Reflections on senior football championship
Brian and Finan Reynolds celebrate St. Michael's Junior A football championship success against Clann na nGael on Saturday last. Picture: Gerard O'Loughlin
The Fahey Cup is in St. Brigid’s for the winter. Given the champions’ age profile, it will take something special to get it back from Jerome Stack’s side.
Here are my six talking points over the course of the championship.
When we entered the new Millennium, Clann na nGael were top dogs with 19 SFC titles. Roscommon Gaels were next in line with 16 in the roll of honour.
Kilbride won the historic Millennium championship to secure title number six — the same as St. Brigid’s.
Fast forward 23 years and the landscape has changed dramatically as the Kiltoom men are rapidly closing in on Clann na nGael at the top of the leaderboard.
St. Brigid’s have won 12 titles since 2000. Their latest crown on Sunday week last moves them joint second with Roscommon Gaels on 18.
In the same period, Clann have only won two titles, so the pendulum has very much swung in the favour of the Green and Red. With another young and exciting team on the horizon, the gap looks likely to be closed even further over the next few seasons.
It has been a remarkable two decades of success for St. Brigid’s. The plans are in place to overtake their southern neighbours along with plotting another provincial crown.
Pádraig Pearses haven’t contested a final since becoming Connacht champions in 2021. It suggests that they’re stuck in a rut.
With a little more composure and patience along with being braver against Boyle in this year’s semi-final, they might have got a shot at St. Brigid’s in the decider.
It was so unlike Pearses to lose a close game coming up the home stretch as they have been the masters at winning dogfights. On this occasion, they left the handbrake on for too long and didn’t back themselves in the photo finish.
The 2019 and 2021 history-makers still has the cohort of players that changed the club’s mindset, turning them into champions. They will remain serious challengers over the coming years.
In recent seasons, the club has developed talented U-20 teams who will be joining the senior set-up. More potential is emerging up front but they need to back that up with big results at senior level.
Right now, Boyle should park the bus and try to switch off from dwelling on another heartbreaking SFC final defeat by a point.
Of course, that’s easier said than done for Cian Smith and his brave warriors who have given so much over the past two seasons and will feel that they’ve got nothing in return.
They will look back on both finals as massive opportunities that got away. In time, however, they will know how close they were to climbing Mount Everest and winning the Holy Grail of Roscommon club football.
Coming back this season proved that the North Roscommon men have character, guts and determination. Cian Smith has got them mentally tougher and they are in great physical condition. They need to trust themselves and truly believe they can win the senior championship.
After all, they have beaten St. Brigid’s, Pádraig Pearses and Clann na nGael over the past 12 months and only lost out to a very good St. Brigid’s side by a point in this season’s championship final.
The next step is to keep what they do well and hatch a plan to get more scores from a talented attack if they are to shed the bridesmaids tag. They also need both Enda and Donie Smith in a Boyle jersey in 2024 and their brother Cian to give it another crack as manager.
Maybe Roscommon Gaels are waiting for next season, which will be the 20th anniversary of the club’s last senior football championship success in 2004.
If their recent semi-final defeat to St. Brigid’s is the benchmark, however, then the town side appear to be a long way down the road from climbing the winners’ rostrum. The recently-crowned champions dismantled a feeble Gaels challenge with ease in the penultimate game of this year’s championship.
Frankie Dolan’s men only produced one half of sparkling football this summer against Boyle, scoring six goals in the opening group game. After that, they scraped a draw with Western Gaels and rode their luck against St. Faithleach’s and Oran to reach the semi-finals.
They have some exciting young players whom they must build a team around over the next few seasons as some of their older brigade might not go to the well once more in 2024.
For the last three years, Oran have failed to jump the SFC quarter-final fence. At this stage, it is becoming a mental block for the Mid-Roscommon club.
Against Strokestown in 2022, they were two points up and a man to the good with ten minutes to play, and lost. This summer, they kicked 0-16 against Roscommon Gaels and seemed to have the game won on three occasions. But they conceded three goals and ended up losing on penalties in a game they should have won. They cannot expect to keep getting those chances as St. Brigid’s, Pádraig Pearses or Boyle might be waiting for them in the quarter-final next season.
While it’s great that Oran are maintaining their senior championship status, they must take the opportunities of progressing to a senior semi-final when the door opens because they will regret it once this talented team slowly falls back into the pack at the bottom end of the championship.
Then a different type of pressure of trying to stay up will begin to emerge.
Since 2004, Western Gaels have been a proud senior club and ever present at the top table of championship football. During that period, they have produced some brilliant footballers who have gone on to represent Roscommon at all levels with great distinction.
Over the past few years, however, their focus has shifted to one of survival with last day close shaves against St. Croan’s and Strokestown keeping their proud senior record intact. But fighting relegation battles can become a habit.
Western Gaels have been seeking one group win, which would transform their mindset to a potential quarter-final game rather than preparing for a scrap at the bottom.
Long-serving loyal players, who have played in county SFC finals, have kept the ship from going under but they now need fresh young players to inject life into the club over the next few seasons to ensure that senior football remains on the football fields of Frenchpark and Ballinagare.
On a weekend that gave us an extra hour in bed, my Tuesday Teaser team were up bright and early with the correct answer.
Can you name the first Irish soccer player to score a Premier League goal? It was Bernie Slaven for Middlesbrough.
QPR, Frenchpark, was first to pull the curtains, with Fr. John McManus PP, Castlerea; Liam Dooley, Ballyhaunis; John Croghan, Bundoran; Michael Scally, Ballaghaderreen; Murt Hunt, Ballyhaunis; Aidan McCormack, Ballaghaderreen; John Wynne, Kilteevan; Mary Gilfillan, Kilmore; Luigi, Ballyhaunis; Paddy Conlon, Taughmaconnell; Mick Fetherston, Dublin; Pat, Sligo; Paddy Boland, Youghal; Gabriel Ward, Lytham; Mary McCarthy, Holloway; Kevin Flanagan, Dartford; Seán Toolan, Heston, and Michael Kearns, Clapham, also resisting the temptation to sleep in.
This week’s Teaser: Can you name the last father and son who each scored a goal in an All-Ireland SFC final?
Answers by e-mail to willieefc@gmail.com or by text to 086 8356227. This week’s teaser comes from London?
Over the past 30 years, Luke Dempsey has been one of the most consistent GAA club and intercounty football managers on the circuit.
He’s still up to his old tricks as he guided Killoe Young Emmets to this seasons Longford SFC title. On Sunday, he faces one of his old flames, St. Loman’s, Mullingar, in the quarter-final of the Leinster Club SFC.
In 2016, Dempsey was in charge of St. Loman’s as the Mullingar men retained their SFC crown for the first time in their history. The secondary school teacher led the Westmeath champions all the way to the Leinster club final before losing out to another of his former clubs, Moorefield, who he had managed to the Kildare SFC title in 2014.
On Sunday, the Longford champions welcome St. Loman’s to Glennon Brothers Pearse Park — do not bet against the wise old head getting Killoe over the line.
Star pupil: Fiachra Henry who scored 2-12 for St. Michaels as the North Roscommon club claimed the Junior A football championship title. The young centre-forward produced one of the greatest-ever individual performances by any player on county final day.
Crucial win for: Everton away at West Ham as it takes the Toffees clear of the relegation places.
Much do better: Referee Wayne Barnes got some big calls wrong in the World Cup final between South Africa and New Zealand on Saturday night.
Spot of bother: Éire Óg paid a huge price for not putting the IFC final to bed after dominating the opening 45 minutes last Sunday. Pat Doory’s men could only watch on in horror as Castlerea St. Kevin’s cashed in on their winning lottery ticket.
Weekend highlight: What is it about Roscommon intermediate football finals — not even Santa Claus could have delivered the drama that unfolded at Dr. Hyde Park last Sunday.
What a cracker: An intriguing Galway SFC final this Sunday as Don Connellan’s defending champions, Moycullen, face the kingpins from Corofin who are seeking their first title since 2019.
“I was once told, ‘if you have the power to eat alone in a restaurant, or sit alone in the cinema, then you have the power to do absolutely anything you want in life’.
Since Pep Guardiola joined Manchester City in 2016, they have earned 145 more Premier League points than Manchester United.
How appropriate that Everton’s first game since the death of Chairman Bill Kenwright was against West Ham United who is managed by former Everton manager David Moyes who was, without doubt, Bill Kenwright’s greatest-ever appointment during his chairmanship of the Merseysiders.
