best player you played against

who is the best player you played against i have played against keith barr sherlock and whelan well numerous dubs but the best i thought was eamonn heary , outside dublin i played against adrian ronan and pat o neill 2 smashing hurlers and when i lived in england played against gerry armstrong

Hip - I played soccer against Eamon Heary - the bloke never stopped running - more fitter than a DC exhaust mechanic! Also played against quite a few LoI players. Not many inter county GAA lads though - not many found their way down to Junior 7!!

Played with and against numerous all-ireland winners. Cormac McAnnallan, Philip Jordan, Collie Holmes, Ryan Mellon, Sean Cavanagh.

Ronan Clarke, John Toal, ~Philip Loughran, Kevin McIlvanna, Paddy McKeever. Paul McCormack.

Probably the best when we were younger was Paddy McKeever.

In Kerry you can't go anywhere without bumping into an All-Ireland medal winner and on every pitch there is one.

played with: David Heaney, Aidan Campbell, (both Mayo) Ger Brennan(Dublin) and Niall Coyne (Galway)

Played against: I'v marked David Brady, Ronan McGarrity, Ger Cafferkey, Ross Munnelly, Conor Mortimer, Kieran Donaghy, Tommy Walsh to name but a few

Swinford2009 wrote:played with: David Heaney, Aidan Campbell, (both Mayo) Ger Brennan(Dublin) and Niall Coyne (Galway)

Played against: I'v marked David Brady, Ronan McGarrity, Ger Cafferkey, Ross Munnelly, Conor Mortimer, Kieran Donaghy, Tommy Walsh to name but a few

Played against Brendan Lynch, who was the only player to record winning All Irelands in 60,70 and 80 minute finals. Our full back did not turn up until half time so I was sent back to mark him. Did very well,kept him scoreless from play but he got 8 points from the frees I conceded!

Marked Francie Bellew in a challenge the day after my leaving cert results needless to say that was the reason for him to get the better of the exchanges!

Marked most of the Cavan u21s and played against a few LOI players in soccer...

scoopmine wrote:Marked Francie Bellew in a challenge the day after my leaving cert results ...

I'd say you might have got more marks off Francie than in the Leaving Cert Scoop!!!

Jayo Cluxton wrote:

scoopmine wrote:Marked Francie Bellew in a challenge the day after my leaving cert results ...

I'd say you might have got more marks off Francie than in the Leaving Cert Scoop!!!

Jayo the Mark was only introduced for the national league. Francie was not playing national league

samin10 wrote:
Probably the best when we were younger was Paddy McKeever.

McKeever was indeed excellent when he was young. Remember him starring in a losing McRory cup final against Dungannon in 1997, and for Armagh seniors Croke Park in 1999. Although he had a very successful 10 years with Armagh, he never really delivered on that early promise.

The best player I ever played against was Gerald Cavlan in training. Ridiculously gifted athlete and footballer. Also gave me the pass for my only ever goal at senior level for the club!

Played minor in the early nineties once marked a lad called David Burke from Ballyhaunis who was an outstanding mayo forward. Also from that era Declan Boyle from donegal remeber hardest opponents were Sean Teague from tyrone, Brian Corcoran from cork.

In hurling once played against Philly Larkin from Kilkenny

TC what ever became of Sean Teague ?

Lizzy Lynch in training once. Have recovered yet.

OMAR wrote:TC what ever became of Sean Teague ?

OMAR - he captained Tyrone to an Ulster title in 2001 (i think it was) but never featured for Tyrone much after that largely due to a serious ankle injury he suffered when he was only in his early twenties. He was one of the hardest b*****ds i ever played against.

He managed his club to the All ireland junior title a few years back and is still with them, Mugsys_barber would be a clubmate of his.

bocerty wrote:

OMAR wrote:TC what ever became of Sean Teague ?

OMAR - he captained Tyrone to an Ulster title in 2001 (i think it was) but never featured for Tyrone much after that largely due to a serious ankle injury he suffered when he was only in his early twenties. He was one of the hardest b*****ds i ever played against.

He managed his club to the All ireland junior title a few years back and is still with them, Mugsys_barber would be a clubmate of his.

That is indeed correct Bocerty, He managed us to the Junior All Ireland title in 2007 and has guided the team from Junior to senior football. Sean would have probably have been Tyrone's full back for most of the 90's but for a serious leg break in 1994. In fairness he came back onto the Tyrone panel in 2000 after playing for New York against Mayo in 1999 and like you say captained Tyrone in 2001 but possibly lacked the pace for his natural position of full back following the injury and played at Centre half back. One of the hardest players I've ever played alongside from underage level and through to senior until he retired in 2005 and possibly the closest thing we had to a Mick Lyons type figure in Tyrone. A Great leader and friend on and off the field it must be said.

Another famous defender from my club of course was Tommy McDermott from Channel 4's first Big Brother who would also have played alongside Teague and myself of course! He actually got a trial or two with the Tyrone seniors in 94 but didn't make the cut. As I recall I don't think he was all that bothered about it as it coincided with a thriving social life.

Cheers Mugsy/Bocerty

Played minor against him in 1991 - Think he was centre half back at the time -I was right half forward so our paths crossed a few times - I still have the marks !!
But even as a minor he was a players whose legend preceded him as a hardy player.

Remember playing against cork and Brian Corcoran had a beard at the time though to be fair corcoran was a very clean player he did'nt need to be anything else given his physique and athletic ability underage

OMAR wrote:Remember playing against cork and Brian Corcoran had a beard at the time

yes .... and he was only 11!!!

Jayo Cluxton wrote:

OMAR wrote:Remember playing against cork and Brian Corcoran had a beard at the time

yes .... and he was only 11!!!

In 91 between minor senior U-21 Freshers college club and county Hurling and football I think he was training sixteen evenings a week - He was also a martial arts black belt

OMAR wrote:He was also a martial arts black belt

Yep OMAR - I was always convinced that the training regime and discipline of martial arts really helped prolong his career.

I played with Paddy Crehand and Dennis Law against George Best and Charlie Galllagher on the beech in Bunbeg, Donegal in 1966.

Can't imagine premiership "stars" holidaying in the Gaeltacht now.

Played against Gerry Armstrong and martin O'Neill as well at GAA and soccer.

My real claim to fame was playing Fitzgibbon and university hurling and remember playing against Cody who was at St Pat's Drumcondra, and only recently discovered the small tough guy beside him was Loughnane.

But Ray Cummings is the only one who made the team of the millennium so He would be the best.

Of course it goes without saying that I played against many, many Antrim legends.

we have that in common patrique we both played against gerry the man was as strong as an oax

At Gaelic football gerry was known as the" 6 million dollar man", could have run through brick walls and had the hardest shot ever.

Alas at soccer they tried too fit him into a system, except in the World Cup in Spain when they let him do what ever he was good at.

[quote="patrique"]I played with Paddy Crehand and Dennis Law against George Best and Charlie Galllagher on the beech in Bunbeg, Donegal in 1966.

Can't imagine premiership "stars" holidaying in the Gaeltacht now.

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any famous cross border tourists are more likely to be former snipers rather than former strikers.

[quote="OMAR"]

patrique wrote:I played with Paddy Crehand and Dennis Law against George Best and Charlie Galllagher on the beech in Bunbeg, Donegal in 1966.

Can't imagine premiership "stars" holidaying in the Gaeltacht now.

______________
any famous cross border tourists are more likely to be former snipers rather than former strikers.

True enough, which is why I started going to Mayo instead, many years ago.

As the old joke goes

A move that doubled the average IQ in both counties