Six Crucial Moments in Recent All-Ireland Finals:
1
Johnny Dooley stands over a 21 metre free in the ’94 final
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMFUsN3OWo0#t=00m30s
The Daddy of them all. A fairly pedestrian All-Ireland final was drawing to a close when Joe O’Connor took the safe option and dragged down Billy Dooley 25 yards from Joe Quaid’s goals. Limerick had led more or less from the off and in truth, Offaly had never looked too likely to catch them. Then it all changed. Johnny Dooley seemed to ignore the advice from the line and aided by complacent organisation on the Limerick line, rifled the ball to the net.
Offaly went on to register an unanswered 1-5 before the final whistle, some would say Limerick are yet to recover.
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2
Eamonn Taaffe makes a brief cameo appearance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRHbI9yFy40#t=03m55s
Clare had been the story of the 1995 season, winning their first Munster Championship in 63 years enroute to the final and had captured the imagination of the public in doing so. Their opposition were the 1994 version. Having destroyed Kilkenny in the Leinster championship, Offaly looked set on establishing themselves as a major power within the game. As the came neared its end, they still looked to be on track. Clare had matched them in nearly every quarter, but had been undone by a bad David Fitzgerald mistake which gifted Offaly a fluke goal, and a fantastic poacher’s goal from Johnny Pilkington which re-established Offaly’s cushion after a Clare revival.
Clare needed a break and in the hope of finding one, Ger Loughnane took a chance a gave Eamonn Taaffe his championship debut in the toughest circumstances imaginable. Taaffe duly obliged, and with his first touch of the game drilled a rebound from a long range Daly free to the roof of the net. Clare led for the first time of the game and with momentum on their side, drove on to capture their first All-Ireland in 81 years.
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3
Gary Kirby’s ‘accident’ in 1996
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lf27H2nqcY#t=0m38s
'96 was to be Limerick’s year of redemption. The nightmare of '94 had been eased somewhat by an immensely impressive Munster campaign, the highlights including a thrilling victory over reigning champions Clare and an incredible comeback in the final against Tipperary. On the other side, Wexford were the latest side to join the hurling revolution and had earned a long deserved Leinster championship through an impressive performance against Offaly. They followed this up with a scintillating display against Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final, and set up one of the most eagerly anticipated finals in living memory. The game was cast as a series of key battles between the towering figures on both sides.
One of these was between the swashbuckling duo of Martin Storey and Ciaran Carey, the other between the diminutive defensive general Liam Dunne, and Limerick’s ace marksman Gary Kirby. It was an exchange between the latter duo which was to provide one of the most enduring talking points of the game. A dropping ball between the two left Kirby with badly damaged hand, an injury which allowed him to continue only with greatly reduced effectiveness. Limerick struggled badly to fill the gap and Wexford carried the day by a narrow margin. Would a fully fit Kirby have changed the outcome? It’s a debate that won’t be settled anytime soon.
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4
Brian McEvoy roasts an ill Brian Whelehan, forcing Michael Bond to move Whelehan to the attack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZY5G1y0g3U#t=0m25s
'98 was as dramatic a year as the hurling world had seen for some time. Controversy dogged the campaigns of the two main protagonists, Clare and Offaly, and when the dust had settled it was Offaly who had found their way to their third All-Ireland final in five years. Kilkenny by contrast had slipped under the radar. A low key Leinster championship, followed by an unipressive win over Waterford was sufficient to get them to the big day in September.
As the game settled however, it looked as if they had played their hand quite well. Offaly struggled to get to the pace of the game, while Kilkenny seemed to be comfortably moving through the gears. In particular, Brian McEvoy was making hay at wing forward, where Offaly talisman Brian Whelehan seemed poweless to stop him. The flu-ridden Whelehan, was moved to the Offaly attack in the last throw of the dice by Michael Bond. Rarely in the history of hurling has any change made such a dramatic difference. Whelehan scored 1-6 as Offaly came to life and swept Kilkenny aside in a dramatic win.
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5
John Leahy has a chance to bury Clare
The fresh faced Clare side which captured the '95 crown were a whole new animal by September of ’97. The three traditional powers had been dispatched enroute to the final, and they longer seemed to be taking it in such good spirits. A very public spat between Ger Loughnane and Tipperary PRO Liz Howard had added a whole new dimension to the rivalry, and when Tipperary steamrolled over Wexford in the semi-final, the stage was set for a classic showdown. The new backdoor system added a degree of novelty to the occasion but in truth it was just a sideshow. The real story was the old facing off against the new. No traditional power had featured in a final since 1993, and in the meantime the hurling world had been turned on its head.
Tipperary had come to Croke Park to restore order. They started like a team that meant business. John Leahy and Declan Ryan turned back the clock and repeatedly combined to split the Clare defence open. At the break Tipp had earned themselves a cushion of four points, but Clare emerged after half-time in a very different mood. An immediate score from wing back Liam Doyle set the tone, as a 0-10 to 0-06 deficit was transformed into a 0-17 to 0-12 lead. Tipp hung on through Liam Cahill and Eugene O’Neill goals, but Ollie Baker and Jamesie O’Connor had restored Clare’s lead with only minutes left.
And so the ball broke to John Leahy. Leahy symbolised lots of things about Tipperary in the eyes of the average Clare fan, not all of them good. If there was one man who was to win the All-Ireland for Tipp however, he was the most likely candidate. As Leahy bore down on goal Brian Lohan came charging from his left hand side in the hope of rushing him, and so Leahy picked his spot and went for broke.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_tmYaiuiqU#t=06m26s
As dramatic a climax to a championshipseason as you are ever likely to see.
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6
Diarmuid Kirwan intervenes in last year’s final
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKm1RvmEh3w
Kilkenny’s grip on the game of hurling was as strong as ever in 2009. Valiant efforts by Galway, Dublin, and Waterford had all fallen considerably short as the Cats marched on an historic fourth consecutive All-Ireland in September. If one side had any hope of stopping them it was the one they faced. After the fiasco of Babs Keating’s second coming, Tipperary had installed a young, forward looking management team and had reaped the rewards. Tipp were hurling with an intelligence that many felt might truly put the kingpins to the test, but doubts lay in their ability to stay the course in the face of the most ruthless machine the game of hurling had ever produced. Tipp had made a habit of fading badly in championship clashes, and while at their best they could match anyone, suspicions of a soft centre hung over tem throughput the year.
With 60 minutes played, Tipp had answered all their critics. Standing toe to toe with Kilkenny, their young team had hurled at a whole new level, matching the champions in every regard and they deservedly led by two points with just ten minutes left. Most importantly, their defence had held the potent Kilkenny attack goalless, and in doing so had established a sense around the ground that the game was theirs for the taking. The man in the middle, referee Diarmuid Kirwan, had allowed for a fast paced, hard hitting game by intervening only when absolutely necessary. However, his intervention in the 62nd minute changed the face of the game. Martin Comerford latched onto a loose ball and off-loaded to Richie Power who charged at the Tipp defence. Paul Curran stood his ground, and held Power at the edge of the large square. Kirwan’s whistle sounded and Kilkenny were awarded as controversial a penalty as the All-Ireland final has ever witnessed. Henry Shefflin duly dispatched the ball to the net, and with the psychological advantage restored, the Cats powered home to their fourth title on the trot.
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