That was an outstanding graigue ballycallan team. Saw them play a challenge game in cork one day. They had a frightening side. Threw it away v athenry.
Jesus but we had some night on the beer the night before. Have to hand it to the Graigue boys & girls, theyāre well able to drink
For a city Waterford seem to have an fair few lads whoās dadās played inter County before themā¦ Eoin and Ken mcgrath, Paul and pat flynn,Brian and jim greeneā¦ Iām sure theres more I canāt rememberā¦ O sullivans from ballygunner maybeā¦
Tony Browne is Fad Brownes grandson. Fad played for Waterford In the 30s. Jim Greeneās father Paddy was a sub on the Waterford team that got to the All Ireland final in 1938. PĆ”draig Fanningās granduncle Larry and grandfather Pat both played for the county in the 40s. Noel Connors father Noel and uncle Pat played in for the county in the late 70s and early 80s. Eoin Kelly and Dan Shanahan are first cousins. Patrick Curranās father Pat played in the early 80s. Stephen and Shane Bennettās father Pat played in the early 80s. Stephen Framptons grandfather Charlie Ware played in the 30s and 40s. Iām sure there are a load more.
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Their has always been a crazy streak to people down them parts.
Mullinahone won county in 2002 but failed to go onto win another one. Toome very strong I suppose.
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On to the next phase of memories - going for individual players and performances. Later in the week we will go for individual moments.
Best performance you saw from a player from your county
Best performance from a player against your county
Best performance from a player swimming against the tide trying to keep your team in it but ultimately coming up short.
Best performance you witnessed as a neutral
If you could have any player, past or present to add to your countyās current team who would it be?
Best impact player off the bench?
The player who always made you think that the jig is up and the game gone from your team when you saw him warming up or coming on.
The what could have been - what player did you feel really showed promise but never fully delivered on it it got the chance to do so
āBest performance from a player swimming against the tide trying to keep your team in it but ultimately coming up short.ā
I think this thread has well and truly jumped the shark now.
All weāre missing is best and worst pre and post match porter you ever experienced.
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"The best brother of an All star winner that never made it coz of {the drink | going to America | Hoorin} " thread is next.
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I met him at a funeral shortly before the shutdown, had a good chat. We have a mutual acquaintance so I must follow up on the engagements
Flattest performance: We have had a few awful displays in the first round of championship after making progress the previous season. Thurles in 1997 would likely be the worst, 14 of the team were awful while Ciaran played Tipp on his own with a Tour De France performance.
Toughest defeat: 1996. No more to be said.
Unexpected victory: Not much of a list to choose from here. The 1992 league final is the likeliest candidate when we pulled in a lead on a bad day to beat Tipp and restore hope. An honourable mention to the Tipp PRO who was working with me and scoffed when I told him in Spring 2000 that we would win two Munster u21 titles that year. I still remind him about it.
Moral victory: A short list as well, we dont get many of these, perhaps the 1992 Munster final comeback gave use hope for the future after the run of the game being against us.
Long grass: We caught Cork nicely in 2001 along with nailing Tipp a number of times this decade when they fully expected to win. 2013 was particularly sweet with following up to win the first Munster in 17 years.
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For me the 2014 win in Thurles was the sweetest day following the hurlers. Weād a flash in a pan year in 2007 and following the disaster of a league in 2014 with o Grady Iād little faith that 2013 wouldnāt be the same.
Best performance: Canning vs Cork '08. We lost, but he was just so spectacularly good that you couldnāt but hope for better days to come.
- Football: Padraic Joyce vs Meath 2001. Rank outsiders and against the much vaunted Meath fullback line. He destroyed them in the second half. Unreal.
Best performance vs Galway: DJ in Thurles in '97 springs to mind. But iād have to give the nod to Seamie Callinan in '15. He was outstanding. It took a concussion from a body slam courtesy of John Hanbury to stop him.
Football: Maurice Fitz in the replay in 2000. A bit cliched to nominate him but he was the difference between the sides.
Best performance against the tide: Padraig Kelly vs Kilkenny in 1993. Saw him with the club. An excellent wing back. Had Galway had more than a handful of games in the 90ās he would be way better known.
Football: Michael Meehan vs the yerras in the thunder storm in 2008.
Best performance neutral: Cliched, but the entire Kilkenny side in the final in '08. Just on another planet.
Football: Leftfield but iād go for Chris Barrett vs Dublin 2017. He was phenomenal.
Impact off the bench: Joint accolade to Niall Burke and Jason Flynn in 2017. Won the game for us.
Football: Kevin Walsh in the drawn all Ireland final in 2000. Was effectively marking two men and still managed to turn the tide for Galway. Turned a hammering into a game we should have won.
What could have been - Would love to have Michael Coleman on the hurling panel now. Himself and David Burke would be a brilliant midfield pairing.
Football: Tomas Mannion - A no nonsense defender who kept even the best forwards quite. Seriously underrated. Would be some addition to the current football panel.
Biggest regret at county level would be not beating a very beatable Tipp side in '01. Joe Rabbitte was reffed very unfairly that day. Would have lead to us doing the double that year.
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TomƔs Mannion was very highly regarded. A fantastic athlete and competitor. Handy at the rugby too, just like Ja.
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Nail on head
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An honourable mention to Ollie Canning on Eoin Kelly in the stadium in ā03 I think it was. Absolutely cleaned Kelly that day.
Didnāt matter, we lost by a point as per usual. Remember it being a big event having an actual championship game at home.
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Best performance you saw from a player from your county - Hard to pick just one - barring maybe two games you could list pretty much all of Brian Lohanās performances in Croke Park where he seemed to just dominate. My personal favourite performance is Conor McGrathās in the 2013 replay, especially in the second half when it looked like it could be going away from us. OāDonnell stole his thunder with the 3-3 but McGrath was the constant threat.
Best performance from a player against your county - Shefflin in 2006 was utterly unplayable, we matched Kilkenny all over the field for 60+ minutes but couldnāt get to grips in any way with Shefflin who must have hit 7 or 8 from play in a tour de force.
Best performance from a player swimming against the tide trying to keep your team in it but ultimately coming up short- Seanie McMahon v Tipp in 2001, Lohan v Limerick in 96, Conor McGrath and Conlon playing Wexford on their own down in Wexford park in 2014 when we had two lads sent off and almost pulling a win out of the bag.
If you could have any player, past or present to add to your countyās current team who would it be? Henry Shefflin, as good an all round hurler as I have seen.
Best impact player off the bench? Injuries have really held him back but Cathal McInerney is a great lad to come off the bench and take a couple of quick scores.
The player who always made you think that the jig is up and the game gone from your team when you saw him warming up or coming on - Daithi OāConnell, the fella managed to play over 20 championship matches for Clare but hardly ever starter, great pace but nothing else. You knew he would offer nothing unfortunately - Fergal lynch the other contender, normally thrown on in the last 10 minutes to try and win a puckout and would move about at glacial pace.
The what could have been - what player did you feel really showed promise but never fully delivered on it it got the chance to do so - Gearoid Considine was a very promising underage hurler and looked to have plenty of hurling but emigrated at around 23 and was a loss. Bobby Duggan looked an excellent underage hurler with all the skill to go with it but his temperament and workrate didnāt hold up.
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Canning was unreal that day. Never seen Kelly so beaten up a stick. Any other day he would have been left on but he was taken off with 10 mins to go I think. Lar came good that day with a lot of scores.
Always remember an interview with Kelly after that game. The sideline reporter must have got him as he was on the subs bench at that stage. He was asked was he disappointed with his own performance. His reply was brilliant. āI thought I did well keeping Ollie Canning to a pointā.
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Gearoid Ryan? Never remember him.
Munster final day 1992 I saw two of best performances Iāve witnessed,
Brian Corcoran for Cork and Paul Flynn for re Waterford minors
The day the Canon said that there was a big yellow streak going through the Tipp jersey
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