Tony Scullion backs Derry to win Sam within five years

By John Harrington

Derry legend, Tony Scullion, believes the Oak Leaf county can win the Sam Maguire Cup in the coming years.

The Ballinascreen club-man and four-time All-Star played on Derry’s one and only All-Ireland SFC winning team in 1993, and thinks the current generation have the quality to follow in their footsteps.

"I believe Derry can win an All-Ireland over the next five years,” said Scullion, who was inducted into the 2026 Gaelic Writers Association Hall of Fame last Friday.

“We still have quality. Brendan Rogers, Conor Glass, Shane McGuigan. There is still time left in them. They look after themselves so well. We have a lot of good quality players through the spine of our team and I really do think we can win a Sam Maguire in that timeframe."

“A few years ago, when we won back-to-back Ulster titles. I really do believe we could have gone on to win the All-Ireland title then.

“But I don't think we are a million miles away yet. This year we played Monaghan in the Ulster semi-final. We were 10 or 11 points up, I was at the game, we were playing great football and we just stopped and everything went wrong in the last 10 minutes for us. We went into extra-time and got beaten.

“That Derry team never recovered from that day in the Athletic Grounds. Even leaving Armagh that day, I felt it was going to be hard to recover from because the game was there, we had a foot in the Ulster final and we lost.

"The players and management never recovered from that game. We fizzled out for the rest of the season. That game hurt us, we could have been in an Ulster final to play Armagh and it could have been a completely different story. And I still say, I honestly think we have a panel of players, a number of young players coming through, hopefully they'll get an opportunity in the league and I still think we are not far away from dining at the top table.”

Scullion also won three national leagues and two Ulster titles during his 13-year inter-county career, but believes his generation of players should have won another Sam Maguire Cup themselves.

"We were close in 1992, 1994, 1995, beaten by teams who went on to win All-Irelands in two of the years, Donegal in 1992, Down in 1994, and then Tyrone lost narrowly to Dublin in the 1995 final. We won three league titles, in 1992, 1995 and 1996. We had the capability. With a back door in place, we probably would have won a second one.”

Scullion played for Ireland in two International Rules series against Australia in 1987 and 1990 and regards the experience as a highlight of his sporting career.

He was also an International Rules selector under manager Paul Earley in 2013 and 2015, and would love to see the series against Australia revived.

"Absolutely,” he says. “I know it's a mixture of both codes but if you're playing either sport only, it's the only way you can represent your country. I played it, it's a great game. In the early stages there were things happening but there were great games played and in the right manner. Any player wants to represent their country and it's a great opportunity.

“When you look at the team I played on, it was made up of the best players. Yes, there might have been an odd one who couldn't play because of club involvement or injury. But I played with some great players.”

The Gaelic Writers’ Association awards, sponsored by Clayton Hotels took place at the Clayton Hotel, Ballsbridge on Friday night. The GWA Awards recognise the extraordinary contribution of current players and managers, and Tony Scullion was inducted into the 2026 GWA Football Hall of Fame.