It's 30 years since the dramatic climax of the most significant summer in GAA history
There's a Mick Deegan interview from 27 years ago that makes it clear, with hindsight, how far Dublin have travelled in recent times. Deegan won an All-Ireland alongside Jim Gavin in 1995, and was a selector under him for the first four years of his tenure as manager. But, back in 1998, the Finglas man was musing on the perception that Dublin had fallen a long way from the highs of the Heffo era. "Well, Dublin in the '80s lost two All-Ireland finals in '84 and '85, we won a League in 1987 and lost an All-Ireland semi-final in 1989 we should maybe have won,'' he said. "Meath and Cork were coming good then, but really, our record wasn't so bad. There are always big expectations of Dublin, it's like they are the Manchester United of Gaelic or something. And Dublin have been very consistent in the 1990s. I mean we went to three All-Ireland finals and won two National League titles." That's the way it was in the lean years. Forced to talk up losing All-Ireland semi-final and final appearances. It is accepted that Ger Brennan has taken over a squad in transition, but Dublin went 16 years from 1995 to 2011 without lifting Sam. They went without an All-Ireland from 1983 to '95 too. Nobody expects their current dry spell to go anywhere near double figures. It is 30 years today since Deegan and Gavin (below) won their only All-Ireland as players, and that Sunday - September 17, 1995 - capped a summer that changed everything on the GAA landscape.
Jim Gavin
(Image: ©INPHO/Lorraine O'Sullivan)
It was a heatwave summer with one of the great hurling breakthroughs. It was the year of Jayomania, widespread TV coverage of the Championships for the first time, the opening of a gleaming 21st century stand in Croke Park, Clare shaking off the shackles of the past, and an exciting and innovative ad campaign from Guinness tied in with their hurling sponsorship deal. Would Wexford have won the 1996 All-Ireland if Clare hadn't shown what was possible. The Banner's success in '95 inspired Waterford too, who always felt they were, at the very least, Clare's equals. In 2002, Waterford would win their first Munster title in 43 years. You can trace a line from the hype and hoopla that surrounded Jason Sherlock to the present day. Without Jayomania, would players have agents now? Would the GPA have come into being? Would commercial endorsements by GAA players be so common? It was also the year of Blur v Oasis, Steve Collins v Chris Eubank, Pat Falvey v Mount Everest, and Sonia O'Sullivan v the world. On that September Sunday, Dublin beat Tyrone by 1-10 to 0-12 in the All-Ireland football final. But the scoreline only tells a fragment of the story. Most of the Dublin players had been there for the four games against Meath in 1991 and the gut-wrenching defeats to Donegal, Derry and Down in the following three years. It was a dog of a game, and Dublin just had that extra bark and bite. But most figured they'd fallen over the line against a Tyrone team that could hardly have leaned heavier on 24-year-old Peter Canavan - he scored 11 of their 12 points. Charlie Redmond's goal made all the difference, but he was at the centre of controversy too. With 46th minutes on the clock, Redmond was sent off by referee Paddy Russell but confusion then reigned. Redmond stayed on the pitch for another two minutes before a linesman alerted Russell.
Mick Deegan and Charlie Redmond hold the Sam Maguire cup with Sarah Redmond in it in 1995
(Image: ©INPHO/Lorraine O'Sullivan)
Late on, there was another incident that led to heat and fire. Tyrone were a point down but Sean McLaughlin thought he'd kicked them level. He'd taken a pass from Canavan but Russell ruled that the ball was played on the ground. The fall-out was toxic. Dominic McCaughey was the Tyrone County Board Secretary - and still is - and he raised the possibility of an appeal over Redmond's refusal to leave the pitch when sent off. "We do not want to appeal lightly and we know that we could stand accused of wanting to take the title from Dublin by other means, having failed to do so on the field of play,'' he said. "But rules are rules and if the Central Council decides that a player who was sent to the line failed to carry out the decision of the referee, then they will have to decide what action must follow and if the decision should be that the title is awarded to Tyrone then no blame can rest on us." Maybe the roots of Tyrone's antagonism towards RTE dates from 'The Sunday Game' that night with Colm O'Rourke claiming that Tyrone had nothing to moan about as Redmond didn't score during his extra two minutes on the field. Things took an even more farcical turn the following day when a caller to RTE's 'Liveline' programme pretended to be Tyrone midfielder Fergal Logan and exonerated Redmond of any blame. It was Dublin's first All-Ireland in 12 years but they didn't even win another Leinster title until 2002. The lessons were heeded when Gavin went into management. Think the war on hype on his watch isn't partly rooted in the Jayomania of '95? Sherlock was one of Gavin's coaches, and played a big part in their attacking system. Paul Clarke, the other wing-forward with Gavin from 30 ago, was in the Dublin backroom team too. Dessie Farrell was outstanding for the Dubs that summer. He took over as manager from Gavin - winning two All-Irelands - and he was the driving force behind the GPA, for good measure. Deegan was there as a selector and also managed the Dublin juniors to the 2008 All-Ireland - with a team that contained Jonny Cooper, Eoghan O'Gara, Darren Daly and Denis Bastick. And the man who broke Dublin's barren spell in 2011 was Pat Gilroy - another teammate from 1995. In 1996, Tyrone retained Ulster but were bullied by Meath in the All-Ireland semi-finals. When they made their breakthrough under Mickey Harte in 2002, they showed the lessons learned from '95 and '96. Nobody would push Tyrone around in the noughties. They became utterly ruthless, and with a cynical edge, if that was what was needed. They adopted a siege mentality - which was rooted in what happened to them 30 years ago? Dublin's lesson? To drive on, and keep on driving. Jim Gavin was made by the fall-out from 1995. Who knew then that they were watching a young man who might end up as President of Ireland?
