Derry Club Football & Hurling original

oakleaf93 · May 05, 2020, 10:05:59 PM

Quote from: Derry Optimist on May 05, 2020, 01:44:43 PM
Instead of reading unfair negative publicity,from one quarter, about our native county I think that we should take up the excellent suggestion initiated by that gem of an analyst from Ballinascreen, the redoubtable "Estimator." He suggested at the beginning of April that we should select an All-time Best Derry team based on only being allowed to select one player from any club.

It also must be acknowledged the great publicity by the superb Tony Scullion interview and by the magnificent cameo series by our County PRO and Michael McMullan in the Derry Post.They are what good,fair journalism should be about, recalling the great players and magical moments in our GAA history. It should not be about the insensitive opening of old wounds and adding more grief to people who at this time are undergoing much personal suffering.Anyhow the following is my best Derry Senior team based on Estimator's criteria for the last 50 years 1970-2020.

Damian McCusker(Glen)
Kieran McKeever(Dungiven) Brendan Rogers (Slaughtneil) Tony Scullion(Ballinascreen)
Joe Irwin(Drumsurn) Henry Downey(Lavey) Gerry O'Loughlin(Magherafelt)
Anthony Tohill(Swatragh) Fergal Doherty(Bellaghy)
Sean O'Connell (Ballerin) Damian Barton(Newbridge) Sean Leo McGoldrick (Coleraine)
Paddy Bradley(Glenullin) Enda Muldoon (Ballinderry) Mark Lynch(Banagher)
John Somers,Henry Diamond,Anthony McGurk,Peter Stevenson,Brian McGilligan, Gerry McElhinney,Sean Marty Lockhart, Enda Gormley and Joe Brolly are unlucky to lose out under the one player by club rule.

Jim McKeever surely has to be in there?

Derry Optimist · May 05, 2020, 10:22:40 PM

In reply to Oakleaf Gael Jim McKeever was definitely our best individual player of all time but he retired in 1963,seven years before our selection period began.Undoubtedly other great players whom I forgot to mention like Mickey Niblock,Mickey Lynch and Chrissy McKaigue would have been included for serious consideration only for the one player per club rule.Any one who watched the recent showing of the Derry/Down classic of 1994 should see why Kieran McKeever is a "must" for corner back. He really was a class act in my humble opinion.I think that Gerry McElhinney was a Banagher player during his glorious years with the County!!

Newbridge Exile · May 06, 2020, 10:20:24 AM

Quote from: Derry Optimist on May 05, 2020, 10:22:40 PM
In reply to Oakleaf Gael Jim McKeever was definitely our best individual player of all time but he retired in 1963,seven years before our selection period began.Undoubtedly other great players whom I forgot to mention like Mickey Niblock,Mickey Lynch and Chrissy McKaigue would have been included for serious consideration only for the one player per club rule.Any one who watched the recent showing of the Derry/Down classic of 1994 should see why Kieran McKeever is a "must" for corner back. He really was a class act in my humble opinion.I think that Gerry McElhinney was a Banagher player during his glorious years with the County!!

I have changed my selection period form 1970 to the mid 80's when I fIrst started attending Derry games my teams based on the one club criteria would be

Damian McCusker(Glen)
Kieran McKeever(Dungiven) SM Lockhart (Banagher) Tony Scullion(Ballinascreen)
Chrissy McKaigue ( Slaughtneil) Henry Downey(Lavey) Sean Leo McGoldrick (Coleraine)
Anthony Tohill(Swatragh) Fergal Doherty(Bellaghy)
Dermot Heaney (Castledawson) Damian Barton(Newbridge) Johnny McBride ( Loup)
Paddy Bradley(Glenullin) Enda Muldoon (Ballinderry) Enda Lynn ( Greenlough )

Tough calls to eave out the likes of Mark Lynch , Conleith Gilligan, Spoofer , Kevin McCloy , Patsy Bradley, Brian McGilligan, and Paul McFlynn amongst many others due to the one club criteria.

Real Talk · May 08, 2020, 09:42:28 PM

I have also changed my selection period form 1960's I have never saw Jim McKeever play) to 2000 when I fIrst started attending Derry games my teams based on the one club criteria would be :
Damian McCusker(Glen)
Kieran McKeever(Dungiven) Henry Diamond (Newbridge) Tony Scullion(Ballinascreen)
Chrissy McKaigue ( Slaughtneil) Henry Downey (Lavey) Phil McCotter (Kilrea))
Anthony Tohill(Swatragh) Fergal Doherty(Bellaghy)
Gerry McElhinney (Banagher) Mickey Niblock ( M'felt) Enda Muldoon (Ballinderry)
Paddy Bradley(Glenullin) Sean O'Connell (Ballerin) Johnny O'Leary (Doire Colmcille)

Silver hill · May 08, 2020, 10:19:47 PM

Very tough task this. Think it's right that the choice should be limited to players you have actually seen play rather than reputation and here-say

Silver hill · May 08, 2020, 10:34:11 PM

Damian Cassidy was arguably the best club footballer in Derry from 1988 to 1996. Leaving out fergal Doherty wouldn't seem right either, what a player he was. Saw Frankie O'loan a few times, but not enough to consider here. A very decent player (even though he was from Moneymore).😜

tbrick18 · May 11, 2020, 05:33:16 PM

For me (based on players I've seen in the flesh)....

Damien McCusker (Glen)
Kieran McKeever (Dungiven) SM Lockhart (Banagher) Tony Scullion ('Screen)
Gary Coleman (Ballymaguigan) Henry Downey (Lavey) Sean Leo McGoldrick (Coleraine)
Anthony Tohill (Swatragh) Patsy Bradley (Slaughtneil)
Damien Cassidy (Bellaghy) Damien Barton (Newbridge) Danny Heavron (Magherafelt)
Paddy Bradley (Glenullin) Enda Muldoon (Ballinderry) Dermot Heaney (Castledawson)

Derry Optimist · May 11, 2020, 07:00:51 PM

I have really enjoyed the recent contributions of many posters who have selected their favourite Derry sides over many past decades.Like everyone else I only pick players whom I have seen in the flesh.So I must be older than some of my fellow selectors when they have not seen Sean O'Connell,Joe Irwin and Gerry O'Loughlin starring in a Derry jersey!

Anyhow as we have no real prospect of any inter county action in the immediate future ( ie until social distancing is not a requirement for contact team sports which according to some of the more pessimistic medical experts could be well into next year) I will now enter fantasy land and select my ideal Derry team. The side which I would like to see take the field, whenever the green light is given to do so, is rather problematic for two obvious reasons.

Two of my choices are still officially attached to Australian Rules but there is no harm in dreaming that they will don the red and white jersey one day. I have no doubt that they would add considerable substance to Derry's chances of really being more competitive at a higher level. I have not included Anton Tohill simply because I have not seen him play at any level. However, there are two other players who have the definite ability to make a huge difference but apparently, despite the overtures of Rory Gallagher, they just do not want to commit themselves to play for the county. So I have ignored their claims for inclusion.

Odhran Lynch
Padraig McGrogan Brendan Rogers Karl McKaigue

Ciaran McFaul Chrissy McKaigue Niall Keenan
Niall Holly Conor Glass
Emmett Bradley Callum Brown Padraig Cassidy
Shane McGuigan Niall Loughlin Enda Lynn

Subs:T Mallon,L McGoldrick,M McEvoy,P McNeill,C McCluskey,S Downey,D Cassidy,C McAtamney,O McWilliams,C Bradley,B McCarron,C Doherty,Jack Doherty,B Heron,R Bell,J Rocks, L McWilliams.

If that side were available the future of Derry football would be very bright indeed.

petermce · May 13, 2020, 02:39:16 AM

Good team Derry Optimist. I think Callum Brown isn't as good a footballer as the likes of Heron or Bell. No doubt he is an amazing athlete and would contribute in around the middle. For that reason I think I would replace Niall Holly with him. I would put a better footballer in CHF such as Shane McGuigan and put Heron or Bell in the Full Forward line.

Derry Optimist · May 22, 2020, 10:10:58 PM

I would like again to commend the Derry GAA Communications Committee, spearheaded by an innovative County PRO, suitably aided by some other like - minded souls, in their weekly cameos of very talented sports people across the codes.

I would hope that eventually they would put them all together in a montage of "We are Derry" excellence.Take this week's selection for instance.Bar Jim McKeever, there has never been such a consistently high fielder of a ball with such a brilliant spring jump than this week's choice midfielder Tom McGuinness.

Yes, I have not forgotten the tremendous all round athleticism and skill of Anthony Tohill or the many mighty fetches in club football of Patsy Bradley, but Tom was simply in a class of his own when it came to spectacular and aesthetic fielding.

Similarly the Committee's selection and description of the telepathic understanding between our greatest centre half forward, Mickey Niblock, and the intuitive play of that master of the sidestep, Eamonn Coleman, had to be seen to be believed.So to complete your superb combined cameo work I would like to see a montage of snapshots footage and catchy captions of all your excellent work.

It would create a perfect benchmark for all those present Derry players who really want to prove that they, too,can reach the great heights of the past masters.Over to you Committee.Let the players of today and tomorrow emulate our stars of yesterday.

Estimator · May 28, 2020, 11:47:39 AM

Interesting article in the Derry Post about the amount of players who have played for Derry between Damien Barton's 2016 first league game in charge and the League game v Cork this year.

82 players used between League and Championship
52 of that total have played in the Championship
7 goalkeepers used (Inc Micky C - goalkeeping coach at the time) Not included is Barry Gillis who was on the bench for another game.

Context is important here. (which is added in the report)
Donegal (3 Ulster Final Appearances and 2 victories) used 58 players in league and C'ship.
Monaghan (1 Quarter final and 1 Semi-final appearance) used 47 players in league and C'ship.

toby47 · May 28, 2020, 02:44:30 PM

Quote from: Estimator on May 28, 2020, 11:47:39 AM
Interesting article in the Derry Post about the amount of players who have played for Derry between Damien Barton's 2016 first league game in charge and the League game v Cork this year.

82 players used between League and Championship
52 of that total have played in the Championship
7 goalkeepers used (Inc Micky C - goalkeeping coach at the time) Not included is Barry Gillis who was on the bench for another game.

Context is important here. (which is added in the report)
Donegal (3 Ulster Final Appearances and 2 victories) used 58 players in league and C'ship.
Monaghan (1 Quarter final and 1 Semi-final appearance) used 47 players in league and C'ship.

Surprising to see Conor McAtamney was the most used player, would have had a lot of guesses before I picked Conor.

And he actually left the panel during the league this year due to Gallagher not giving him a chance.

Derry Optimist · May 28, 2020, 05:51:29 PM

The Irish Independent are running a feature series,every day this week,in which they select the Top 20 GAA players from each county,province and nationally for the last 50 years ie from 1970-2019. Yesterday they picked,in descending order,Derry's Top 20.Ability and length of service,in most cases, would appear to be the main criteria.They were also selected, regardless of which position that they played in.In other words,if they were considered good enough,two or more goalkeepers or five or six midfielders could be picked.

As in most such selections, there appears to be an over emphasis on picking the players who won the most trophies.Consequently, I feel, this was done at the expense of many outstanding players who gave countless years of dedicated service but did not win many major prizes.Grant it I understand why such stalwarts as Henry Diamond and Mickey Niblock were not chosen as they only played a few years of championship football at the beginning of the selected period in the early 1970's.The Top 20 Derry men picked were as follows:

1.Anthony Tohill
2.Tony Scullion.
3.Brian McGilligan
4.Enda Muldoon
5.Enda Gormley
6.Anthony McGurk
7.Sean Marty Lockhart
8.Henry Downey
9.Joe Brolly
10.Paddy Bradley
11.Kieran McKeever
12.Dermot McNicholl
13.Peter Stevenson.
14.Sean O'Connell
15.Mickey Moran.
16.Damian Cassidy
17.Damian Barton
18.Gary Coleman
19.Damian McCusker
20.Johnny McGurk.

I believe that there are at least seven more players, if the research was done properly, who would be worthy of serious consideration for the above selection.

1.John Somers.John was a truly outstanding goalkeeper,played for Ulster and represented Derry for twelve consecutive years (1972-1983).

2.Mark Lynch.Mark literally carried Derry, almost alone for many of the fifteen successive years (2004-2018) that he played.Often during that period he snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

3.Gerry O'Loughlin was one of Derry's longest serving players.He played over three decades,turning in consistently masterful performances during his fifteen year tenure with the county(1968-1982).

4.Tom McGuinness. Bar Jim McKeever and Anthony Tohill Tom was Derry's best midfielder to field and then run at defences. His fielding prowess was simply a mark of artistry.For twelve years (1968 -1979) he lorded the midfield exchanges for the county.

5.Joe Irwin.Another unheralded but highly effective player. For nine years Joe, who also played for Ulster, was the reliable defensive anchor at the heart of the Derry defence.(1981-1989).

6.Gerry McElhinney.The teenage prodigy who only played four years for the County (1975-1978) was one of the most gifted players ever to don a Derry jersey. He became one of the youngest players ever to be selected as an All Star.

7.Mickey Lynch, of the blistering pace,was Derry's star forward for nine years (1975-1983).Who will ever forget his Sports Star of the Week performance when he scored six points from play in the 1976 National League final against Dublin in Croke Park?

I do not wish in any way to detract from the outstanding ability of the above chosen twenty players.They were all magnificent servants of Derry football. Suffice to remind everybody that those additional seven (as well as others whom I may have inadvertently omitted) should never be forgotten for their fantastic contribution to Derry football.

bannside · May 29, 2020, 03:41:51 PM

Never laughed as much in my life. What total drivel.

Fergal Doc carried an average Derry team for 12 years. Skinner Bradlet the most exciting player youse ever had. Paddy Bradley all time top scorer in Ulster championship scraped into top ten.

I've seen the vast majority of these players from about 1974 onwards and without mentioning who is on the list ahead of who isn't, Im just saying this list is badly flawed! Was there much better than Paddy Mc Flynn or Johnny over a 12 year period either?

bannside · May 30, 2020, 12:08:33 AM

Well spotted HS. Derry posters will know what I mean Paddy Finn aka Paul Mc Flynn. Nothing wrong with Paddy Mc Flynn either. My Dad and Paddy were friends and we always managed to get two of Paddys best ex presidents tickets for the all ireland final.