Do a Limerick one and @Rocko would need a new server
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It’s difficult to pin down Limerickness
“That’s Limerick Citaaay”
Is there a Cork one 
Hallelujah
Can someone do the honours please ?
Is Lee Keegan the best player to never win an All-Ireland? I have him at number two
independent.ie | January 11, 2023 02:30 AM
Not that it in any way detracts from his status as an exceptional talent. Is he the best footballer not to have won an All-Ireland medal? Close, in my view, but not quite No 1.
That honour goes to Dermot Earley who, ironically, was born in Mayo before the family moved to Roscommon where he went on to become one of the county’s greatest stars.
Here’s my top 20 players who didn’t win All-Ireland medals over the past 50 years . . .
1 Dermot Earley (Roscommon)
From playing inter-county minor at the age of 15 to retiring at the age of 37, there was so much about Earley that marked him as an all-time great. It was his – and Roscommon’s bad luck – that their best years (1977-’80) coincided with a period when the great Dublin and Kerry teams were so dominant.
2 Lee Keegan (Mayo)
A warrior in every sense, his retirement has seriously reduced Mayo’s chances of ending the barren run this year.
3 Mickey Kearins (Sligo)
His excellence was all the more remarkable in an era when classy forwards were fair game for the darkest of arts by ruthless defenders.
4 ‘Nudie’ Hughes (Monaghan)
It takes a special talent to be equally successful as a defender and attacker. He reached that level, winning All-Star awards at No 2 and No 15.
5 Glenn Ryan (Kildare)
“The rock, the anchor, the inspiration, a man with the heart of a lion” – Mick O’Dwyer’s description sums it up well.
6 Kevin O’Brien (Wicklow)
What a pity he never got a chance to experience the glamour occasions. He would have thrived in them.
7 Eugene McKenna (Tyrone)
With the exception of Peter Canavan and Seán Cavanagh, I rate him the best Tyrone footballer of the last 50 years.
8 Declan Browne (Tipperary)
Players from lower-ranked counties have to be especially good to win one All-Star – Browne achieved it twice.
9 Joe Kernan (Armagh)
Managing Armagh to their first All-Ireland title was his biggest achievement but it shouldn’t be forgotten that he was an outstanding performer in a 16-year playing career.
10 Matty Forde (Wexford)
His sublime range of skills made him a box-office attraction for everyone except opponents who had to deal with his tricks.
11 John Galvin (Limerick)
“I could count on one hand the number of days he didn’t perform at a very high level” – Former Limerick manager Liam Kearns at the end of Galvin’s 15-year career.
12 Paddy Moriarty (Armagh)
Another from the exclusive club occupied by players who won All-Stars as a defender (1977) and attacker (1977).
12 Peter McGinnity (Fermanagh)
Nominated seven times for an All-Star between 1974 and 1983 but won only one award.
14 Tony McManus (Roscommon)
He had to wait until his 13th season to win an All-Star award (1989). Quite bizarre.
15 Dessie Dolan (Westmeath)
There was style and elegance in how he played the game. Those qualities were – and remain – all too rare.
16 Harry Keegan (Roscommon)
Right-corner back isn’t noted for producing multiple individual All-Star award winners but Keegan managed it three times.
17 Liam McHale (Mayo)
Whether a midfield, centre-forward or full-forward, his fielding, passing and game-reading were of the highest order.
18 Keith Higgins (Mayo)
Four All-Star awards is a remarkable haul for a defender but then Higgins was a formidable performer for many years.
19 Noel Roche (Clare)
He is arguably the greatest Banner footballer of all time.
20 Paul Barden (Longford)
He played for 16 seasons across three decades, maintaining the highest of standards.
Glory days beckon for western pair
Who would have predicted a Mayo-Sligo All-Ireland club hurling double? Probably nobody, but it could happen on Saturday when Tooreen and Easkey bid to win the intermediate and junior finals in Croke Park. Reaching the finals is a major achievement for two clubs from two lower-ranked hurling counties, underlining the good work in Tooreen and Easkey,
In both cases, they beat Galway champions in the Connacht finals – Tooreen overcoming Killimor and Easkey edging out Ballygar before reaching the All-Ireland final with wins over Liatroim Fontenoys (Down) and Kilburn Gaels (Lonlon) respectively.
Monaleen (Limerick) and Ballygiblin (Cork) will start as strong favourites to wreck the Mayo-Sligo dream but having beaten the champions of Galway, where standards in all championship are always high, the Connacht pair won’t be in any way overawed. Irrespective of how they fare, Tooreen and Easkey are inspiring examples for similar clubs everywhere.
Opting out discredits Lilies and Louth
IF Louth needed to beat Wexford to qualify for the O’Byrne Cup semi-finals, would they have withdrawn from tonight’s scheduled clash? No.
If Kildare had a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals, would they have withdrawn from the scheduled meeting with Westmeath? No.
Whatever about the merits or otherwise of pre-season tournaments, if counties enter them they have a responsibility to fulfil all fixtures.
Instead, Louth, who are already in the semi-finals, decided to grant a walkover, which was of no use to Wexford who couldn’t reach the semi-finals. Kildare opted out too, telling the Leinster Council they couldn’t field a team. Bet it would be different if they had beaten Louth last Sunday.
Counties withdrawing from competitions isn’t exactly an auspicious start to the new season and will obviously lead to a rethink for next year. Meanwhile, Kildare and Louth have discredited themselves.
Who wrote that shite?
Brehony,I should have known.
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Gentleman
The list king
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Micky Kearins and Nudie Hughes at 3 and 4 
I’d say he wrote that while sitting in traffic
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Was Noel Roche better than Tubridy?
Yeah but he was brutal at doing the toy show
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You’d almost have a grudging respect for Breheny. He’s managed to make a good living for 40 years producing this type of absolute scutter.
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Dessie Dolan - I don’t recall him being much else other than decent.
The whole point of column inches to fill newspaper lists is that the choices are ridiculous.
Like if you were doing, say, a list of the greatest association football goals of all time, and wanted some clickety click reaction - and that and being all out of ideas are the only reasons you do lists - you’d throw in Diego Maradona’s second goal against England in 1986 at number four, and have it behind Ryan Giggs against Arsenal, Messi’s goal in 2007 against some diddy Spanish team and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s overhead effort in a friendly against England. These lists have to be wrong to generate reaction.
Job done, Mr. Breheny. Jam.
@anon67715551 might be able to correct me on this but Mickey Kearins may be the best sheep rustler never to win an All Ireland.
Edit it might have been cattle rustling.
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Ah here 
Mickey Kearins single handedly beat Dublin in an All-Ireland semi-final. Not as a player mind, but as a referee when he awarded two ridiculous penalties and sent off Keith Barr for nothing after Dublin had taken a seven point lead against Cork.
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