The Irish News - your county's top 15 players ever

Over the Bar · March 23, 2009, 03:53:09 PM

Quote9 x 15 = 135 so why only 125?

i think its to do with the 125 year anniversary...

Meaning 10 goalkeepers will probably be the fall guys! Injustice!

T Fearon · March 23, 2009, 03:54:08 PM

Yes, its the top 125 in Ulster, and the final list was printed in last Friday's Irish News.Not the top 15 in each county. Readers were asked to vote for their top 15 from their own county and the votes were tallied up and the thirty (from each county) who got most votes all went onto the short list for the top 125,which was decided by a panel including Art Mc Rory etc. Therefore there were 270 shortlisted and from this the top 125 were selected regardless on county affiliations

T Fearon · March 23, 2009, 03:55:45 PM

Don't know about any other goalkeepers but Armagh's Brian Mc Alinden certainly made the final top 125 in Ulster.

Over the Bar · March 23, 2009, 05:10:53 PM

In the interest of fairness 8 goalies should have been listed. How many were?

Maguire01 · March 23, 2009, 06:56:24 PM

Quote from: saffron sam2 on March 23, 2009, 01:50:33 PM
Still trying to figure out Manus Boyle, four Fermanagh men and a host of Farney men though.

Why?

saffron sam2 · March 23, 2009, 08:54:34 PM

Quote from: Maguire01 on March 23, 2009, 06:56:24 PM
Quote from: saffron sam2 on March 23, 2009, 01:50:33 PM
Still trying to figure out Manus Boyle, four Fermanagh men and a host of Farney men though.
Why?

Because Manus Boyle wasn't particularly good. Decent with frees yes, but a limited player who had the benefit of two of the greatest forwards of his generation Martin McHugh and Tony Boyle taking the strain off their more limited team mates.

The others I have discussed above, but I suppose the IN still wanted to sell a few papers in those counties.

T Fearon · March 24, 2009, 08:59:56 AM

Scanned through the list last night again quickly. Could be wrong but I only noticed two keepers in the top 125, Mc Alinden and someone called O'Hare from Down that I'd never heard of.

In fairness this process was to identify the top 125 players of all time in Ulster, which does not mean the top 8 goalkeepers, right fulls etc.

Over the Bar · March 24, 2009, 09:15:05 AM

Yes but midfielders & forwards will always be higher profile and therefore more fondly remembered than backs. Consequently more places will go to forwards & midfielders and keepers will miss out to accommodate backs. How on earth of the greatest 125 players of Ulster GAA history are only 2 keepers worthy of place?

T Fearon · March 24, 2009, 09:29:11 AM

As Dunphy might say, Ulster has produced some good goalkeepers but very few great ones.

Anyway, for me, the whole process was devalued when the great Colm Mc Kinstry was omitted from Armagh's top 30 of all time.

Over the Bar · March 24, 2009, 09:46:47 AM

Perhaps but no matter what your talent & contribution over a period, performances on the big stage will always be what you are remembered by. Adrian Cush for Tyrone being one example.

Maybe McKinstry's 1977 AIF did him no favours? Plenty of Armagh (city) people I know didn't rate him. Did he keep a Pearse Ogs or Harps man out of the team that day or something or is it just an Armagh/Lurgan thing?

T Fearon · March 24, 2009, 10:04:06 AM

I haven't met an Armagh man or woman who didn't rate Mc Kinstry. Also he had a hand in at least one of the Armagh goals in 1977 AI Final. He wasn't seriously challenged for a place on the team by anyone, when he was in his prime and even came back in 1984 to steer Armagh to an Ulster Final which they would have won only for slack marking on Mc Guigan. His performance in the 1980 semi against Roscommon was the best individual performance I've ever seen by an Armagh player in a county jersey in Croke Park

The problem is he never had a media profile unlike a lot of those selected in the Armagh top 30.

The GAA · March 24, 2009, 10:24:46 AM

His performance on peter McGinnity in the Ulster final certainly didn't enhance his legacy

Feckitt · March 24, 2009, 05:28:08 PM

No Francie

Absolutely shocked and stunned