TWO-TIME All-Ireland winner Conor Deegan is desperate for this generation of Down players to make their own history, and says you don’t get to pick and choose where you begin writing it.
The Downpatrick man starred on the edge of the Mourne backline when they stunned Meath at Croke Park in 1991 to capture the county’s fourth All-Ireland SFC title. Thirty-two years on, Down and Meath will be back at Headquarters this Saturday, this time to compete in the Tailteann Cup final.
It’s been nearly three decades since Down got their hands on a significant piece of silverware – when Deegan helped them lift both the Anglo-Celt and Sam Maguire cups in the glorious summer of 1994 – and Deegan insists it isn’t an option to turn your nose up at the trophy on offer this Saturday.
“There’s guys playing in that squad now whose fathers I played with, so I think that gives you an idea of the timeframe we’re talking, it’s been a poor time for Down football for far too long,” the former Allstar said.
“It [Tailteann Cup] may be deemed a B championship, but it’s a final in Croke Park and teams should use that a stepping stone, which they both need to do. I mean, they’re not royalty in any shape or form, but they [Down and Meath] do both have a tradition of some sort and they need to be playing at a higher level on a more consistent basis to start pushing forward in a realistic manner.”
Conor Laverty’s men have already met Meath in this year’s Tailteann Cup, a Group Two clash tempered by the fact that both teams had effectively qualified for the knockout stages. While Colm O’Rourke’s Royals won that encounter in Parnell Park, Deegan says Down have developed in the meantime, beating tournament favourites Cavan and hammering Laois on their way to Saturday’s decider.
“They’ve since bedded in a bit of belief and self-confidence in what they’re doing,” Deegan, who managed Queen’s University in this year’s Sigerson Cup, added of his native county.
“The match against Cavan was a very big game for Down, followed up by Laois. They’ll be playing on a completely different pitch, completely different size. I don’t think it [the group game] will have a huge bearing on it, for either side.
“Down kicked 16, 17 wides against Meath and then were ruthless against Laois, so if you’re somewhere in the middle of all that, you’re probably not too bad.
“The styles are very contrasting in some ways – you’ve a Down side that like to set up to hit you on the counter-attack, they’ve a lot of pace, they’ll have six or seven bodies going forward with pace; Meath are looking the ball a little more directly. So I think the contrasting styles themselves are intriguing, how each team deals with the other is obviously going to have a huge bearing on it.
“I think the pace that Down bring to the game can be very difficult to defend against, unless you’re set up very solidly. That being said, a long early diagonal ball going in is very difficult to defend against. I think Down will probably have the favourites tag, they will feel quite comfortable and confident going in, so it’s quite an intriguing game.”
At the start of what became an all-conquering summer in 1991, there was little expectation that Down would do anything special. At the time, they hadn’t won Ulster in a decade and their last All-Ireland success was back in 1968. By 1994, Conor Deegan had two All-Ireland titles, two Ulsters and an Allstar against his name.
Victory in this Saturday’s decider won’t herald the same type of watershed for the current crop of Mourne footballers, at least not instantly, but Deegan is loath to downplay its significance.
“The last time we won anything of merit was ’94, so it’s bordering on 30 years. It’s far, far too long,” he said.
“People talk about droughts, Jesus, we’ve a scorched earth policy at this stage, so this game is important and it’s needed and if it’s embraced properly by the teams that need to embrace it, I think we’ll all benefit from it.
“We were down at the [Croke Park] pitch [on Tuesday], you wouldn’t get on to it now, but we were down pitch-side and it was lovely. It was very, very quiet, but the sun was out and the pitch is amazing.
“It’s a massive change as a stadium from when we played in it, but there’s no point looking back, what happened happened a very long time ago and, I mean this, what we’d all love, my generation, the players that I played with, we’d love to see these boys start to write their own history and really kicking on and building something that we can all really enjoy and can be part of.
“I’d love to see them win an All-Ireland in my lifetime. It’s 30 years that’s gone by, more or less, since we won one and I might not have another 30 years in me, so I hope they get a move on!”
