One of Down’s most famous and greatest players Paddy Doherty famously climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand to collect Sam Maguire and made the shortest speech in All-Ireland history.
Down had just beaten The Faithful County.
On lifting the cup aloft Doherty was heard to say: ‘Thanks awfully (Offaly)’.
With that Doherty left the Hogan with the cup.
That was Paddy then.
Doherty still has that cheeky wit to this day but I was reminded of that story when I saw Shane Lowry, the New British Open champion, a man steeped in the GAA, lifting the Claret Jug with the cheekiest of smiles.
Lowry looks like many of our fellow GAA members and has always been known for his down to earth and humble way.
I can’t claim to know much about golf but whenever there is a GAA link, nothing makes me more satisfied than to see one of our own become a champion.
In a way, despite his critics, Jim McGuinness has been on a similar journey in the last decade and I suspect that his adventures aren’t over just yet despite things not going to plan in the USA.
McGuinness has achieved a huge amount in the eight years since 2011.
There is no doubt that he will bounce back, I am sure for driven individuals like McGuinness and indeed Lowry, who have come under huge personal scrutiny, it is the defeats which make them who they are, not the winning.
‘Success has many fathers’ was a quote made famous by JFK.
Donegal, before McGuinness was handed the reins, had a mere five Ulster titles to their name.
They now have 10, double that number in a decade.
Five of those were under the leadership and captaincy of Michael Murphy, who for me is probably one of the best six forwards of the last 20 years.
Even at this stage in his footballing career he already has secured his legacy.
However knowing what I do about Michael Murphy he would not settle for this.
There is nothing wrong with the game of football when it is played in the spirit of Kerry and Donegal.
Players like Murphy and Ryan McHugh make the game as a spectacle look easy, but that’s a testament to just how good these guys are.
For those who have played at that level, they should come some way to appreciating the physical and mental demands of any inter-county game.
In many cases, it is the totally unfair criticism directed at players from those who should know better (as they have played the game), that irks managers, supporters and perhaps in some way the players themselves.
Rather than identify any one individual or comment but already this year, Michael Murphy has been openly questioned on delivering on the big occasion, while Paul Geaney similarly has been hanging onto an inter-county career by a ‘thread’.
These have been sweeping comments without any real factual base (especially given both these players performances last weekend).
In the same way that one swallow doesn’t make a summer, should one game or performance make a footballer?
Does an equally bad one also relegate us to the dustbin?
The word ‘great’ is bandied about far too often on this, I agree - at times we do blow players up far too much especially within media circles.
However to paraphrase a former well-respected inter-county footballer ‘perhaps all of us look back at our careers with rose-tinted glasses and think we were better than we were.’
And I think he was right.
Comparing players of different teams and eras has always been a pointless exercise for me.
Yes. it can create a debate especially where GAA communities gather together but really good players will adapt.
Great players will always be great players because they can adapt to various styles and situations.
Donegal have gone through a cycle of development since Jimmy McGuinness built and laid his foundations for success.
On this rock he built Donegal GAA’s church.
Declan Bonner, in his second tenure as manager, has adapted to get the best out of Murphy and many other players like McHugh, McBrearty and Langdon who have come to the fore in the last number of seasons.
The question is can they beat Mayo in two weeks’ time?
I think they can and will.
I believe a match in which a result is needed by both Mayo and Donegal will benefit Tir Chonaill in the long-run.
After all, that monster Dublin lie in wait.
And Tyrone get the first chance at slaying that monster.
I would say it is the perfect opportunity to try something different from Mickey Harte’s perspective.
Perhaps re-create the game-plan used to great effect in their National League win earlier in the year.
As the second-half demonstrated with Cork last weekend, Tyrone have an abundance of character and individual metal within their squad.
At half-time, Tyrone looked in real trouble- especially with a looming Dublin fixture to come.
I said last week that this was their biggest game and Tyrone responded with their best second half of any game this year to beat Cork by three points – an eight-point swing.
At inter-county level, this isn’t easy.
Again, Tyrone made it looked easier in the second-half because their intensity levels changed as did their direct running.
You can be critical of Cork but sometimes you have to accept that the better and more experienced team won.
I believe that Cathal McShane and Mattie Donnelly playing together closer to the opponent's goals is the only way Tyrone will stand a chance against Dublin (Peter Harte also needs to play closer to both of these players).
Not playing this way and reverting to a more defensive approach will beat 99 per cent of other teams don’t get me wrong, but that headache - Dublin - will ultimately remain in the way.
If you excluded Dublin in this era, you could argue that Tyrone would invariably have been champions in 2018.
Tyrone probably don’t get the praise they should or credit when it’s due and in some way I sympathise.
Some of the incidents that some Tyrone players have been involved in doesn't win them much support countrywide.
I don’t think it is consigned just to Tyrone though.
Increasingly disappointing is feigning a head injury popular currently in order to encourage the branding of a particular colour of card or as a way of ‘killing-time’.
For me, I remember a time when you wouldn’t want an opponent to know he hurt you.
Then again, maybe I am like my contemporary, guilty of thinking I was more honest than I was.
