Something to look forward to

“WHEN Vincent’s are good, Dublin are good,” or so the old saying goes. And it is not without foundation. Since the 1950s, only in 1995 have Dublin won an All-Ireland in a year when Vincent’s were not either reigning county champions or about to become county champions. And, in 1976, Vinnie’s won the All-Ireland club championship the same year Dublin won Sam Maguire.
So Vinnie’s resurrection, after a remarkable 23 years without a Dublin title, is generally regarded in the county as a happy augury – and more so the fact that they have gone on from that to win the Leinster championship. In contrast to earlier years, however, Vinnie’s have few Dublin players. Tomás Quinn is well-known and Dermot Connolly played a few games this year but neither are guaranteed first choices. Indeed, Connolly is more likely, hopefully, to feature as a Dublin hurler than a footballer, having won a Leinster under-21 medal this year and opted to train with them rather than the senior footballers.
The change from earlier times could not be more pronounced. Of the Dublin team that won the All-Ireland in 1958, ten were from Vincent’s, including all of the forwards. In 1963, the Vinnie’s’ representation had declined to seven, and in the 1970s a more modest five. Kevin Heffernan had returned in 1983 but only four of his clubmen started against Galway. In 1995, with Vincent’s in the midst of a long famine, not a single Marino man was in the first 15 although Pat Gilroy did come on as a sub. Gilroy is still going strong and scored a goal against Tyrellspass last Sunday.
That was a game that the Dublin side never looked like losing. Fitter, faster, and with more attacking options than a team far too dependent on the two Glennons, Vincent’s had the game more or less won by half-time. Tyrellspass’s game plan in earlier matches had been obvious: to get the ball in quickly to Denis Glennon. Vincent’s countered that by harrying the Westmeath backs to the extent that they rarely had the time or the composure to deliver accurate passes and both Glennons were forced to forage deep in order to gain possession.
Vincent’s were also on top at midfield, where Mike O’Shea was impressive. That dominance even survived the loss of O’Shea’s partner, Hughie Coghlan, halfway through the first half. Coghlan shipped a heavy blow to the chin in a collision with Martin Flanagan. He wanted to stay but his legs told a different story.
The first goal came when a long pass from Tiernan Diamond was caught by Kevin Golden, who blasted the ball into the net. Gilroy got on to the end of another pass a few minutes later and that was the end of that. The second half was scrappy and low scoring. Vincent’s were content to keep their opponents at bay and Tyrellspass did not have the wherewithal to break them down.
Vincent’s now face a likely semi-final clash with Crossmaglen in February, assuming the Armagh men overcome London champions Tir Chonaill Gaels in the quarter-final. The other semi-final will be between Nemo Rangers and Ballina.
Another major difference between the new and old Vinnie’s is that in days gone by they were strict enforcers of the ‘nativist’ rule – that only ethnic Dubs could play for them – the current team has three ‘New Dubliners, most notably Mike O’Shea from Kerry.
The old system had come about at a time when GAA rules meant that players had to play for the county in which they lived. In the 1930s and ‘40s, and even into the ‘50s when the rule was rescinded, that meant that there was a large number of top-class inter-county players living and working in Dublin as teachers, civil servants and as members of the Garda and Defence Forces.
They tended to play for particular clubs that dominated the county championship, until 1949 when Vincent’s won the first of 14 of the next 15 titles. Their main rivals were the Garda, with whom they engaged in ferocious battles in front of huge crowds with county finals attracting up to 40,000. The fact that Vincent’s had a strong republican connection at the time added to the flavour!
Hurling remained the preserve of country-based clubs with a marked Tipperary influence for a while longer – at least until their families, including my own, became domesticated! Eoghan Ruadh became the first Dublin club to break that dominance in 1951 and Vincent’s won three in a row between 1953 and 1955.
There was no inter-county club competition in those days but clubs played against each other in challenge matches and tournaments that almost had the status of an All-Ireland. Although best-known as a football club, Vincent’s battles with Glen Rovers and Christy Ring were legendary. While Dublin at the time could never beat Cork, Vinnie’s could beat the Glen.
Their expected clash with Crossmaglen will be fascinating. Cross’ continue to defy time and tide. Nothing seems to have diminished their hunger and, while some of their old stalwarts have hung up their boots or taken a less prominent role, they have been able to replenish a side that has been on the road since 1996.
While only the two McEntees and Oisin McConville remain from the first team to win the All-Ireland in 1997, replacements have been introduced gradually and often with younger brothers taking the place of older. And, of course, in the case of the Kernans, they have inherited the mission of the old buck.
An added frisson might emanate from Oisin’s less-than-flattering comments regarding Dublin teams in his book, The Gambler, about “losing my bollix” on the horses. Apparently, Armagh beating Dublin because Ray Cosgrove hit the post with a last-minute free was attributable to some deep psychological difference between the two teams. Whatever.