Gaelic football's greatest individual performances on the losing side
Tuesday 5 May 2020 14:59, UK
We look back at five great individual Gaelic football performances from players who ended up on the losing side.
Lee Keegan - Mayo vs Dublin (2017 All-Ireland final)
2017 was arguably Mayo's nearest miss of the lot, as the Connacht side lost an epic encounter to Dublin 1-17 to 1-16.
The Dubs came into the tie as hot favourites, having blasted by a fancied Tyrone outfit in the semi-final. Ciarán Kilkenny had been central to Dublin's march to the decider, pulling the strings against the Ulster champions in the penultimate stage.
But Westport native Keegan completely nullified Kilkenny, man-marking the Castleknock man to great effect.
Not only did he quash one of Dublin's main threats, but he also got in on the scoring act himself - rattling the net in the Hill 16 end in the second half for what looked like a crucial score.
Of course, his late gambit of throwing his GPS into Dean Rock's eye-line wasn't enough to prevent the Sam Maguire Cup from wintering on Liffey-side for a third consecutive year. But it was an awesome display throughout the course of the game.
Sean Quigley - Fermanagh vs Dublin (2015 All-Ireland quarter-final)
Fermanagh received a standing ovation from their fans after their 2-23 to 2-15 defeat at the hands of Dublin in 2015.
Although it was an eight-point defeat, it was nonetheless a courageous display from Pete McGrath's charges, spearheaded by Quigley in attack.
The big full-forward was a handful for the Dubs defence, registering 1-8 throughout the afternoon.
Although there was a degree of controversy surrounding his goal as it appeared he pushed Stephen Cluxton over the line, it was nonetheless a memorable display.
Diarmuid Connolly - Dublin vs Donegal (2014 All-Ireland semi-final)
Donegal's 2014 All-Ireland semi-final win was perhaps the shock of the last decade in Gaelic football, and remains Dublin's last championship defeat.
But St Vincent's star Connolly put on quite the display in attack, kicking four points from play and playing a crucial role in the bulk of Dublin's other scores.
Connolly displayed proficiency off either boot, particularly in the first half shooting into the Hill 16 end as Jim Gavin's charges accumulated 10 points from play before the break.
Although the tide turned in the second half, Connolly still led the line for the reigning All-Ireland champions.
Michael Meehan - Galway vs Kerry (2008 All-Ireland quarter-final)
The Galway forward turned in perhaps the performance of his career in monsoon-like conditions at Croke Park in 2008, keeping the Tribesmen in touch with three-in-a-row chasing Kerry.
The Kingdom deployed both Tom O'Sullivan and Marc Ó Sé on a rampant Meehan, but to no avail as the Caltra man ran riot - scoring 0-10 (five of which came from play).
Although he had two goal chances, it was nonetheless a remarkable individual display - made all the more impressive given the conditions.
Were it not for the efforts of Meehan, Kerry would have enjoyed a far greater winning margin than 1-21 to 1-16.
Peter Canavan - Tyrone vs Dublin (1995 All-Ireland final)
Tyrone reached just their second-ever All-Ireland final in 1995, coming up against Dublin in the September decider. Ultimately the Red Hands fell short as Paul Curran and Dessie Farrell led the Sky Blues to a famous triumph, while Charlie Redmond was twice shown a red card before he left the field of play.
The Dubs prevailed on a 1-10 to 0-12 scoreline, but that wasn't for Canavan's want of trying.
The Errigal Ciarán club man kicked 11 of his side's 12 points, as they came up agonisingly short.
Nonetheless, 'Peter The Great' feels the team learned some valuable lessons that day which stood to them when they eventually got over the line eight years later.
"It made us aware that when you get that far, you want to be taking the chances," he said. "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."
