What's your county's most significant/greatest win ever??

[hobit hunter]

I was discussing this topic over the weekend and was interested in your thoughts.  Being from Armagh, I'd have to count 2002 as our most significant/greatest win ever.  We had Tyrone, Cork and Dublin people in our company who couldn't agree whether the Tyrone highlight was the 2003 win or the 2005 win?  What do you reckon??  Also interested in Dublin's and Cork's most significant wins..............based on our lack of agreement!

[longrunsthefox]

2003... There will never be another first time... incredible.

[blewuporstuffed]

2003... There will never be another first time... incredible.

thought the same at the time, that nothing would ever beat 2003, but then 2005 was special, an incredible year, the dublin games, the epic semi final and a great final against the defending champions

[hobit hunter]

Interesting.  A Galway pal of mine is of the opinion that the second one is the most enjoyable as you can take it all in..........

[heineken_on_tap]

Suppose for us Rossies the 2006 minor in recent times was very special. My greatest memory anyway

[Shamrock Shore]

Beating Westmeath - O'Byrne Cup final in 2000

Only cos I was there unlike our more famous wins (to us anyway but not in global terms) in 1937, 1966 and 1968

[ziggysego]

2003... There will never be another first time... incredible.

thought the same at the time, that nothing would ever beat 2003, but then 2005 was special, an incredible year, the dublin games, the epic semi final and a great final against the defending champions

Hard to know which year was best. Could throw 2008 in there. The year everyone thought Mickey Harte was there too long and the wheels on Tyrone finally came off, only to come back in the way we did.

[seafoid]

For Galway hurlers it has to be 1980.

The footballers on the other hand wouldn't have any particular year- they have more of a feeling of a right to win once they get in the mood .

[longrunsthefox]

2003... There will never be another first time... incredible.

thought the same at the time, that nothing would ever beat 2003, but then 2005 was special, an incredible year, the dublin games, the epic semi final and a great final against the defending champions

Hard to know which year was best. Could throw 2008 in there. The year everyone thought Mickey Harte was there too long and the wheels on Tyrone finally came off, only to come back in the way we did.

The three were unique... 2003 the first and very emotional... 2005 after the 10 games was amazing and 2008 particularly satisfying after the 'experts' like Martin McHugh said they couldn't win it without Peter Canavan and all the hype about the twin towers. Jees! Kerry supporters thought they were going to hammer us... 

[blewuporstuffed]

FROM THE TYRONE WEBSITE

Second Sam Maguire Triumph, 25 September, 2005



As the century of the establishment of the GAA in Tyrone dawned in 2004, the Association in the county had reached new heights. Tyrone were supreme in Ulster for the tenth time, had captured their second successive National Football League title, and, most importantly, on that unforgettable afternoon in Croke Park in September 2003, had dethroned reigning champions, Armagh, to realise - finally - the cherished dream of winning the Sam Maguire Cup. With these three coveted trophies, a youthful squad of quality players and a strong management and administrative team, the future looked very bright. It seemed that the decades of toil by Gaels in all parts of the county, first to establish the Association, and then to keep it alive and vibrant, had reaped a just reward.



But no one could have predicted what was to happen to the GAA in Tyrone in the next twenty-four tumultuous months. From the peak of triumph, Tyrone was plunged into the depths of an unspeakable tragedy with the death of team captain, Cormac McAnallen. This was followed by the loss of all three senior titles in the course of the year. As the end of 2004 approached, despite All-Ireland victories at Vocational Schools and minor levels, followers of the GAA in Tyrone could have been forgiven for a sense of relief that the year had finally passed, and for a sense of apprehension, as 2005 approached, about how long it would take - if ever it could be done - to recover the glory days.



What followed in this most dramatic of periods in the county's history was an astonishing triumph in 2005, when Tyrone overcame the adversity of Ulster final defeat to win their second All-Ireland senior football title. To win the championship, Tyrone had to play an unprecedented ten games, three of which were drawn. They had to overcome the champions of three provinces - Leinster, Ulster and Munster. They overcame Leinster champions for the first time ever by defeating Dublin in the quarter-final. They defeated the reigning Ulster Champions, Armagh, in the semi-final in the third of three titanic encounters. And, in the final, they defeated the reigning All-Ireland and Munster champions, Kerry, who were seeking an incredible thirty-fourth All-Ireland title.


This was a triumph possibly even more satisfying than the first victory two years earlier, because of the mental and physical resolve shown by the players and management in the face of the seemingly endless obstacles in their path. If 2003 had brought glory to this team, the victory of 2005 was to reveal their greatness. It was not just the quality, nature and number of the opponents whom Tyrone overcame that made the manner of the victory so impressive; it was the exhilarating style of play - the skill, power, pace, passion and tenacity - that won Tyrone admirers in all parts of Ireland. 2005 marked the transition of a team that had already proved itself good enough to win one All-Ireland title - as many other counties had - to a team achieving greatness. Described by one commentator as "the ultimate in what a team means", this group of Tyrone players rightly claimed their place in Gaelic football's pantheon on 25 September, 2005. In a final display described by another commentator as "a glorious profession of faith in the possibilities of the sport", Tyrone climbed to an even higher pinnacle than in the great year of 2003.

[hobit hunter]

Any Cork or Kerrymen out there with a view?

[longrunsthefox]

Any Cork or Kerrymen out there with a view?

There's a boy Sheehy should be along any moment now Hobit. Brace yourself as he will probably call you  a Nordie b******d and ask where your union jack is. Don't take it personally 

[AZOffaly]

Most significant for Offaly is probably the 1981 Hurling All Ireland. To break through and win 4 All Ireland and lose 2 others in the next 20 years was a great breakthrough for us.

In football it's obviously going to be the 5 in a row busters of 1982. To my mind, a greater one is probably beating Kerry by 9 points in 1972. That was a big win, although we were reigning champions at the time.

[hobit hunter]

Ah, an intellectual so?  I'll be ready for him!

[down6061689194]

In football it's obviously going to be the 5 in a row busters of 1982.

certainly one of the greatest wins ever from any county.