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Roscommon-Armagh: A rivalry revisited

Roscommon's Dermot Earley celebrates with his son David after victory over Armagh in the 1980 All-Ireland SFC semi-final.

Roscommon's Dermot Earley celebrates with his son David after victory over Armagh in the 1980 All-Ireland SFC semi-final.

By John Harrington

Did you hear the one about the day a bare-footed Fran McMahon scored a headed goal for Armagh against Roscommon in Gaelic Park, New York, during the first match of a three-city tour to America the two counties embarked on 1982?

That’s just one of the colourful yarns that unspools when you chat to some of the veterans of two teams who struck up a rivalry in the 1970s and 1980s that developed into an enduring bond.

In those days Armagh and Roscommon were united by two factors. A common desire to break up the Kerry-Dublin duopoly of Gaelic Football of that era, and the classic All-Ireland semi-finals they contested with one another.

They first came together as a novel pairing for the 1977 All-Ireland semi-final.

Roscommon were Connacht champions for just the second time in 14 years, while Armagh had won their first Ulster Championship since 1953 so were even wetter behind the ears.

“It was something new to us,” recalls Joe Kernan, the midfield power-house of that Armagh team.

“That year we started the Championship and we were ten points down to Cavan at half-time and we won by a point in the end so that really got the ball rolling.

“The years before that we were hammered by Derry twice by 20 points and 26 points. So, the fact we got to an All-Ireland semi-final was an unbelievable achievement in itself.”

The fighting spirit they had shown against Cavan earlier in the campaign came to the fore against Roscommon again.

Armagh trailed by seven points at one stage, but fought their way back to earn a draw and then won the replay by a single point.

“I suppose the first day it nearly went past us before we realised it. We were lucky to hold out to get a draw,” says Kernan.

“The late, great Dermot Earley had a chance on the '50 and lucky for us it didn't go over because that would have sealed our fate.

“Both teams were very evenly matched and Roscommon had a lot of great players on show like Pat Lindsay, 'Jigger' O'Connor, Mickey Freyne, Harry Keegan, Tony McManus, Micheal Finneran, all great players.

“We felt relieved the first day and it stood to us the second day, even though it was very close again.”

Armagh and Roscommon supporters cheer on their teams in the 1977 All-Ireland SFC semi-final.

Armagh and Roscommon supporters cheer on their teams in the 1977 All-Ireland SFC semi-final.

Armagh would go on to give Dublin a run for their money in the All-Ireland Final but then wouldn’t make it out of their province again for another three years.

Meanwhile, Roscommon were heavily beaten in the 1978 All-Ireland semi-final by Kerry, but ended the year on a massive high when their U-21s defeated Kerry in the All-Ireland Final and then the seniors defeated the Kingdom in the Ceannarus tournament Final.

So when they won a third Connacht title in a row in 1979, they were hugely determined take the next logical step in their development as a team by beating Dublin to reach an All-Ireland Final.

“Before the Dublin semi-final in '79 we trained for a month solid before the match,” recalls Micheal Finneran, a rising star for Roscommon at the time who had the distinction of playing in both the minor and senior Connacht Finals on the same day in 1977.

“Lads would have taken the time off work for it. We'd train every morning from 10 o'clock until 12 o'clock.

“Then we'd go down to the Abbey Hotel or the Royal Hotel and have a bit of a salad. Then we'd go back to train from two until five, and after that we'd go back to one of the hotels again for a steak dinner in the evening.

“That was seven days a week. These boys getting half a million pound a week for playing soccer wouldn't do that!

“Dublin and Kerry were the big teams at that time and we wanted to be as good as them and as fit as them. It had to be done to get up to their level.”

Former Roscommon footballer, Michael Finneran, pictured on the far right, with fellow Roscommon natives Mick Boyle, Patsy Mulvihill, and Sean Slattery, in Finneran's pub 'Mannions Prince Arthur' in Tottenham, London.

Former Roscommon footballer, Michael Finneran, pictured on the far right, with fellow Roscommon natives Mick Boyle, Patsy Mulvihill, and Sean Slattery, in Finneran's pub 'Mannions Prince Arthur' in Tottenham, London.

Roscommon’s hopes of victory were boosted by the suspension of Dublin star-forward Jimmy Keaveney who had been sent off in the Leinster Final, but ultimately his absence did them no favours at all because his replacement Mick Hickey performed so well.

Hickey was faultless from frees, kicking eight from eight, and then in the dying minutes of the match landed his only point from play to win the game for Dublin.

For Finneran, the memory of that missed opportunity for Roscommon is a particularly painful one.

“I was left on the sideline until the last ten minutes,” he says. “You can ask the selectors about that one!

“I came on in the last ten minutes and I scored a goal and a point and I got the goal of the year past Paddy Cullen. Unfortunately, I had been left sitting down for an hour before I was brought on.

“The less said the better because I might insult or offend someone!”

Tony McManus was the outstanding forward on that Roscommon team, and also regards the ’79 defeat to Dublin as the most damaging they suffered of that era.

“Yes, I would say the '79 semi-final was our biggest blow,” McManus told GAA.ie. “If we had won that year we would have been beaten in the Final by Kerry, but the experience probably would have done enough for us to help us get over the line then in 1980 when Kerry were vulnerable.

“The Dublin match would have been the loss that was hardest to take for us in my time. It was a game we really should have won.”

Despite that disappointment, Roscommon dusted themselves down and won a fourth Connacht Championship in a row in 1980, hammering Mayo in the Final by 3-13 to 0-8.

Former Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Liam Ó Néill presents legendary Roscommon footballer, Tony McManus, with his 'Stars of the 80's' award before the 2013 All-Ireland SFC Final. 

Former Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Liam Ó Néill presents legendary Roscommon footballer, Tony McManus, with his 'Stars of the 80's' award before the 2013 All-Ireland SFC Final. 

Finneran and McManus both cut loose that day, scoring a combined total of 2-6, but the consensus was they’d find the going a bit tougher against an Armagh defence anchored by the fearsome Jim McKerr, who, as well as having reputation for being one of the toughest full-backs around, could also play a bit.

“Jim was a great footballer,” says Joe Kernan. “He had long hair and head-band, a real bandito.

“A cocky sort of a boy, but a good footballer. Very skilful. A great left foot and a good tongue to go with it!”

It looked like it was going to be McKerr’s and Armagh’s day when they led at half-time by 2-6 to 0-7, but Roscommon cut loose in the second-half, scoring 2-13 on the way to a spectacular six-point victory.

Once again it was McManus and Finneran who did the damage. McManus took McKerr for 1-2, but even that achievement was put in the shade by Finneran’s remarkable haul of 1-8.

“It was one of those days where everything I hit went over the bar,” recalls Finneran.

“I wish I had held something back for the final, because unfortunately we left the All-Ireland behind us.”

A Kerry team gunning for a third Sam Maguire Cup in a row provided the opposition in the 1980 All-Ireland Final and Roscommon looked capable of pulling off a shock when they raced into an early 1-2 to 0-0 lead.

But they couldn’t sustain that momentum, and bit by bit were reeled in by a Kerry team that eventually ran out 1-9 to 1-6 victors after a very scrappy game of football.

Kerry's Ger O'Driscoll in action against Roscommon's Pat Lindsay in the 1980 All-Ireland SFC Final. 

Kerry's Ger O'Driscoll in action against Roscommon's Pat Lindsay in the 1980 All-Ireland SFC Final. 

Watching from the stand, Armagh’s Joe Kernan couldn’t help but wonder what might have been.

“Without the Bomber, Kerry were vulnerable that day,” says Kernan.

“Roscommon started off well and had them on the rack and I left Croke Park saying that if we were to ever win an All-Ireland that was the day it could have been won.

“That made the disappointment of losing to Roscommon in 1980 all the worse.”

That Roscommon team went into a swift decline after the All-Ireland defeat to Kerry, losing to Sligo in the first round of the 1981 Connacht Championship.

They would never cross swords again with Armagh in Championship action, but the bonds from ’77 and ’80 endured and prompted both groups to come together and tour America for exhibition games in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles in 1982.

“We were that good friends by then we said we'd have a go at each other out in America,” chuckles Kernan.

“I think it came about over a pint. A couple of us came up with an idea, I was one of the Armagh boys involved, and we agreed it with the county board and then a few good, sensible Roscommon men went to their county board too and it was all arranged.

“They were great tough matches there too, nothing given and taken.

“You talk about the hot weather we’re having here now, it was unbelievable over there. New York was roasting and Los Angeles was even worse. Luckily for us we had all hydrated well for the week before!”

Joe Kernan was a powerful midfielder for Armagh in his playing days. 

Joe Kernan was a powerful midfielder for Armagh in his playing days. 

It was because of the heat that Fran McMahon felt obliged to remove his boots during the first match in the Gaelic Park, and he wasn’t the only one who suffered that day as the ‘hydrating’ of the previous few days took its toll.

“The first day in New York I don't think there was anyone sober at all, but things got a bit serious then after that,” says Finneran.

“We won that one by three points and when Armagh sobered up they didn't take it too well. The second game in San Francisco was more serious and Armagh won by three points.

“The final game then was in Los Angeles and that was coming up near championship level. All holidays were forgotten about!

“I think the third game was a draw, maybe we won it by a point, but for some reason we got the Cup anyway, I'm not sure why.”

A few of them can debate that point this Saturday when the meeting of their respective counties in the fourth round of the All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers will prompt a mini-reunion.

The bonds forged all those years ago remain strong, and there’ll be more than one or two balls hopped before the day is out.

“We always had a great rivalry and then that developed into some great friendships,” says Kernan.

“I'm sure we'll renew a lot of those friendships on Saturday, I’m really looking forward to it.”