29 June 2009
In recent years many have wondered at the exploits of Tyrone and Armagh, the “Big Two” of Ulster football. It may therefore come as something of a surprise to learn that Cavan are the true aristocrats of Ulster football, with five All Ireland titles and over forty Ulster titles.
The Cavan team of 1945-1952 contested five All Ireland finals in eight years. In 1945 they unluckily lost to a fine Cork side, enabling former Taoiseach Jack Lynch to win six All Ireland medals in a row. They famously won the All Ireland at The Polo Grounds in New York in 1947, and retained the title in 1948 beating the best ever Mayo side, a Mayo side that would win the title in 1950 and 1951.In 1949 they amazingly lost to Meath in the final when going for the three in a row, a result that was a big upset. In 1950 they lost to Armagh in Ulster, the first great Armagh side that reached the final in 1953, losing to Kerry having missed a vital penalty during the game.In 1952 Cavan won the title again, beating Meath easily. Captained by the immortal John Joe O’Reilly, and featuring legends such as Mick Higgins, Tony Tighe, “Gunner” Brady and Peter Donohue, this Cavan side could rightfully claim to be Ulster’s best ever team.They had lost to a fine Cork team, Meath’s first great side, a side that won two titles, and Armagh’s talented team. They had beaten Kerry in New York, and Mayo’s best ever side, and gained revenge on Meath. No-one beat this team twice.
No-one, that is, except Antrim. (Yes, Antrim.) Younger readers may be surprised to know that until the late 1950s Cavan, Antrim and Monaghan were the “Big Three” of Ulster football, with Cavan well above the other two. But from 1946 to 1951 Antrim were a force to be reckoned with.Antrim beat that great Cavan side in the Ulster finals of 1946 and 1951. They lost to Cavan in the finals of 1947 and 1948. The Antrim team of 1946 is considered to be one of the finest football teams in GAA history, given an entire chapter to themselves in Raymond Smith’s history of the game, “The Football Immortals”. And that was without winning an All Ireland.And the reason this team is remembered was due to their mastery of the hand pass. Using the open palm, this Antrim team wove patterns of forward play that mesmerised most teams. Ulster had first won the Railway Cup in the 40s, using the hand pass, as Armagh and Cavan could play that game as well.Antrim’s glory days had been between 1907 and 1913, seven Ulster titles on the trot, and two All Ireland finals in 1911 and 1912. Then came the slump before the great team of the 40s.The ’46 team contained the half forward line of Sean Gibson, Kevin Armstrong and Frank McCorry, rated by many experts as the best of all time. They faced the Cavan half back line of PJ Duke, John Joe O’Reilly and Simon Deignan, also rated by many as the best ever. In 46 Antrim beat Cavan by four points in the Ulster final, to set up a clash with Kerry in the semi-final.
That game was played on a sodden pitch after heavy rain in the morning, and was later subject to a protest by the Antrim board, but defeat was our lot. Kerry, as they have so many times over the years, adapted to the challenge by the simple expedient of blocking out, or taking out, the man who was waiting on the next pass. In the 30s Kerry had risen to the challenge of Laois and the great “boy wonder” Tommy Murphy by upping the physical stakes. They did the same against Antrim. In today’s vernacular, they 'beat the bejasus' out of Antrim. In a foul ridden match, Antrim’s biggest failing was that they kept on trying to walk the ball through an uncompromising defence, rather than shoot from further out. That Kerry side featured greats such as Joe Keohane, Paddy Bawn Brosnan, Paddy Kennedy, Jackie Lyne, Batt Garvey and “Gega” O’Connor.
The Antrim team that lined out was;
Harry Vernon, M.McMahon, F,Hamill, J.O’Hare, Billy Feeney, Geordie Watterson, P.Murray, Harry O’Neill, J.Gallagher, Gibson, Armstrong, McCorry, Patsy O’Hara, B.McAteer, and Joe McCallin.
McCallin was the uncle of Andy McCallin, Antrim’s only football All Star in 1971, and Kevin Armstrong and his son Donal both played in All Ireland hurling finals, a unique feat for the county.With one minute to go in that semi-final Antrim had battled back to be just one point behind, but conceded a goal to Kerry, before Armstrong scored the final point after a sparkling hand to toe run. The final score was Kerry 2-7 0-10 Antrim.In 1947 a Cavan team seeking revenge beat Antrim in the pouring rain at Clones in the Ulster final, a wet ball and pitch not helping a fluent hand passing team. Antrim fell again to Cavan in 1948 in the final.
In 1951 however Antrim fought back and beat Cavan in the Ulster final by a point. In the semi-final they faced Meath, winners in 1949, and they would win again in 1954.Down by 1-6 to 0-2 at half time the Saffron’s soon conceded another goal to trail by ten points. Antrim rallied however and Harry O’Neill fisted to the net to bring them right back into it. Patsy O’Hara had another goal, only to be brought back for a free to Antrim, the dreaded advantage rule proving to be controversial yet again. At the end there were two points in it, but defeat was again our lot.
Jimmy Roe, from Eire Og, played on that team. Jimmy was grounds man at Casement for many years after this, and in our youth, as we scaled the barbed wire from Moreland Park to bunk in to matches, we were terrified of him, as he roamed the grounds to repel all invaders.Cavan won the All Ireland the following year, but the tragic death of John Joe O’Reilly later in the year seemed to bring an end to their domination of Ulster football. They have not appeared in an All Ireland final since.
As for Antrim, well there was a strange twist in the tale. That Antrim team is remembered as the masters of the hand pass, a sweeping movement right down the field, demoralising many sides. But the hand pass was abolished in 1950 at congress. And guess who proposed the motion? Yes, Antrim. During the 40s Belfast clubs dominated the county championship, with the exception of 1943 when Creggan took the title. St John’s, Rossa, Sarsfields, O’Donnell’s, Eire Og, O’Connell’s and my old club Gael Uladh all claimed the title, all playing the hand pass. As far as can be gathered one of the rural clubs proposed that the hand pass be abolished, seeing this as a blow against the city clubs. Only in Antrim, eh? The motion was passed, and at Congress it was proposed by one P.Duffin from Antrim and eagerly supported by guess who?- yes, Kerry!
Since then, 1951, Antrim have appeared in one Ulster final - in 1970, a remarkable slump given the county’s playing resources.So the 1940’s provided us with glory days, when we beat one of the all time greats twice, the only county to do so. In hurling, we reached our only minor final in 1940, and appeared in the senior final in 1943.
What was in the air in that decade that brought us so much fame and glory? Whatever it was, it's high time that we recaptured it!
In recent years many have wondered at the exploits of Tyrone and Armagh, the “Big Two” of Ulster football. It may therefore come as something of a surprise to learn that Cavan are the true aristocrats of Ulster football, with five All Ireland titles and over forty Ulster titles.
The Cavan team of 1945-1952 contested five All Ireland finals in eight years. In 1945 they unluckily lost to a fine Cork side, enabling former Taoiseach Jack Lynch to win six All Ireland medals in a row. They famously won the All Ireland at The Polo Grounds in New York in 1947, and retained the title in 1948 beating the best ever Mayo side, a Mayo side that would win the title in 1950 and 1951.In 1949 they amazingly lost to Meath in the final when going for the three in a row, a result that was a big upset. In 1950 they lost to Armagh in Ulster, the first great Armagh side that reached the final in 1953, losing to Kerry having missed a vital penalty during the game.In 1952 Cavan won the title again, beating Meath easily. Captained by the immortal John Joe O’Reilly, and featuring legends such as Mick Higgins, Tony Tighe, “Gunner” Brady and Peter Donohue, this Cavan side could rightfully claim to be Ulster’s best ever team.They had lost to a fine Cork team, Meath’s first great side, a side that won two titles, and Armagh’s talented team. They had beaten Kerry in New York, and Mayo’s best ever side, and gained revenge on Meath. No-one beat this team twice.
No-one, that is, except Antrim. (Yes, Antrim.) Younger readers may be surprised to know that until the late 1950s Cavan, Antrim and Monaghan were the “Big Three” of Ulster football, with Cavan well above the other two. But from 1946 to 1951 Antrim were a force to be reckoned with.Antrim beat that great Cavan side in the Ulster finals of 1946 and 1951. They lost to Cavan in the finals of 1947 and 1948. The Antrim team of 1946 is considered to be one of the finest football teams in GAA history, given an entire chapter to themselves in Raymond Smith’s history of the game, “The Football Immortals”. And that was without winning an All Ireland.And the reason this team is remembered was due to their mastery of the hand pass. Using the open palm, this Antrim team wove patterns of forward play that mesmerised most teams. Ulster had first won the Railway Cup in the 40s, using the hand pass, as Armagh and Cavan could play that game as well.Antrim’s glory days had been between 1907 and 1913, seven Ulster titles on the trot, and two All Ireland finals in 1911 and 1912. Then came the slump before the great team of the 40s.The ’46 team contained the half forward line of Sean Gibson, Kevin Armstrong and Frank McCorry, rated by many experts as the best of all time. They faced the Cavan half back line of PJ Duke, John Joe O’Reilly and Simon Deignan, also rated by many as the best ever. In 46 Antrim beat Cavan by four points in the Ulster final, to set up a clash with Kerry in the semi-final.
That game was played on a sodden pitch after heavy rain in the morning, and was later subject to a protest by the Antrim board, but defeat was our lot. Kerry, as they have so many times over the years, adapted to the challenge by the simple expedient of blocking out, or taking out, the man who was waiting on the next pass. In the 30s Kerry had risen to the challenge of Laois and the great “boy wonder” Tommy Murphy by upping the physical stakes. They did the same against Antrim. In today’s vernacular, they 'beat the bejasus' out of Antrim. In a foul ridden match, Antrim’s biggest failing was that they kept on trying to walk the ball through an uncompromising defence, rather than shoot from further out. That Kerry side featured greats such as Joe Keohane, Paddy Bawn Brosnan, Paddy Kennedy, Jackie Lyne, Batt Garvey and “Gega” O’Connor.
The Antrim team that lined out was;
Harry Vernon, M.McMahon, F,Hamill, J.O’Hare, Billy Feeney, Geordie Watterson, P.Murray, Harry O’Neill, J.Gallagher, Gibson, Armstrong, McCorry, Patsy O’Hara, B.McAteer, and Joe McCallin.
McCallin was the uncle of Andy McCallin, Antrim’s only football All Star in 1971, and Kevin Armstrong and his son Donal both played in All Ireland hurling finals, a unique feat for the county.With one minute to go in that semi-final Antrim had battled back to be just one point behind, but conceded a goal to Kerry, before Armstrong scored the final point after a sparkling hand to toe run. The final score was Kerry 2-7 0-10 Antrim.In 1947 a Cavan team seeking revenge beat Antrim in the pouring rain at Clones in the Ulster final, a wet ball and pitch not helping a fluent hand passing team. Antrim fell again to Cavan in 1948 in the final.
In 1951 however Antrim fought back and beat Cavan in the Ulster final by a point. In the semi-final they faced Meath, winners in 1949, and they would win again in 1954.Down by 1-6 to 0-2 at half time the Saffron’s soon conceded another goal to trail by ten points. Antrim rallied however and Harry O’Neill fisted to the net to bring them right back into it. Patsy O’Hara had another goal, only to be brought back for a free to Antrim, the dreaded advantage rule proving to be controversial yet again. At the end there were two points in it, but defeat was again our lot.
Jimmy Roe, from Eire Og, played on that team. Jimmy was grounds man at Casement for many years after this, and in our youth, as we scaled the barbed wire from Moreland Park to bunk in to matches, we were terrified of him, as he roamed the grounds to repel all invaders.Cavan won the All Ireland the following year, but the tragic death of John Joe O’Reilly later in the year seemed to bring an end to their domination of Ulster football. They have not appeared in an All Ireland final since.
As for Antrim, well there was a strange twist in the tale. That Antrim team is remembered as the masters of the hand pass, a sweeping movement right down the field, demoralising many sides. But the hand pass was abolished in 1950 at congress. And guess who proposed the motion? Yes, Antrim. During the 40s Belfast clubs dominated the county championship, with the exception of 1943 when Creggan took the title. St John’s, Rossa, Sarsfields, O’Donnell’s, Eire Og, O’Connell’s and my old club Gael Uladh all claimed the title, all playing the hand pass. As far as can be gathered one of the rural clubs proposed that the hand pass be abolished, seeing this as a blow against the city clubs. Only in Antrim, eh? The motion was passed, and at Congress it was proposed by one P.Duffin from Antrim and eagerly supported by guess who?- yes, Kerry!
Since then, 1951, Antrim have appeared in one Ulster final - in 1970, a remarkable slump given the county’s playing resources.So the 1940’s provided us with glory days, when we beat one of the all time greats twice, the only county to do so. In hurling, we reached our only minor final in 1940, and appeared in the senior final in 1943.
What was in the air in that decade that brought us so much fame and glory? Whatever it was, it's high time that we recaptured it!