The train back to Cork was like a morgue kid.
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It was when it stopped in Charleville anyway.
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2000 in pairc I coiamh. I was up all night after a load of yolks. I had the feeling walking down. It was written in the stars. The end of an era. The day the music died. I had a strange feeling of satisfaction at the end. I knew it was over. The greatest 5 years of my life in sport and dance music. The crushing comedown. It all came together in one day. Looking back it was the end of a relationship too. Emblematic. Declan Ryan and Paul Shelley running riot. The horrible chanting in the ears
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Kildare:
Flattest performance - 2013 Qualifier v Tyrone. Last game of McGeeney tenure. At home to launch one last hurrah at an All Ireland series and they couldnāt have been flatter. It was a poor game that they couldāve won with any sort of decent showing but it just wasnāt in the tank.
Toughest defeat to swollow - 2 games from 2011 here. Lost AISF to Down in a tough defeat in 2010 and there was a feeling the team were proper contenders in at a time that the Kerry/Tyrone dominance of the noughties had wanted and Dublin has yet to become a behemoth. Leinster Semi Final against Dublin was all on the last kick free given to Brogan. Eamon Callaghan had led a stirring comeback to level it into injury time and Dublin get a horribly soft free to win it. Then the QF against Donegal - robbed of a win in normal time after a perfectly good goal by Tomas OāConnor was chalked off by the officials not knowing the square ball rule, then collapsing in extra time after being 3 points ahead at the break. This was the height of the McGeeney era and to lose the best chance at an All Ireland through these two loses was a bitter pill to swallow.
Most unexpected victory - 2016 Qualifier Round 4 v Cork. Had no real expectation of winning this game. It was probably more of Cork not turning up but it was still a great scoring display. Probably a curse really, due to the annihilation filed out by Kerry in the QF.
Most unexpected moral victory - 2008 QF v Cork. After losing to Wicklow in the first round of Leinster and a laboured struggle through the qualifiers, I had a fear that Cork (just off beating Kerry) would open our holes on a national stage. A three point loss and a creditable defeat was a good outing really and set-up better years under McGeeney.
Best long grass victory - 2010 Qualifier v Derry. Written off by many given the trip up to the fortress of Celtic Park and the shock loss to Louth in Leinster. Derry got an absolute hockeying, it was the Eamon Callaghan show all day long.
2008 v Limerick and 2013 were very similar. Limerick were strong favourites going into both games and in fairness were more than a tad arrogant (myself included). In 08 Ollie Moran goaled just after half time and I thought wed turned the corner. Stephen Lucey had one of his worst games in the jersey.
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Flattest performance
KK v Galway - 1986 AI semi final. Think we won the league that year, Naughton had a great game
Toughest defeat to swollow - 2010 and the Drive for Five. We would have had a better chance with the two boys fit on the day
Most unexpected victory - John Lockes Intermediate Final win v Thomastown, 1993. We werenāt given a chance, great win for the parish
Most unexpected moral victory - We donāt do moral victories
Best long grass victory - 2006 AI final win over Cork. The running game in its pomp, plus the grass was actually long that day. Vivid memory of seeing @Piles_Hussain running into the field after the final whistle, bending down and taking up a clump of grass then throwing it up in the air in thanks
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Long grass. Waterford 05 in Cusack park. They thought theyād walk all over us. I was flying to Ibiza the next morning. No sleep was had
Flattest performance - where would you begin with Waterford. Probably the 2003 qualifier against Wexford in in Nowlan Park. We waltzed into Kilkenny after a narrow defeat to Cork in the Munster Final, thinking we were going to walk all over the strawberry munching cunts and were sent home with our tae in a mug. Bizarre interlude too where the game was held up looking for John Mullaneās contact lens.
Toughest defeat to swallow (not swollow you cunt) - Limerick 1974. We had done the hard bit. We beat Cork in Walsh Park. Cork were NHL champions and favorites for the All Ireland. We had them beaten up a stick with 10 minutes to go. Then Pat O Grady hit a 21 yard free wide and Pat Flynn (Paulās dad) left a ball from Liam O Donoghue through his legs for a goal. Limerick won by a point. The cunts.
Most unexpected victory Cork Walsh Park 1974. As above. We beat them 4-9 to 3-8 for our first championship win since 1967. Paddy Barry the Cork goalkeeper got sent off for attacking an umpire. I disgraced myself with the invective I doled out to the Corkonians and I recall my father socially distancing himself from me. Good times.
Most unexpected moral victory - Limerick 92 and 94 were contenders. We unexpectedly put it up to a very good Limerick teams both days. 1982 NHL semi final and replay were good too but Iād say the winner is the 2013 qualifier extra time defeat to Kilkenny. We put the shits up them that day, which was gratifying for a team that was treading water under the hapless leadership of Scully Ryan. We went on to win the minor that year and a new era began.
Best long grass victory - Got to be Clare in 2004. Justin made a cod of them in the league final the week before, playing Eoin McGrath at corner back and Ken at wing back. Ken was playing his first game for 6 months after a suspension for an alleged assault on rogue referee John Michael Kelly. Justin had laid the trap perfectly and we had the bodhran baters beaten out the gate after 20 minutes. It was a shame we couldnāt go on to win the All Ireland but such is life.
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Never apologise for dishing it out to Cork. Ever.
They have no respect for you, Waterford or anyone else.
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Flattest performance - Kilkenny in '07 Leinster Final. We had a fairly decent team that year. I think KK had steamrolled us in a league semi or quarter final. Meyler was experimenting with Rossi at centre back and Skippy at full back.
Shefflin was sent in to mark Skippy and for the only time in his career taught him a lesson. Skippy hauled off before half time and bate the shite out of the tunnel wall on the walk down it.
With the passage of time I think we can see we had a really good team that year and competed with everyone except KK who steamrolled us in that League game, Leinster Final and AI semi. KK steamrolled everyone that year.
Toughest defeat to swallow - every fucking replay we tended to get destroyed in. League Final in 93, Leinster Final or semi final in 93, AI Semi Final in 03. We barely fell over the line against Dublin in a replay in '07 or '08 I think. And again against Clare in 2014.
Yeāll be alright Iād say. Ye opened our holes enough times down through the years.
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2019 surely yeāre best chance to win an AI since 1996?
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Flattest - Leinster final v Galway in 2012. The type of performance Kilkenny just didnāt turn in under Cody. Second to every ball, ponderous and devoured physically by the opposition. The kind of trimming Kilkenny routinely dished out to others during their peak years.
Second would probably be against Galway again, in the 01 semi. Richie Murray was only a kid at the time and put Brian McEvoy on his arse before the ball was even thrown in which set the tone for the day. Shefflin got drawn in by Greg Kennedyās fuck acting as well. Kennedy eventually got sent off but Shefflin may as well have walked with him, his head was gone at that stage. Galway half back (Higgins?) had a beast of a game if memory serves me.
Toughest - 2010 no question. Given what was on the line I was convinced they would find a way to win no matter what Tipp threw at them. The whole circus around Shefflin and would he play or not was definitely a distraction. Brian Hoganās loss was massive as well, a real anchor at 6 which was magnified by his replacement basically playing on one knee. Tipp were excellent on the day to be fair but I was numb leaving Croker that day.
Most unexpected - probably a bit of recency bias but Limerick in last years semi is up there. Was just as convinced we would lose as I was convinced we would win in 2010. Whirlwind start and all the old guile came out as the game progressed to protect the lead. The Wexford defeat in the Leinster final left me thinking the team was a busted flush. The win over Cork in the quarters was a tonic but theyāre fairly flaky these days so I didnāt read too much info it. Beating the reigning all Ireland, Munster and league champions with a performance like that though was serious.
2013 qualifier win over Tipp has to feature here as well. A raft of injuries, a team running on fumes and Tipp coming to town smelling blood. There was a whiff of sulphur in the air that night in the park. It was an evening game on scorching day and the closest thing Iāve experienced to a crucible atmosphere. Much like 2010 a Shefflin injury featured again only this time he came in off the bench late on. His introduction gave the team and the crowd the impetus which just about carried us over the line.
Moral victory - not too many of these where Kilkenny are concerned but 2017 v Waterford comes to mind. A rousing last 10 minutes after a fairly abject showing up to then forced extra time. Waterford dominated thereafter but as a south Kilkenny man living a few miles from Waterford it gave me something to cling onto when facing the firing line in the following days that they couldnāt beat us in 70 minutes.
Long grass - Cork 2006. Cork going for 3 in a row and displaying plenty of their own unique brand of up their own hole manship. JJ ruled out and probably outnumbered 3 or 4 to 1 up there on the day. The team gave a display of controlled and disciplined ferocity that Cork just couldnāt live with and seemed to break them mentally and still donāt seem to have recovered.
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Iāve done everything possible to erase that from my memory. Itās definitely up there but Iād class the other games up there with it. In many ways they were more heartbreaking than last year. Last year was magnified because of the 15 odd years of absolute shite that went before it.
Flattest Performance: Club All Ireland Final 1993 v Sarsfields. Never got going. 2015 just as bad. Too many to count at County level.
Toughest Defeat: AI Final 1996. That was it for that team and we knew it.
Unexpected Victory: we always expect to win 
Munster Final 1980 against Cork.
Moral Victory: too many. 2014 v KK. Just missed that bit of experience.
Long Grass: Cork 2001 āThe mediaā!!!
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Most unexpected - most might assume KK in '04 but thatās for another category. Limerick in '01 is what Iād put in here. I know KK beat us in the Leinster Final but I canāt remember if it was a hammering or a close one. Iāll guess a hammering as for once the Wexford crowd didnāt even travel for the Limerick game.
A few U21s were thrown into the team to throw caution to the wind. Nicky Lambert scared the shite out Timmy Holohan in the first minute and threw him off. Rory Mac scored one of the best goals seen in Croke Park. Iāve just thrown the highlights on here and Iām going to open a can and enjoy it.
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Flattest performance: plenty to choose from but Iāll go for 2013 against Clare. Never got going at all. Hannon had a meltdown, Hickey went off early, even the Dow fresh aired a sideline of memory serves. Let Clare win the handiest AI of my lifetime.
Toughest defeat to swallow: 2014 vs Kilkenny. We threw everything at them. Played out of our skins. It seemed like the ball would everything but go into the net at one stage. Closest a lot of those players got to the big one.
Most unexpected victory: probably Tipp 2013. We had been shite against Dublin in the league final and Tipp had destroyed them in the next game. Genuinely thought weād do well to keep it close. Great victory.
Most unexpected moral victory: you could make a case for KK 2014 again here but Iāll go for 2006 vs Cork. Coming from a complete shambles in Ennis and not having won a meaningful championship match in 5 years, we were expected to be cannon fodder to a team going for a 3-in-a-row. Instead, we have them a serious fright and, had luck been more on our side, we could have upset them.
Best long grass victory: definitely Waterford in 07. Waterford had been given way to much credit for the Munster Final. We were coming off of a double-extra timed trilogy and were level with about 10 mins to go before our concentration gave out and Dan went to town. Having played so well in the quarter final against Clare too, I really felt we were ready to ambush them (Michael Duignan openly saying they were already in the final the week before helped).
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Does Newbridge or Nowhere not feature?
Heās conflicted