'I played for Dublin in that period and I didn’t see any chaos' - From serial heartbreak to rise

ON THE COVER OF Neil Cotter’s excellent book ‘Dublin – The Chaos Years’ detailing the period between the 1995 and 2011 All Ireland titles, there is a quote from no less than Bertie Ahern (Dublin supporter) who shared his wisdom: ‘You have to butter the bread before you put the sambo together.’

The more thought you give it, the more cryptic it becomes. But it’s probably best to trust the gut instinct; you understand precisely what he is driving at in that half-second it takes to form an opinion.

The book is a riot of anecdotes and catastrophe. Unfulfilled talent. A successful team from 1995 that didn’t welcome newcomers and found it hard to let go.

Eventually, they became something of a national punchline when defeat would inevitably arrive. A lighter and localised version of the bi-annual delight at England’s soccer team’s ejection from a major tournament.

‘I used to love playing them,’ was Graham Geraghty’s jacket cover quote.

And the final quote belonged to Keith Barr. ‘We won f**k all, but we had great craic.’

Inside the covers, most of the great anecdotes belong to Barr. Asked about that period now, though, and the Erins Isle man bristles.

“I don’t know where he gets the word ‘Chaos’. Where did he see it?” asks Barr.

“I played for Dublin in that period and I didn’t see any chaos. I seen a very competitive Dublin team that got to three or four All Ireland finals. Yes, we lost the majority of them, but we were competitive. And we were beaten by very, very good teams: Down, Donegal, Derry, they were all excellent sides.”

If you were drawing parallels, the present Mayo team would be a good one. But Dublin didn’t have anything like the public sympathy reserved for Mayo.

Excellent teams, that bar 1995, didn’t win the ultimate prize.

Dr Pat O’Neill won Sam in his third year in charge. He ruled by consensus. Such managers are adored by players when they have a greater stake in success.

And then he left. Mickey Whelan came in. He brought different players. They weren’t particularly welcome.

Whelan’s new methods weren’t appreciated by a group that felt they had to sweat blood through their eyeballs until they could kick through heaven’s door.

The journey they were on, if we were to take the four-game epic against Meath as the starting point to the end of the ’90s, went a long way for Dublin football.

Naturally, that wasn’t how it felt at the time of course.

“Part of Dublin’s success over the last decade, and we must acknowledge they are an exceptional bunch of players that we have presently and past,” begins Barr.

Keith Barr.

“But one would have to accept that it was the team of ’95 that contributed to the management teams. You had Pat Gilroy, Dessie Farrell, Jim Gavin, all whom played in ’95.

“You also had a number of selectors, Mick Deegan, Paul Clarke, Jason Sherlock, you could go through them all.

“Everyone is entitled to their opinion but they are not entitled to the facts. The facts are that that Dublin team of 1995 have built this team. Mick Deegan, Paul Clarke, Jason Sherlock… All who have made a major contribution. Mick Galvin! Another one. So there you have it.”

As for Gavin. What kind of an animal was he in the dressing room? Quiet and withdrawn, or flicking the towels at exposed buttocks?

“In the dressing room, Jim was no different than anyone else,” says Barr.

“We had a very competitive squad and dressing room. Everyone had to earn their stripes.”

Vinny Murphy’s time as a Dub went one year further back than Barr’s. He made his debut in 1988 while still a minor.

His early childhood memories were around Heffo’s Army, The Blue Panther and Jimmy Keaveney. He arrived in a strange period, he admits.

“The backdrop of Dublin GAA back then, it was very much the poor relation. I was born in ’69 and I remember going to primary school bringing the club jersey to school and you used to get slagged by people calling you a bog baller. It was considered a country man’s game and that real Dubs played and supported soccer,” says Murphy.

“I think the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s was run by the people who had come to Dublin from the country and it was ran primarily by those people, supported by those people.

“It was Kevin Heffernan’s vision to bring those Leinster Council coaches to Dublin. There were only 12 initially, back in 1993, which I was one of, Paul Curran was another that were brought in on three-year contracts to try to promote and coach the games in the schools, within clubs and summer camps.

“So that had an effect. We were told they were going to be the kings of Dublin, getting onto Development Squads and getting their house in order.”

All that was long-term stuff. Way off in the distance. Seeds that were being sown for a later harvest.

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On the panel of the Dublin team, it wasn’t a land of plenty.

“Before that, after league games at home, we wouldn’t have been fed. Even after a Leinster final, there wasn’t a meal after that. The only time you got a dinner was when you played away, or it was an All-Ireland final,” says Murphy.

But word soon reached them of how other counties were being treated. After Dublin won the 1995 All Ireland, Murphy headed to Kerry to work and joined up with the Kerins O’Rahillys club. They were being looked after better than the Dubs.

The world became smaller. Players started going to college and listening to what players from other counties were getting.

If everything had been right, would they have been left with such a nagging sense that their own careers weren’t as fulfilled?

“It wouldn’t have been an inferiority complex. But there certainly were mistakes made; by players, by management, over various times,” says Murphy.

Vinny Murphy.

“Every year, nobody could tell you how the Dublin team played. It would change a little every year and we would try to copy the team that had just beaten us, which isn’t always the best way to go.

“In that team, there were a lot of big personalities. I think it wasn’t about leaving honours behind us. You look at the Meath and Down teams of that time and what they won. Yet we would have considered ourselves a better team than them and we were there longer competing at that level.

“The defeats would have ingrained something in the future managers about never getting ahead of yourself.

“The excitement never built too much until we would get to a final and then it would go instantly over the top.”

The film reel of your own life plays out differently for every individual. For Jack Sheedy, he didn’t see the inferiority, didn’t hear it around him.

“I had come in in late 1990 and there was a level of positivity without any arrogance. With Paddy (Dr Pat) coming in there was a change of scenery and faces to an extent.

“The over-riding feeling was one of determination to get the job done than one of inferiority. There wasn’t a lot of soul searching.”

He continues: “There was all sorts of talk in certain sections of the media that we took our eye off the ball because of the growing sense of commercialism that was being attached to the Dublin team.”

He lays it out in colder, clinical terms. They lost game four to Meath in 1991.

Donegal in the ’92 final?

“We didn’t play well enough to beat Donegal. That was the simple answer.”

Derry and the semi-final in 1993?

“Derry played well.”

1994, Down in the final?

“A missed penalty. People would have questioned the selection of Paul Curran at corner-back on Mickey Linden. Paul was an athlete. Was he the tightest man-marker? Maybe not.”

What is indisputable is the vast number of Dublin players of that era that have shaped the senior team for the last decade and a half. From Pat Gilroy, to Jim Gavin, to Dessie Farrell. Taking in Mick Galvin, Paul Clarke, Jason Sherlock. Many more.

Sheedy would credit Dr Pat O’Neill as the key to players becoming interested in coaching.

“Pat’s leadership, Pat’s style, would have been an influence on that. The guys he had with him – Fran Ryder, Jim Brogan and Bobby Doyle – they all brought strong characteristics from their days under Kevin Heffernan and so many of those guys were involved in coaching at high levels as well,” he says.

Jack Sheedy.

“It would be the personality of the guys themselves, myself included, would have a great grá for the game and held prominent roles within the teams, long before the sophisticated leadership groups of today.

“But strong players came to the fore on the pitch and a lot of those players would have had strong and good inputs and influences.”

The bread is well covered now before the sambo is put together.

The Dublin footballers who went on to coach and manage:

John O’Leary

Selector with Tommy Carr with Dublin. After that came to an end he took charge of Wicklow – his mother’s county. He managed Dublin’s senior ladies in 2004. Was involved as a coach with Louth in 2012. Was appointed director of football at Fingal Ravens in 2020.

Paul Curran

The Thomas Davis man has extensive management experience with his own club and others.

He was with Jim Gavin’s Dublin U21s as a coach. He won a county title as manager of Ballymun Kickhams. Has been linked to a series of county jobs including Roscommon, Offaly and Cavan.

Tommy Carr

Took over as Dublin manager in 1997 and went until the famous All Ireland quarter-final exit to Kerry at Thurles in 2001. Was involved with Wexford the following year. Went on to manage Roscommon and Cavan, along with Westmeath minors.

Keith Barr

Although he downplays his coaching, he was in charge of an exceptional group of St Brigid’s underage players in 2012 that won the Dublin Feile in both hurling and football.

Mick Deegan

Was a selector with Jim Gavin in his first two seasons in charge, has also managed the Dublin junior football team and has managed Fingal Ravens.

Paul Bealin

Had a long management career, taking Ballyboden St Enda’s, Wexford and Westmeath for a single season.

Jim Gavin

The most successful manager in Gaelic football. Took over the county U21s in time for the Leinster title win in 2009 and won the 2010 All Ireland.

Became senior manager and landed Sam Maguire in his first year (2012) in charge, following it up with a successful defence in 2013.

Donegal in 2014 were the only time his side were beaten in championship, they came back to put five consecutive All Irelands together and become the greatest team of all.

Paul Clarke

Has had an incredible spell of service as a coach under various Dublin managers. Started with Paul ‘Pillar’ Caffrey, was a coach for Jim Gavin’s all-conquering side and was in with Dessie Farrell.

Dessie Farrell

The current Dublin senior manager, he has won two All Ireland titles in the last four seasons after taking over from Jim Gavin.

Jason Sherlock

Was brought in as a coach for Jim Gavin after the defeat to Donegal in 2014, Sherlock then became a critical part of the coaching set-up. Is now assisting Dessie Dolan with Westmeath after coming close to taking the Monaghan job previously.

Mick Galvin

Started out with St Oliver Plunketts and when they were relegated to intermediate level, hooked up with Na Fianna where he has won three county titles as a player and manager. It also brought him closer to Dessie Farrell and he is a coach in the present set-up.

Pat Gilroy

Gilroy was the man who started the revival of the present Dubs. Took over for the 2009 season and by 2011, he ended the 16 years drought without the Sam Maguire Cup in the capital. Has since managed Dublin hurlers and has helped as selector with Dessie Farrell.

Jack Sheedy

Has extensive management experience with the likes of St Sylvester’s in Malahide and Mullingar Shamrocks. But his finest day in management must include when he was in charge of Longford and they beat Derry in the All Ireland qualifiers in 2015.

Declan Darcy

Came in to play with Dublin in 1996 after captaining Leitrim to a Connacht title in 1994. While he didn’t taste All Ireland success as a player, he became Jim Gavin’s right hand man for coaching and management.