Which was the luckiest All-Ireland win?

[Over the Bar]

Very true Puskas, very true ... but you know what would be even more annoying? Yep, being beaten by Armagh in an All-Ireland final ... I don't know how any Tyrone person would ever get over a trauma such as that

That would be unbearable, even when you have racked up 3 all-irelands in 6 years!

[EC Unique]

Or knowing that any of the big meetings that really counted that Armagh always came out on top. That would be hard to deal with

[Bisbee]

There seems to be three main games in this latest Tyrone-Armagh debate that are subject to revisionism, the 2002 and 2003 finals and the drawn encounter between these two counties in the 2002  Ulster championship.  I attended all three of these games.  What I remember from 2003 was that Tyrone were the far better team on the day and thoroughly deserved their victory. The 'block' was a brilliant piece of defending, no luck involved and if McDonnell had scored, subsequently leading to an Armagh victory, it would have been a steal on the part of the Orchard.
Having said that, in the 2002 drawn Ulster championship game, I thought Armagh were the much more impressive side and looked fairly comfortable until they were mugged by a Sean Cavanagh goal  resulting from a hopeful high ball bringing Tyrone right back in the game.  If Richard Thornton had scored, it also would have been a steal.
I feel sorry for Armagh folk in that their 2002 All-Ireland final victory over Kerry  is consistently  subject to revisionism from Tyrone (and Down) fans.  I thought this was an underappreciated classic game of football. The first 15 minutes or so was nip and tuck, with Armagh showing some exceptional long range point scoring (one score in the first half from Clarke was truly memorable). I think an important turning point was the injury to the big half forward McEntee. Armagh lost their shape for a 10-15 minute period when McEntee left the game and the Kerry half backs were able to swarm forward.  For the second half I thought Kernan made some inspired changes in sending on Tony McEntee and O'Hagan. Armagh got a vice like grip on midfield and forced the Kerry half backs to sit back.  I thought on that day, the Armagh manager got it exactly right. I never thought of this game as a lucky victory for Armagh or as Kerry having 'lost it' but a well deserved and earned victory in a classic game.

[full back]

I feel sorry for Armagh folk

Welcome to the board bisbee & thanks for the pity................

[Puckoon]

Just as an aside, should a great "play" for want of borrowing a better term from US sports such as Conor Gormleys block - get lumped in with luck?

Tyrone would have been lucky that day if Stevie McDonnell had have been straight through, and missed the goal all by himself.

No?

Because moments before the block, Gormley fouled an Armagh man going through. Referee Brian White took out his notebook, realised he had already booked the Tyrone man and promptly returned the book to his pocket. The luck involved in this particular incident is that when he made the block, Gormley should have been sitting in the stand.

No?

That is a fair point, however the majority of posters have not mentioned that Gormley should have "been in the stands", rather that his block was a lucky one, when infact it was a sublime piece of play.

Yes.

[red hander]

'I feel sorry for Armagh folk in that their 2002 All-Ireland final victory over Kerry  is consistently  subject to revisionism'

That would be the game when only one team bothered coming out for the second half?

[Armamike]

Red hander, agreed. It was lovely of those Kerry fellas to hand us the win. They're like that in finals you know.

[magpie seanie]

1995 was the luckiest I've seen.