The end of another road for Roscommon
Another championship season ends miserably for Roscommon. When Diarmuid Murtagh kicked a two-pointer a couple of minutes after the restart in Clones on Saturday, they had the wind behind them and a Monaghan side whose radar was all over the place in front of them. And yet, with their summer on the line, they only kicked five more points the rest of the way. Out with a whimper.
It has become a drearily familiar scene with the Rossies. Early-summer success frittered away once the temperature increases in the All-Ireland series. They’ve won four Connacht titles since 2010 – each time, they’ve exited the championship at the earliest possible stage of the competition thereafter.
Roscommon almost never knock anyone out of the championship these days. They finished above Cavan in the group stage two years ago and beat Tyrone the following weekend – but those two wins in eight days in June 2024 represent 50 per cent of their knock-out wins over the past decade. They finished above Sligo in the group stage in 2023 and beat Armagh in a qualifier in 2018. And that’s it.
This year was only the third time since 1980 that Roscommon beat both Galway and Mayo to win a Connacht title. And yet the two counties west of the Shannon are still in the championship while the Rossies are licking their wounds. And worst of all, nobody is surprised.
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“On their day, they could take out a top-eight team,” the great Willie Hegarty, long-suffering Roscommon commentator for Shannonside Radio told The Irish Times earlier this year. “But doing it two days in a row? Consistently, they have not proven they can do that.”
In fact, they look to have proven that they can’t. Changing that scenario is Job One for Mark Dowd next year. – Malachy Clerkin
Is the age of champions over?
It was inevitable that when the GAA decided to evolve a more extensive All-Ireland football championship, the status of provincial champions would be affected simply because they would no longer be the only competing counties, as had been the case for 113 years up to 2001.
So it proved for the first 10 years when Sam Maguire went to an already defeated county on six occasions. Yet, for the next 13 years the All-Ireland winners were all provincial champions and unbeaten for the championship.
The past two years have reverted to counties, Armagh and Kerry, both of whom had lost matches along the way – even if in Armagh’s case it was on penalties in the 2024 Ulster final.
The introduction of a tiered 16-county round-robin system facilitated teams not winning all of their fixtures before the knockout stages. Of its three years in operation, all eventual champions dropped points along the way; Dublin were held to a draw in 2023.
This year’s new system also allows teams to lose along the way – three times in extremis, although you won’t be winning anything in those circumstances. The format for the first time also gave no material benefit to a county winning their provincial championship.
Back in 2010, there was a wipeout of provincial champions at the All-Ireland quarter-final stage. Everyone got beaten, including seismic shocks like Dublin eliminating Tyrone and Down maintaining their historical hold on champions Kerry.
In a week’s time, there may be just one provincial champion in the draw for the All-Ireland quarter-finals, two at most.
Questions arose at the weekend (allowing that two or three years is not a significant sample size) over two issues. One: Are the provincial championships now entirely unmoored from the All-Ireland in terms of either prestige or the advantage they offer? Two: How likely is it in the future that a county can navigate an intense, quasi-knockout format and win Sam Maguire without losing a match along the way?
It won’t happen this summer, anyway, as the last 100-per-cent record, Armagh’s, fell on Sunday. – Seán Moran
‘Neller or Nowhere’
The ‘Neller or Nowhere’ campaign has a very short window to make a mark, but Dublin officials must now decide whether or not to back the wishes of Ger Brennan or opt to play Donegal at Croke Park after the counties where drawn against each other in Monday morning’s draw.
Speaking after Dublin’s win over Cavan on Sunday, Brennan indicated he would prefer for his side to Parnell Park rather than Croke Park if they received a home draw in Round 3.
“If we are to get a home draw, I know our senior hurlers have a big game away to Clare on Saturday night, I’d love to go and play – if it was a home draw for Dublin, it would probably be on a Sunday – in Parnell Park and get out of Croke Park.”
The Central Competitions Control Committee will finalise details of all Round 3 fixtures on Monday afternoon, but essentially it is up to the Dublin County Board to nominate a venue to host the fixture against Donegal.
The Dublin footballers’ last championship game at Parnell Park – affectionately known as the Neller by Dublin fans – was against London in 2004.
Indeed, they went a decade without even playing a league game at the Donnycarney ground – from March 2010 until the covid-impacted league saw them host Meath in October 2020.
Kildare’s ‘Newbridge or Nowhere’ campaign in 2018 sparked huge momentum at the time and ultimately led to their championship clash against Mayo taking place at St Conleth’s Park. – Gordon Manning
Derry’s dire home record
Here’s a list of teams Derry have beaten at home in the championship in the past decade. Antrim (2026). That’s it. That’s the list.
Here’s a list of teams they haven’t beaten at home in the past decade. Meath (2026), Galway (2025, draw), Donegal (2024), Armagh (2024), Monaghan (2023, draw), Armagh (2020). Before that, they lost at home to Laois in 2019, to Donegal and Kildare in 2018, and to Tyrone in 2017.
You have to go back to their qualifier run in the summer of 2016 when they beat Louth and Meath in Owenbeg for their last non-Antrim wins at home. And to a victory over Down in June 2015 for the last one at Celtic Park.
When Derry go about sifting through the ashes of another summer squandered, their home form needs to be high on the list of things to fix. In fairness, they had a good league at Celtic Park this year, with four wins from four, among them victories of Cork and Tyrone who are both now in the All-Ireland quarter-final. But Derry are gone, out before the solstice for the second year in a row.
So much about them has to improve. They need new faces, they need confidence, they need to get out of Division 2 and not waste the last good years of Conor Glass and Shane McGuigan. But first and foremost, they need to start winning championship matches in the Bogside again. – Malachy Clerkin
Life still left in the dazzling Darren McCurry
When Tyrone manager Malachy O’Rourke looked towards his bench, not long into the second half of Sunday’s game against Mayo, it didn’t appear in any way likely the player he’d first call on would be Darren McCurry.
Tyrone had just got their noses back in front after Ethan Jordan smoothly converted a ‘45. Jordan was in the process of lining up another free in the 46th minute when O’Rourke replaced him with McCurry, who had also come off the bench in the last round against Roscommon but failed to score.
Jordan finished with 0-7 from the win over the Rossie, including a two-pointer, with fellow corner forward Eoin McElholm scoring 1-3. These were the new generation of Tyrone forwards now leading the way, or so most people thought.
O’Rourke clearly sensed something still bubbling within McCurry, the 2021 All Star and the man of the match from that year’s All-Ireland final. Having made his Tyrone debut in 2012, the 33-year-old’s best years may be behind him, but he didn’t earn the nickname ‘The Dazzler’ without merit.
With his first kick, McCurry converted the free Jordan had been lining up to take before his substitution before ultimately turning the game in Tyrone’s favour, scoring 0-6 from play. Goalkeeper Niall Morgan stole the glory with his late two-point free, but McCurry essentially kept the scoreboard ticking over for Tyrone to ensure they were in a position to win.
“Darren was itching to get in,” O’Rourke said afterwards. “He’s been struggling with injury, hasn’t been able to train fully, but he’s a great influence behind the scenes. You saw it, he was just hungry to get on the ball, and he made a massive impact.”
McCurry described those niggles as “old fella” injuries, before being asked what was his preferred shooting side, such was his dazzling display off both.
“I actually don’t know myself,” he said. “I forget.”
Plenty of life in the old boots still. – Ian O’Riordan
All-Ireland SFC Round 3 pairings:
Monaghan v Westmeath
Dublin v Donegal
Mayo v Meath
Kerry v Armagh
Tailteann Cup semi-final pairings:
Offaly v Wicklow
Down v Fermanagh
*All six games to be played this weekend, with venues and times to be confirmed later on Monday
