Dublin trump Tyrone: 1995 All-Ireland final remembered
Friday 31 August 2018 14:23, UK
It's 23 years since Dublin and Tyrone last met in an All-Ireland final. The landscape is far different heading into the 2018 decider. Dublin had not won the Sam Maguire Cup since 1983, while Tyrone were chasing their first triumph.
Charlie Redmond and Keith Barr of Dublin, and Tyrone's Peter Canavan all played that day in September 1995, and give their memories of the clash.
Peter Canavan: "We were very much the up-and-coming team. There was massive excitement in Tyrone at the time. The rush for tickets was crazy. There was a real frenzy in the run-up to the final.
"But we felt the pressure was on Dublin because they had played in finals against Ulster opposition and had lost. They had real difficulty in getting over the line so we felt we had a great chance. The other thing was from an Ulster perspective, we were flying the flag. Down had won, Derry, Donegal. We were next in line, and next in line to win.
Keith Barr: "There was a long history of a build-up. It wasn't necessarily 1995, because if you go back four or five years previous, we had the '91 match, we had '92, '93, '94 for that particular squad. Obviously it accumulated in '95 in us winning the All-Ireland so that particular team and squad had a lot of history predating our victory in '95.
"We lost in '94 against Down, '93 against Derry, '92 against Donegal. The common denominator was that we were playing another northern team. They themselves, they bring a lot of passion to Croke Park. Very few Ulster teams come to Croke Park and lose. We had been on the back of those losses ourselves so we knew that in 1995 in particular, playing against Tyrone who were the new kids on the block coming down looking for their first ever All-Ireland, it was going to be very difficult for us.
"But one thing we had was our experience going back the previous four or five years. We had a lot of experience on the squad. We had dealt with a lot of bad blows to the body. The whole lot. So we went in a bit more mature, more focused on it."
PC: "It was a very stop-start game. The first half, Dublin were certainly the better team and played the better football. Their half-back line in particular I recall being strong. Paul Curran was very good going forward. Dessie Farrell had a great game, he was centre-half forward. Dessie was the main go-to man in the first-half, setting up and getting scores himself. We were poor, similar to our performance against Galway in the semi-final where we were slow to settle."
KB: "The opening ten minutes, Tyrone gave us a lot of problems. They were 0-03 to 0-00 up. Eventually we grew into the game, we settled into it. Obviously getting the goal was a very important score."
The game turned in the 26th minute, as Charlie Redmond bundled the ball across the line to give Dublin a four-point lead.
Charlie Redmond: "I know the ball came down the wing. Jason (Sherlock) came in, the ball broke in behind him, and as Jason got in ahead of his marker and the ball broke between him and their goalkeeper, Finbar McConnell. He was 6'6'', Jason was about 5'2''! There was about four stone between them as well, if not more than four stone!
"Jason was able to get a touch on the ball. I actually don't know what happened to Jason, did he get a touch on the ball?
"My recollection on the incident was I thought the ball was going in. So did my marker Paul Devlin. So I'm actually holding him back, while he's trying to get to the ball because I'm wanting the ball to go in. Suddenly, at the very same moment we both realise that the ball isn't going to make it into the net, someone was going to get to it. So I stopped holding him back to pulling him, and he's now trying to pull me back! I'm a little bit stronger and bigger than him, so I'm able to get a touch on the ball and get it in.
"Looking back, if I wasn't there I think Dessie (Farrell) was there anyway. Thankfully I was able to get there ahead of Devlin, and more importantly slightly ahead of Dessie!"
In the second half, Tyrone were given a lifeline when Redmond was given his marching orders.
CR: "There was a bit of confusion over whether I was sent off or not sent off. I stayed on for a few minutes longer than I was supposed to. It was a genuine mistake on my behalf.
"I thought the linesman told him he was making the wrong decision.
"It probably led to red card coming in the following year, when the yellow and red cards came in. Maybe if that was in at that time, the confusion might not have been so great.
"But listen, it's a moment that seems to come back into people's memory more than anything else I've done in my lifetime. It happened. We can't change it. Would I want to change it? Of course I'd like to change it. Would I have gone off? No, if it happened tomorrow I wouldn't go off!
PC: It was clear that he had been sent off. Maybe Charlie was chancing his arm! Look, he had no bearing on the game by staying on. He didn't kick a point.
"I suppose if it happened now, I'm not too sure what would have happened! Look, it was something that the officials failed to notice at the time and it was a mistake on their behalf.
"Obviously, the call he made at the very end certainly was a mistake. There was a few big decisions that didn't go our way on the day."
KB: "I was at the other end of the field, and you don't see that because there was no yellow cards, there was no red cards in those days. All of it was taken down in the referee's notebook, there were hand signals. You can understand where people would get confused. Charlie walked the line, he walked the board, and that's the way it goes. We had a knuckle down and get over the line.
CR: "We can look back on it now with a certain about of hilarity. Certainly at the time it was a very dark moment in GAA because it didn't go down well. Even to an extent that I think Tyrone were looking for a replay. They said 'listen, that's against the rules, we're entitled to a replay'.
"When I was called in front of a committee, as you are when you're sent off, the first thing they read out the referee's statement. "The referee's statement has been accepted, and we've verified the result: Dublin are the All-Ireland champions." And I'm going, "he's telling me now three weeks after the event that Dublin are the All-Ireland champions?! What do you think we've been doing for the last three weeks?! You try telling the people of Dublin that they're no longer All-Ireland champions!"
With a one-man advantage, Tyrone grew into the game and mounted a comeback.
CR: "Towards the end of the game, I was wreaked with guilt. In '92, I missed a penalty and we lost. In 1994, I missed a penalty and we lost. Here I was saying 'we've probably lost those games because I was on the field. We'll possibly lose this game because I'm not on the field'.
"Thankfully the referee blew the whistle eventually."
KB: "It was a funny enough game when you look back at it. It was one of those games you wouldn't say was a classic. Tyrone had scored 0-12, 0-11 of them came from Peter Canavan, 0-10 of them were frees. Tyrone could have won an All-Ireland that day only scoring two points from play! If that was today in a modern day game, you'd be giving out hell about it!
"You couldn't say '95 was a classic, vintage All-Ireland. But for us, it was fantastic because we eventually got over the line. It meant a lot to everyone in it. Plus, we hadn't won an All-Ireland since 1983, so 12 years in Dublin without an All-Ireland brings its pressures itself."
PC: "It made us aware that when you get that far, you want to be taking the chances. We would have felt with the group of players that this was the place for us to be in the late 90s. The fact of the matter was that that was the only final we got to in the 90s. To get that opportunity again (2003) for us, myself and Chris Lawn certainly, it was fantastic but there were a lot of fellas, for them that was their chance to get their hands on a coveted All-Ireland medal and we weren't able to take it."
Make sure to tune into Sky Sports Arena on Sunday for live coverage of Dublin vs Tyrone, getting underway at 2.30pm.
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Charlie Redmond and Keith Barr, former Dublin and Erin's Isle footballers were speaking to Sky Sports after their club recently took part in AIB's new series, 'The Toughest Rivalry'. Fans can tune into the epic finale of the eight-part YouTube series on Friday, August 31st when Harry Redknapp and Gianluca Vialli face-off as Vialli heads up Erin's Isle in Dublin and Harry takes charge of Castlehaven GAA in West Cork in the highly anticipated rematch of the 1998 All-Ireland Semi-Final, that left both teams with unfinished business.
