Great to see them back for the silver jubilee presentation.
I wouldn't have set eyes on a lot of them in years, so it's always unusual to see them older than your video memories of them.
What we wouldn't give to have a team as determined, motivated and driven as them nowadays!
I suppose it really does bring home how much we allowed ourselves to fall into decline as a hurling power since then.
It'll take a seriously good group of Offaly players to ever topple Kilkenny or Cork again.
At the moment I find it hard to imagine a similar golden era for Offaly hurling ever happening again.
You'd sometimes wonder if some of the current players really understand how hard those guys worked to take Offaly to the top level. When you think of what it would take for Laois or Antrim to become a really top level team, you then have some idea of what would be required.
We do seem a long way away at the moment, but you'd like to think that there is somebody out there who could find the fire within these lads that has been lying dormant for a while. We can but hope.
The only one that I would not have recognised was Liam Currams. While the camera was on him and Marty was still speechifying, I said to myself "Ah Currams must be somewhere else in the world and his Dad is representing him". I couldn't believe it when he said this was the man himself.
Contrastingly, Ger Coughlan has hardly changed a bit, and the others have mainly only suffered follicly. Superb team and their achievement of winning a first ever title by beating the reigning champs should never be underestimated. Those charging runs by Pat Delaney, Mark Corrigan jinking on the wing, Eugene Coughlan exuding calmness under pressure, Joachim looking for a brick wall to run through, Johnny Flaherty always waiting for that one half chance, Pat Carroll's fiery burst of speed and power. I dont think there was a single weak link on that team.
I must say well done to the Tribune for an excellent jubilee team supplement. A superb collection of memories by each of the players, excellent interviews with Dermot Healy, Padraig Horan and Fr. Sean Heaney and a tribute to Pat Carroll.
A recurring theme throughout was the importance of Pat Carroll’s great equalizing point against Laois that year which, it seems, surpassed Kirwan’s more storied wining free for significance. Also recalled was the Battle of Tulla in 1979 and how the tgethernes shown that day bonded the team. Having to pay all six league matches away from home the next season was used by Healy to get it out of lads’ heads that they could only win matches in Birr.
Offaly had a number of heartbreaking narrow defeats during that period in the late 70’s. Healy recalled how their attitude at the time was one of – do well in the league; try make a respectable championship exit and secure a good ticket for the All-Ireland. The similarities with today are striking. If only we could find a leader, a coach who held the respect of the players.
Superb team and their achievement of winning a first ever title by beating the reigning champs should never be underestimated. Those charging runs by Pat Delaney, Mark Corrigan jinking on the wing, Eugene Coughlan exuding calmness under pressure, Joachim looking for a brick wall to run through, Johnny Flaherty always waiting for that one half chance, Pat Carroll's fiery burst of speed and power. I dont think there was a single weak link on that team.