All-Ireland Club Final Team Guide: St. Vincent's
All-Ireland Club Final Team Guide: St. Vincent's
By Arthur Sullivan
Ahead of their AIB GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Club Championship Final against Castlebar Mitchels on St. Patrick's Day, we take a closer look at Dublin and Leinster champions St. Vincent's
Click here for detailed guide to Castlebar Mitchels
WHO ARE THEY?
The reigning Dublin and Leinster senior football champions, the most successful club in the history of Dublin GAA and one of the most famous and respected GAA clubs in Ireland. Based in the suburb of Marino, on the northside of Dublin city, St. Vincent's have become synonymous with success at all levels in Dublin GAA.
They have won 26 Dublin senior football championship titles, but it was in the 1950s and 1960s that the club, as it is today, was truly born. They won 22 Dublin senior titles between 1949 and 1977, including seven in a row from 1949-55.
The figure of the late Kevin Heffernan looms large over the club. A legendary player during the glory years of the 1950s and 1960s, Heffernan went on to achieve greatness as Dublin manager in the 1970s and 1980s and his name is bound up inextricably with St. Vincent's. A number of Dublin's all time greats are also Vincent's greats, such as Tony Hanahoe, Jimmy Keaveney, Brian Mullins and Bobby Doyle, while Pat Gilroy, Dublin manager from 2009-2012, is also a major figure at the club.
"The thing that really marks St. Vincent's apart is that despite all of those successes and people with lots of medals around the place, everybody would treat those people exactly the same as everyone else," said Gilroy in an interview with GAA.ie last summer.
"They're not put on a pedestal. There's a great humility to the place which I think really sets it apart. It's a club where you're as likely to see Brian Mullins being the chairman as you are to see him going out and cleaning the laneway on a 'club clean day'. That's kind of what's expected of you. It's not written down and there's no creed or rule, that's just the way it is."
PATH TO THE FINAL?
St. Vincent's won their first Dublin title in six seasons last November when they defeated Ballymun Kickhams after a replay in the county final. A superb free from Diarmuid Connolly in injury-time rescued a draw for Vincent's in the first game, and they had to come from behind in the replay as well, having trailed 1-2 to 0-0 early on, and 1-5 to 1-2 at the break.
However, Vincent's performed heroically in the second half, kicking the final four points of the game to seal a 1-9 to 1-8 win, with Cameron Diamond kicking a late winner.
In the first round of the Leinster Club Championship, St. Vincent's faced Westmeath champions St. Loman's. The Dublin champions had played both their two games against Ballymun in the week before this fixture, had Connolly suspended and had centre-half-back Ger Brennan sent off after just seven minutes of the game.
Yet they produced a dogged display to keep the Westmeath side at bay and take a 0-11 to 0-9 win. "I played on some good teams," said their manager Tommy Conroy after the game. "I went watching some great teams in Vincent's but I think now that team, what they did against Ballymun and what they did today is fantastic. We were down in the second half and to turn it around shows great character."
In the Leinster semi-final, they defeated Meath champions Summerhill 1-14 to 1-10. Minus both Brennan and Connolly, it wasn't an easy task for St. Vincent's, but a brilliant display from former Dublin regular Tomás Quinn saw them advance to the final. Quinn hit 1-8 in the win, 1-4 of which came from play, in a stirring exhibition of his attacking talents.
St. Vincent's booked their place in the All-Ireland semi-finals with victory over Portlaoise in the Leinster final back in December. It was a remarkable game in Tullamore, with Vincent's finishing the stronger to take a 3-12 to 3-9 win. The lead changed hands many times throughout the match, and with six goals flying in either side of half-time, it was hard to keep track of things at times.
However, inspired by points in the closing few minutes from Quinn and Connolly, Vincent's sealed the victory, the fifth Leinster senior title in their history.
In the All-Ireland semi-final against Ulster champions Ballinderry Shamrocks last month, Quinn delivered another outstanding individual display in a 2-14 to 1-13 victory. He hit 1-8, 1-3 from play, and laid an easy goal on for Ciarán Dorney with a wonderful foot pass. Quinn did most of his damage early on, scoring a brilliant goal on seven minutes before setting up Dorney four minutes later.
Despite the goals, Vincent's only led by one at the break. However, they kept popping up with scores at crucial times in the second half, with Quinn and Connolly in particular delivering when it mattered most.
PLAYERS TO WATCH?
Ger Brennan and Diarmuid Connolly played key roles on the Dublin team that won All-Ireland titles in 2011 and 2013, and remain central to the hopes of Jim Gavin's side today. Suspension affected their involvement in some of their club's Leinster campaign, while Brennan did not feature in the All-Ireland semi-final due to injury. He is expected to be fit for Monday, however. Connolly showed just how important he is to Vincent's in the latter stages of the All-Ireland semi-final, scoring three crucial points in the second half.
In the inside forward line, Tomás Quinn has been brilliant all season. He contributed a tally of 1-23 in the Leinster Club Championship, 1-9 of which came from play, and it is his ability to carve out scores from play as well as his free-taking credentials that make him such a key player for St. Vincent's. Arguably his best performance of the season so far came in the All-Ireland semi-final against Ballinderry. He hit 1-8 of his side's tally, and his goal was worthy of any game. He received the ball with his back to goal, a good distance away, and in the blink of an eye swivelled, confusing his marker, and lashed a magnificent right-footed shot past a stunned Michael Conlan into the net.
Ciarán Dorney and Ruairí Trainor are dangerous presences alongside Quinn in attack while Shane Carthy and Eamonn Fennell add further to the St. Vincent's riches around the middle third, where Brennan and Connolly are already prominent, anchoring defence and attack respectively.
STRENGTHS?
A very strong running team, St. Vincent's are capable of moving the ball very fast through the centre of the field, as evidenced by their goals against Portlaoise in the Leinster final, and in the All-Ireland semi-final.
Athleticism, speed and intelligent use of the football appear to be pre-requisites for players on the St. Vincent's team, and if they get a run on the opposition, they are capable of racking up a big score in a short space of time, much like the Dublin inter-county team at the moment.
With Quinn and Connolly in attack, Vincent's possess two forwards of the absolute highest calibre, and they are likely to make the most of whatever chances come their way. Although both will be very closely marshalled by the Castlebar defenders, they don't need much time or space to inflict damage, and both clearly possess big-game temperaments.
Perhaps St.Vincents' greatest strength is their name. As Dublin champions, they carry a considerable fear factor with them, and the way they marched through the Leinster championship suggests they are hungry to make the most of their foray outside of the county, much as they did in the 2007/2008 season, when they went on to win the All-Ireland title after ending a run of 23 years without a county crown.
ON THE LINE?
St. Vincent's are managed by Tommy Conroy, himself a former St. Vincent's and Dublin senior footballer. Conroy played at centre-half-forward on the Dublin senior football team that won the All-Ireland in 1983, and won an All Star in the same position two years later in 1985.
Having worked in various roles at the club over the years, Conroy took over the senior team in January 2012, and has Seán Brady and Neil Curran working alongside him.
TRACK RECORD?
Although the vast majority of their success predates the inception of the All-Ireland Club Championships, St. Vincent's have still made their mark on the competition.
They won the first of their two titles back in 1976, defeating Roscommon Gaels in the final. That made up for a 1973 final defeat, after a replay, to Nemo Rangers of Cork. They reached the All-Ireland final again in 1985, but came out on the wrong side against Munster opposition once more, with Kerry's Castleisland Desmonds defeating them on that occasion.
St. Vincent's didn't emerge again from Dublin, or of course Leinster, until the 2007/2008 season, but they spectacularly made up for that drought by landing their second All-Ireland crown that season. They won it the hard way too, defeating the two most successful clubs in the history of the competition in the semi-final and final respectively.
They defeated Crossmaglen Rangers in the semi-final before a thrilling 1-11 to 0-13 win over Nemo in the final. A large proportion of the panel that will be involved on Monday won All-Ireland club medals that day, with Brennan, Connolly and Quinn all to the fore.
St. Vincent's play Castlebar Mitchels on Monday at Croke Park. Throw-in at 3.45pm.
