Flashback: 2002 All Ireland SFC Round Four - Sligo v Tyrone
By Cian O’Connell
“It is still talked about in the county; what a huge win it was,” Dessie Sloyan acknowledges the 20002 All-Ireland SFC triumph over Tyrone remains a topic of conversation 18 years later.
Previously Sligo had threatened, but this was one day when the Yeatsmen delivered. That the performance and victory arrived at Croke Park, merely added to the sense of satisfaction. Respect had been earned. Ultimately in sport that is what is craved.
Through the Mickey Moran years Sligo enjoyed encouraging moments so Peter Ford inherited a team with talent. Hope existed, but Galway were in their pomp at the time so escaping from Connacht proved to be a difficult task.
The All Ireland qualifiers, though, brought opportunity and the 2001 GAA headquarters triumph over Kildare suggested Sligo were moving in the right direction. Reaching the 2002 provincial decider was the next step on the journey and though Galway proved too strong the Round Four encounter with Tyrone provided Sligo with a chance.
“I remember we were bitterly disappointed after losing the Connacht Final,” the polished Sligo forward Sloyan recalls.
“It was a terrible day in Castlebar, Galway beat us by a couple of points. We were disappointed with our display and I suppose going to play Tyrone in Croke Park gave us a great boost to get back on track.
“In Sligo we don't get that many opportunities to play in Croke Park so that was a huge boost for us. I remember we were all looking forward to it because we had tasted the experience the year before. The second year was even better. Playing Tyrone with their big names, we saw that as a great challenge.”
The tidings were positive in the north west, and with a solid foundation established Sligo were acquiring momentum.
“A good gang of us joined the panel in 1995 and ’96,” Sloyan reflects. “Mickey Moran came in 96 and spent four years with us His training was absolutely brilliant, everyone enjoyed it and it was all football.
Dessie Sloyan and Gerry McGowan celebrate following Sligo's win over Tyrone in 2002.
“Then that was followed on by Peter Ford which pushed us to a new level in fitness, that end of things. He brought in strength and conditioning, I think the four years with Mickey Moran came to fruition with Peter Ford in 2001 and 2002.
“That is what really stood to us on those days, the combination of those two managers, it was huge.
“We had a decent team in the late 90s and early 00s. We would have played a good standard in the League, we wouldn't have feared any teams, as such, at that time. The qualifiers for us were great. In 2001 we got Kildare in Croke Park, in 2002 it was even better again.
“We knew what was to be expected, and we played in double headers, big crowds at the games. I mean it was a huge boost for us as players to get up to Croke Park, that is what you want to do really.
“Playing Tyrone up there with household names like Peter Canavan, it was a massive boost for us in Sligo to go to play there.”
Sloyan, who planted 1-3 against Tyrone, felt that Sligo’s progress was now being reflected on the national stage. Out west Sligo’s emergence was known and accepted, but a wider audience was now exposed to the ability of their players.
“Definitely, we were so close to winning a Connacht title a couple of times, losing by a point to Mayo, and a few points to Galway,” Sloyan says.
“These type of things. We were always there or thereabouts. I think whatever it was when we got to Croke Park it really propelled us on a bit. People sat up and took notice of us after that.
“Definitely beating the likes of Tyrone, drawing with Armagh and getting beaten in a replay. Armagh went on to win the All Ireland that year and Tyrone went on a run after that.
Dessie Sloyan netted a vital goal for Sligo against Tyrone at Croke Park.
“I mean we were there or thereabouts, but that day against Tyrone at Croke Park was massive. The great joy the supporters got from going to see Sligo in Croke Park.
“That is what the qualifiers were really set out to do, to give the Sligos and the weaker counties a chance. We were lucky enough to be there at the right time, people could go to Croke Park to watch Sligo win games which was even better again, rather than just to go to play.”
While Sligo eventually secured western glory in 2007 and stayed highly competitive for a spell following that victory, recent years have featured demanding and demoralising losses.
Sloyan, who has managed the Sligo Under 20s this spring, is adamant that an exciting crop of players are being developed.
“I think it is going to take a couple of years to build it up,” Sloyan admits. “The current team is very young. Sligo went through a transition in the last couple of years. Maybe going down to Division Four isn't the worst thing in the world in that it could give them a couple of years to build them back up again, to give them a bit of confidence.
“Hopefully if the League is finished out they could get out of Division Four. When the other underage players come through hopefully those guys who are 23 or 24 now will be 27 or 28 with a bit of experience and be able to bring those lads on.
“You have a number of really, really good underage players at the minute, but they are only at the 17, 18, 19 stage. So it is going to take them another three to four years to get into the senior panel.
“I think the future is bright, but we have to be patient in Sligo at the minute, to give these guys time to come through.
“Hopefully that will pay off. St Attracta's and Summerhill have been doing well. Summerhill contested a Connacht Final again in the Colleges, that is a good sign. You have a number of very good players on that.”
Dessie Sloyan served as a Sligo selector alongside Paul Taylor and Paul Durcan under manager Kevin Walsh.
Critically, though, this group of players needs to be minded, on and off the field, according to Sloyan. “It is a matter of keeping those guys at it and interested,” Sloyan adds.
“With the work situation and people moving from here to college and abroad it is tough on the smaller counties with the smaller numbers. We can't afford to lose guys. It is something we have to do: look after our players. Once they do get their foot in the door to the senior team, they will hopefully develop a love for it and to stick at it.”
When his playing career with Sligo ended Sloyan, who has subsequently enjoyed coaching success with Easkey at various levels, became part of Kevin Walsh’s management team.
“I went in with Kevin, I knew Kevin at the time,” Sloyan replies. “I had trained the senior team here on and off, Kevin asked me to go in as a selector with him. I really enjoyed the four years.
“Then I came back to the club, I spent seven or eight years we won minors and I really enjoyed the club side of it. Training the young fellas, we were lucky enough to win a couple of titles at Under 21, minor and went on with the junior team getting to the All Ireland final last year.
“It is a huge commitment now and huge work. I went in with the Sligo Under 20s, but I'll take a break from it because your personal life does suffer - workwise and commitment to the family wise. It is the next best thing to playing, it does draw you back.
“I get a great kick out of it, especially with young fellas eager to learn. They are looking for information and are like sponges. It is great to see those fellas improving when you are coaching. You get a great kick out of that. When you see these fellas playing well and enjoying that is what it is all about really.”
Sloyan brought that sense of adventure and abandon to Croke Park during some of Sligo’s greatest ever GAA hours.
Taking Tyrone’s scalp and going so close in two thrillers against Armagh illustrated what could be achieved. The daring Sligo summer of 2002 is still fondly recalled.
