best 15 heavyweight intercounty players ever

[farney emerald]

Rory Woods from Monagahan. Handy player he is.
[also/quote]hes also a nephew of the great heavyweight 3 time allstar nudie hughes

[Donagh]

A few that spring to mind:

Benny Tierney/Paul Durcan (tough call)
Francie Bellew
Kieran Hughes 
Paudie O'Shea
Dermot McCabe
Geffory McGonnigal
Cathal O'Rourke
Paddy Doherty
Paddy McKeever
Adrian Sweeney
Christy Ring
Colin Corkery

[anglocelt39]

Here's an area now where an Cabhan can have a large input and you don't have to go back too far I am afraid-current crop-Larry Reilly/John Tierney/Lorcan Mulvey.

The latter two lined out for us in a televised League game a few winters ago in the piss pours up in Derry (we got mullered as I recall), story goes that there were derry lads falling over themselves at the sight-sixth and seventh tellytubby stuff.

Big john a great loss to the county-great ball player, super underage talent, driven into the ground in his young days and paying for it since in injuries, tendency to put on the weight as well. Last heard of kicking a bit of ball down in Asia and good luck to him. Nice bloke, lovely family.

Larry-the reverse of the before and after dieting ad-take a look at the 1997 seldom fed whippersnapper Greyhound and compare to the 07 version

Mulvey-junior club footballer given the opportunity to shore up the Cavan midfield in first round of this years champinonship-couldn't be arsed to get fit for the thing, out of puff after 20 mins in case of the most unfit man to wear the inter county jersey in the Ulster Championship this year. Serious indictment of our existing management setup.

[Denn Forever]

The inclusion of Dermot McCabe is a bit puzzling or maybe I am misunderstanding the criteria.  Heavyweight to me implies overweight, short, tub of lard.  Dermot is a big guyI know but he started at wing forward and then to midfield.

A heavyweight that I would but forward is Donal Keogan, manager of Cavan and previously corner forwad for Cavan especially during the winter when he had the excuse that he was getting fit.

[anglocelt39]

agree with you on that one Denn Forever, McCabes inclusion is a bit puzzling. It was probably not so much weight as seriously impaired mobility due to a succession of injuries over the years that might have got him a few mentions. In any event, lazy analysis of Cavan big men, we have plenty of those peppered in among the midgets.

Have no doubt that if Butt Connolly's inter-county career had not been cut short by wee Marty that he would eventually have graduated a la Larry Reilly

[The Hill is Blue]

Any three full forwards named so far put together wouldn't outweigh Pa Connolly (Kildare).

I'd like to put the late great John Timmons (midfield and full forward for the Dubs) on the opposite side of the scales to Pa Connolly and see which of them hit the ground.

[Drumanee 1]

vinney murphy
mark lynch

[Onlooker]

If Donagh is referring to Down legend Paddy Doherty, he certainly was not a heavy man in his playing days.  Also Tipperary goalkeeper Paul Fitzgerald is a bigger man and IMO a far better goalkeeper than either Tierney or Durcan.  As Hardy says John Timmons and Pa Connolly were huge men and top class footballers by any standard.

[passedit]

Jim Roynayne (sp) Dub, not many midfielders built like him nowadays. I presume Gerry Mc Carville has got a mention as well. Used to be a massive lad played for Cork (Christy Ryan maybe?) in the eighties started as a back ended up Cork's answer to Joe Mc Nally

[loughshore lad]

Frank McGuigan had unreal skill and athletic ability for the build he had. No one mentioned on this thread could have touched him for all round natural ability, he could do it all.

[Louper]

Frank McGuigan had unreal skill and athletic ability for the build he had. No one mentioned on this thread could have touched him for all round natural ability, he could do it all.

no doubt top class but hardly a heavyweight 

[The Hill is Blue]

A few more:

Pat (Red) Collier (Meath)
James McCartan (Down 1960s team)
Charlie Gallagher (Cavan)
Peter Whitnell (Down)

[take_yer_points]

Mattie McGleenan! what a block of a man and i think he could fist the ball into the net from the 45 yard line!

[Hardy]

I'd like to put the late great John Timmons (midfield and full forward for the Dubs) on the opposite side of the scales to Pa Connolly and see which of them hit the ground.

Good one HIB. But my money would be on Pa. He had definitely the biggest, shall we say waist measurement I ever saw on a football field. In fact the biggest I'd ever seen anywhere at the time - until the first time I went to America. Timmons was bigger boned though.

Charlie Gallagher - another great. Another heavyweight that's come to mind is John Nallen (Meath) - he formerly played for both Galway and Mayo. He was a bank official, I think - hence the nomadic career.

The Red was carrying plent of surplus OK and it was all pure Guinness. But it  must have been some kind of hard fat, because he was as tough as a concrete bollard and as hard to put down. Low centre of gravity.

[Orior]

Great thread. Takes away any guilt about eating two desserts.