I JUST SMASHED IT AT HIM AND HE SAVED IT

In 2000, we played Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final replay. I was marking Séamus Moynihan and I had scored 1-9. It went into extra-time. With three minutes to go in the second period of extra time, the ball was kicked into me and I got it. I was straight through on goal and I smashed it because I felt, honestly, I didn't think I could miss because I was playing so well. I hit it, and Declan O'Keeffe saved it.

I just said "I'm going to smash it, because it's going in." Everything was running for me that day so I smashed it. It was straight at him. I could have slid it either side of him, but I just smashed it at him and he saved it. Jesus I have had some sleepless nights over that.

JOE KERNAN HAD US ALL GRIPPED AT HALF-TIME IN 2002

You know the story about him throwing his plaque from the 1977 All-Ireland final defeat against the wall? All those things happened. It's only when you think back on it, you realise. You sort of take things for granted whenever you're playing and when you're in that moment. But when you think back on it, he had us gripped with that team talk by firing the plaque against the wall.

Literally the plaque did go into little pieces. It was as if it had meant nothing to him. I think everyone looked at him and realised that. Part of the psyche with Armagh was 'we're making progress, we're making progress, we're in an All-Ireland final, it's going to happen' but in those situations, Joe made us realise in that moment that when you get an opportunity like that you have to seize it and I think that was the biggest thing for us.

I DIDN'T WANT TO BE REMEMBERED FOR MISSING A PENALTY

After I missed the penalty in the first half in the 2002 final, my thoughts were all a bit of a mess but the one person I really thought of was Bill McCorry (who missed a penalty for Armagh in the 1953 All-Ireland final defeat to Kerry).

He was buried the year before and the priest mentioned that he had missed the penalty at his funeral. He was remembered for that, no doubt about it. I remember my mother coming home from his funeral saying "that poor man, the priest mentioned that he missed that penalty". So in that moment, your mind flashes very quickly. I thought of Bill McCorry, of my family, and it's something you don't want to happen to you. You do go into the poor me thing. For the next couple of minutes you do get bogged down with the 'why me' stuff. But I was lucky. If it had have been the second half, I probably would have been taken off and that would have been the end of it. But I had half-time to refocus myself to get out in the second half and try and fix it.

COUNT TO ONE

The one thing when I'm coaching players now is to tell them 'count to one'. And some of them go "count to one? What are you on about?" But if you count to one, you do have that wee bit of space and that wee bit of time. I was coached that at a very early age. When you're a forward, count to one. So I remember going in when we created the chance for the goal in the second half. I looked at the goal and said "One". O'Keeffe (Kerry goalkeeper Declan O'Keeffe) made a move, and I put it near post, where I was going to put it anyway.

When I scored, I didn't know what to do. When I came back around from behind the goal, I was still sort of celebrating and going to myself "Yes!" John McEntee goes to me "We're still a point down - get your head back in the game." That gets you back into the game again. I think I won the next couple of balls, and you're on a high then and you think you can do anything.

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THE BEST PART OF WINNING FINALS

There's a couple of different moments. I really love the satisfaction of the final whistle going. I love being in the changing rooms because you're absolutely loving it. You know when you go to training and you finish training you're like a scalded cat, you can't wait to get out of there! But after a win in a final you sit around and you talk about the game, you get on the bus. You might have a beer on the bus or wherever you're going. People are ringing you and texting you, you're able to go through your phone and different things like that. The last point is just getting with your family, your wife, whatever it is. Taking it all in, the atmosphere with everyone. The fact that your family are proud of you and you've done something you can be proud of.

TYRONE AND 2005

The rivalry was unbelievable and it was a great, great time in Ulster football. But we still have regrets and I still have regrets.

That semi-final in 2005. TG4 did an All-Ireland Gold of it and I made the mistake of taping it. I sort of watch it through my hands sometimes. I watch some of it but then some of it you just find it so hard. I'm still plucking up the courage to get onto the last 10 minutes of the game.

That was a special game, a very, very good game of football. But we dominated that game and we couldn't kick the ball over the bar. We made a lot of stupid decisions. That's something that would annoy you. If you don't see the games again..but that's one that I've watched 55 or 60 minutes of it and I just cannot watch the last 10 minutes because I just know we should have won that game.

To me, that was our biggest loss ever. I think that was in my whole time playing with Armagh, that was the best football we played, in 2005. We were absolutely on fire that year.

THE INTENSITY AND EMOTION OF 2005 WAS UNFORGETTABLE

The changing rooms before we went out in 2005 to that game was just raw, raw emotion. The best way to try and describe it is that it was like John Hayes before Ireland played England in the rugby in Croke Park. That was the sort of thing that was going on in them changing rooms. Every player had that sort of emotion. It wasn't for the faint hearted. If you didn't like to go at it, if you didn't want a situation in your football career where you didn't want to go at it for 70 minutes, that changing room was not the place for you.

It was the lowest I've ever felt and I mean this. The bus. People can say what they want but there wouldn't have been two sentences spoken between any players between Dublin and when we got to the Carrickdale Hotel in Dundalk. We only started to communicate halfway through that meal. That's how we felt about it. There was a lot of players who were in a bad way for a long time after that game. That's how serious it was at the time! That was definitely the one.

WINNING WITH CROSSMAGLEN

One of the things that has kept Cross at the top is that we really, really enjoy and celebrate winning a county title. We won 15 of the last 16. It doesn't matter, we still enjoy winning. The Ulster championships, the All-Irelands, we enjoy winning them. As time has gone on, a big effort has gone into the community and the club to make those days as special as possible because they realise that around the corner, whether people like it or not, there probably is going to a barren spell. People always associate Cross with being very successful. But we couldn't win a championship for 10 years from 1986 to 1996. We would count that as a barren spell, now that we're on top to stay on top.

Unlike with Armagh, I've no regrets with Crossmaglen. Even the one Armagh Championship that we lost, I honestly never think about it. Because of the fact that it was always going to take that. Teams just cannot win constantly. I know we won 13 in a row but really and truly, that's stupid numbers. That should not have happened. To lose the county title and then come back and win the next two All-Irelands is probably more satisfying than having gone right through with it.

GETTING BACK ON TOP

After we were beaten in the Armagh quarter-finals in 2009, we went back in training on January 1. Garreth and Tony took over and we trained harder than ever. The only way I can describe it is it was absolutely horrific. We trained like that for three months without the ball or anything else. Literally, when the championship came around the next year we were machines. Even me, at 34 or 35, I was in as good a shape as I was ever in. The diet was right, there was no messing about, the fitness was there, the legs were there. The work was done. So to then go and win two All-Irelands on the back of that was very satisfying.

MY TOUGHEST OPPONENT WAS SÉAMUS MOYNIHAN

The one thing I remember about the first All-Ireland semi-final against Kerry in 2000 was that Séamus Moynihan was just too strong for me. He was so good at shielding the ball from me. I couldn't get my head around it. It wasn't as if I was going to get much stronger in a week, so I had to think about how do I counteract that for the replay.

I spoke to my brother Jim (former Armagh footballer Jim McConville) about it and he said "You just need to make life difficult for him and you need to pull him around a bit. He told me to pull him around, so I took him for runs. I was getting the ball in better positions than I had been in the first game. A lot of times on the second day I just had to turn him for a split second, have an instant shot, and I think I got maybe three points just getting the ball, working myself a yard and kicking over the bar.

But that's the one thing about him as an opponent. He was so strong. I felt he was so strong. I just had to really think about my game. I was used to going with corner backs, going at them and trying to fly around them. I would never have considered Séamus Moynihan as one of the quickest players around, but I soon realised that wasn't the case. He was quick. But allied to being quick, he was just so strong. If you took the ball into the tackle anywhere near him at all...one of the things Jim said to me was you need to avoid contact with him whenever you have the ball.

WHEN MY THOUGHTS WANDER

Sometimes if I'm out on a run or on the bike, you might think about it all. But anytime it is, it's always the negative. It's always the one that you missed, or the game that you left behind. Maybe someday my mind will allow me to remember some of the good times but it's always the niggly wee ones. The one that you missed or the game you left behind.

THAT NIGGLE HASN'T GONE AWAY

If I wanted to just go out at the top, I would have gone already because I've had two opportunities. We won in 2011 and people were asking me was I retiring and I said no because I knew there was enough left in the legs. This time around, it was a wee bit different. We're after having our first child, Ryan. He's six weeks now, so my life has changed a lot in the last two months. So you sort of have to look at it and say 'am I capable of going back and being at my best?'

There was a niggle there last year, and to be honest, that niggle hasn't gone away. That's the reason why I'm back training. As I said to the boys, I'm doing six weeks training now but if it doesn't work out and I can't get back to where I was, I wouldn't hang around and keep somebody out of a position. But I'm going to work harder than I ever have over the next six weeks and see if I can get back.

If I feel I still have something to give, I'm involved with a brilliant team so if I can do anything, to come off the bench for 10 minutes or 15 minutes and help out, that's what I'll do.

But there's no doubt about it, this more or less will probably be my last year. I would never say "this definitely will be my last year" but look, it's coming to an end and I think that makes me appreciate things a little bit more, that the end is around the corner.

WHAT A PRIVILEGE

I never was one who really liked training as a younger lad, mostly because I didn't see the point because I was fit and mad to play football. Obviously that was a stupid way of thinking. Now I love going to training. I love meeting up with the boys and all those sort of things and everything that has gone on makes you appreciate more, what has gone on in the past. I honestly look back on it all now and say 'Wow'. Not in a big headed way but just 'wow'. I would never have dreamed of achieving what I have done.

What a privilege to have played with the players I played with. What a privilege to have won what I've won. What a privilege to be up and doing a Legends Tour in Croke Park.

I've been so lucky to be involved in the whole association, and what it's given me in life. When I said in the past that there were times it saved my life, I wasn't exaggerating. There were times when I definitely do think it saved my life.

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Oisín McConville's Legends Tours is on Thursday 12th July at 7pm at Croke Park. All tours include a trip to the recently-refurbished GAA Museum, which is home to many exclusive exhibits, including the Sam Maguire and Liam MacCarthy Cups, as well as the new temporary exhibition 'GAA - A Global Phenomenon', which is now open running until Spring 2013. Booking for the 2012 Legends Tour Series is essential as places are limited. Click here for more information.

Other legend tours which will follow in the 2012 series include Pat Spillane, George O'Connor, Liam Hayes, Jamesie O'Connor, Diarmuid O'Sullivan and Martin McHugh.