As kids we were told that thunder was God moving furniture. On a day of rumbles – some noisier than others – the provinces shoved and shunted their pieces into place yesterday, and when all was done, it was the interior designers of Tyrone, Dublin and Galway who had most to admire in their handiwork.
The day's highest drama was played out in Clones, where Mickey Harte's side dug out a 0-13 to 0-11 win over Donegal to lift their first Ulster title since 2010. On an afternoon wrenched tighter than nuts on a car wheel, they swished the last three points – all in injury-time, each as captivating as the next. Seán Cavanagh blazed to a fifth Ulster medal with three inspirational points, Peter Harte landed the spinner of a lifetime and young Kieran McGeary cherried the cake.
For 70 minutes it was a game that asphyxiated on its own throttling. Both sides retreated and dared the other to breach them, before reversing roles once the ball was turned over. Only at the end, when neither could countenance another replay, did it open out. Tyrone found their heroes where Donegal could not. Afterwards, Harte left no one in any doubt where the day ranked in the five Ulster titles he has watched his teams win.
“Absolutely the best,” he beamed. “This is the best of all of them because of the famine that was there for six years and because of what had gone before. And maybe Ulster titles were taken for granted in the 2000s, and not enough joy put in when winning them. This is different, the county was waiting on this – and the fact that it was Donegal in the final.”
Extreme prejudice
In Croke Park, Dublin’s gallop to a sixth Leinster title in a row had a brief hitch put into it by Westmeath before ultimately easing out to a 2-19 to 0-10 victory. Having led by just 0-7 to 0-6 at the break, they blitzed Tom Cribbin’s side in the second half with such extreme prejudice that at one point they had eight forwards on the pitch.
Ciarán Kilkenny was raiding from wing-back and Diarmuid Connolly was catching kick-outs one-handed and bombing on from midfield. It was a court-press so full it was a wonder they didn't force a couple of the Westmeath defenders to play from the Davin Stand. Bernard Brogan tapped home the team goal of the year – one goal-line to the other in seven ultra-slick passes – and Kevin McManamon curled one of his own into the top corner late on.
It was routine in the end but Dublin took an age to hit their stride. Put it down in part to a Westmeath side playing with double sweepers and a notable lack of respect. Put it down as well to Jim Gavin’s side looking uncharacteristically sloppy from the start. There was just enough here for the other contenders to imagine the summer has plenty of juice left in it yet.
At the same time, it's another Leinster title swept up with the indifference of a janitor doing a tour around the back of a bike shed. For Stephen Cluxton, this was a 12th provincial medal, putting him on his own ahead of the Brogan brothers who have 11 each. Ho-hum.
Cluxton’s 12th medal
“Each and every one means a great deal,” he said. “I wouldn’t put my body through what I do year after year if it didn’t mean that much to me. I don’t count them – I was told during the week that it was 12.
“How significant that is, again, you just can’t focus on medals, you can’t focus on winning, you’ve got to focus on the process of getting yourself right for the game and seeing the 70-80 minutes through. That’s really all we can do as players. We don’t celebrate a Lotto win until you see all the numbers coming out.”
James McCarthy missed the game for Dublin with a knock picked up during the week but Gavin insisted he would be available the next day. The news for Westmeath’s Ray Connellan wasn’t so encouraging – he went to hospital with a suspected broken leg, which could jeopardise a mooted move to AFL side St Kilda.
In Castlebar, Galway lifted their first Connacht title since 2008 with a cloudburst of a 3-16 to 0-14 replay win over Roscommon. Two goals from Danny Cummins and a peach from Gary Sice did the damage as Kevin Walsh's team overran their highly fancied Division One neighbours.
It leaves Roscommon with only six days to recover before their round four qualifier, the draw for which will be made on RTÉ radio this morning. In one pot, Tipperary or Roscommon will play either Clare or Derry; in the other, Donegal or Westmeath will be paired with either Cork or Mayo (the latter games to be played on Saturday week).
