high-value turnovers.
A high press like that requires great athleticism and teamwork. Mayo pressed in unison, and so time and again Kerry defenders were left with no options but to carry the ball into contact.
By contrast, Kerry’s press was disjointed. On any occasion they tried to press high up on Mayo, even at the end when they simply had to get possession back, a basic handpass over the top was always enough to get Mayo out of trouble.
There were outstanding performances throughout the team, from McHugh and McBrien, in particular, at the back, along with Jack Carney in midfield, but I’d have given the nod for Man of the Match to Ryan O’Donoghue. He may even have reopened what I thought was an open-and-shut case of the Footballer of the Year debate. Maybe it doesn’t have to be David Clifford.
Regardless of individual awards, regardless of the result, I felt Sunday was a truly incredible sporting occasion. I had no skin in the game, yet I felt nervous watching it. The tension, the intensity, the quality — it was all there. Everything needed to make a sporting occasion special.
I thought the final day of the US Masters last year, when Rory finally won the Green Jacket, might have been the greatest television sporting experience I’d had. This was right up there with it.
I feel it was a real full-circle moment for Jarlath Burns, Jim Gavin and the FRC. The bold aim was to make Gaelic football the most enjoyable amateur game in the world to play and watch. In year two under the new rules, we had a fantastic championship, and it was capped with one of the best finals we’ve seen. Job done.
From a parochial point of view, when we Rossies sit back and look at the championship as a whole, and remember last May and then look at where Mayo have gone since, it’s not too hard to join the dots and see the potential that’s in our team.
For now, as good as it was to watch that match on Sunday, all that matters is our ladies’ football team next Sunday in Croker.
I met one of them as she was dining out at the weekend. She was glowing with excitement at the prospect of lighting up the biggest stage in this country.
As I said to her, Croke Park is a place where good footballers play well. Let’s hope the Rossiettes go out and express themselves and, just like Mayo, write a new script.
