A Walk Down St Patrick's Day Memory Lane

From 1979 until 2019, St Patrick’s Day had a special place in the GAA calendar. 

Our National day also meant the culmination of our senior club competitions as the hurling and football finals took centre stage in Croke Park. 

We take a look back at a handful of those occasions when players and supporters from Dublin clubs enjoyed a particularly Happy St Patrick’s Day and how they got there.

When Kilmacud Crokes won their second ever Dublin title, beating Erin’s Isle by a single point after a replay, they hardly dared dream that they might be in Croke Park less than five months later. 

However, when a one point win against Meath champions Seneschalstown brought an historic first provincial crown, only Castlehaven stood between them and the final. 

The Cork men were duly despatched and now only Bellaghy from Derry stood between the Stillorgan men and All Ireland glory.

Despite the bright sunshine, the day of the final was bitterly cold and a ferocious hail shower during the game didn’t help matters.  Conditions meant scoring was at a premium.  There was never much between the sides so when Bellaghy were awarded a penalty in the second half it looked like that might be a defining moment.  Mick Pender’s super save from Damian Cassidy’s spot kick was indeed a defining moment and Crokes closed out the game 0-8 to 0-05.

Skipper Mick Dillon was a proud man as he lifted the Andy Merrigan Cup, the first time it stayed in the capital in nineteen years- when St Vincent’s had beaten Roscommon Gaels.

It would be another 13 years before a Dublin club captain lifted the cup again and once again it was the men from Marino who delivered.

A thrilling county final win – their first in 23 years - was secured with a two point win over St Brigid’s, thanks mainly to a fantastic last minute save by Michael Savage.

The St Vincent’s team then emulated their club men from 1984 when winning the Leinster Championship with a fine win over Tyrrellspass, with a certain Pat Gilroy contributing 1-01.

That set up an All Ireland semi final clash with reigning champions Crossmaglen Rangers.  A fine performance in Navan saw the Armagh kingpins dethroned as Vincent’s marched on to the final with four points to spare.

Another legendary club awaited the Dublin club in the final – none other than Cork’s Nemo Rangers. 

Vincent’s shot into a four point lead and had extended it to six by half time thanks to a Diarmuid Connolly goal. 

Nemo fought back bravely in the second half but thanks to seven points from captain Tomás Quinn the Dublin club hung on to win by the minimum, 1-11 to 0-13.

So another proud day for St Vincent’s with Ger Brennan and Pat Gilroy among the jubilant men in blue and white as they were crowned All Ireland champions for 2007/08.

There was to be no long gap until the next win, and again it was Kilmacud Crokes flying the Dublin flag in 2008/09. 

The Stlllorgan outfit won Dublin the hard way, with a semi final replay win over holders and All Ireland champions St Vincent’s and similar in the final against St Oliver Plunkett/Eoghan Ruadh (OP/ER). 

The Brogans scored all 13 points in the replayed final for OP/ER but a brace of goals from Jonny Magee saw Crokes home by two points.

Despite being six points and a man down at half-time in the Leinster final against Rhode, Kilmacud rallied with second half goals from Mark Davoren and Brian Kavanagh to record a famous win and lift a third provincial title. 

Mark Davoren’s haul of 1-06 against Corofin in the semi final set up another All Ireland final, this time against Crossmaglen Rangers.

The South Armagh outfit had never lost a final and were looking to join Nemo Rangers on seven All Ireland titles but Kilmacud had other ideas. 

Once again Mark Vaughan was to the fore with four points, but it was Mark Davoren’s early goal that gave Crokes a lead they would never relinquish. 

So a second All Ireland football title was heading to Stillorgan, fourteen years after the first. 

And corner forward Pat Bourke had joined his father, corner forward Pat Bourke senior, as an Andy Merrrigan winner for Crokes!

In 2013, St Vincent’s retained the Dublin Championship with a one point win over Ballymun Kickhams after two epic games. 

Ger Brennan lifted Vincent’s 25th Dublin title thanks to a last minute point from defender Cameron Diamond.

The men from Marino battled through Leinster to set up a provincial final against Portlaoise in Tullamore.  There was nothing between the sides for most of the second half until the last ten minutes when Vins scored the last four points, three of them from Tomas Quinn, to record a three point victory.

The win set up a semi final meeting with Derry champions Ballinderry in Newry.  Early goals from Tomas Quinn and Ciaran Dorney gave St Vincent’s a commanding lead and despite a second half comeback by the Derry men, they could not close the gap. 

The Dublin champions prevailed by four points and moved into the 2013/14 All Ireland final, where they would face Castlebar Mitchels.

St Vincent’s were sluggish in the first half and only goals from Michael Concarr and Ciaran Dorney kept them in touch, both goals assisted by Diarmuid Connolly.

The second half however was the Diarmuid Connolly show as he tormented the Mayo men, scoring a total of 2-05, including a memorable thunderbolt into the top right hand corner with his left foot. The Dublin champions ran out winners, 4-12 to 2-11.

Once again Ger Brennan climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand and lifted the Andy Merrigan Cup for his club, as Vincent’s were crowned All Ireland champions for the third time.

St Vincent’s retained their Dublin crown later that year but in 2015 their three in a row hopes were dashed by Ballyboden St Enda’s. 

The Southsiders raced into an eight point lead in the final thanks to an Andrew Kerin goal. 

A second Kerin goal from the penalty spot at the start of the second moved Ballyboden ten points clear. The Marino men fought back gamely but Boden’s lead was too great and they secured their third Dublin title with four points to spare.

Tullamore was again the venue and Portlaoise once again the opposition as Ballyboden sought to land their first provincial title. 

Andrew Kerin was again an early goalscorer in this final and a second by Michael Darragh MacAuley saw Boden ahead by the minimum at half time.  The second half was nip and tuck with Conal Keaney’s frees keeping the scoreboard ticking over. 

Paul Durcan’s excellent save with ten minutes to go was vital, no more so than when substitute Aran Waters nudged Boden ahead right at the death. 

A late missed 13 metre free by Portlaoise meant that Ballyboden hung on to win by 2-09 to 1-11. 

Darragh Nelson lifted the Sean McCabe Cup for his club, their first Leinster title.

Ironically a trip to Portlaoise was next and a semi final tie against Munster champions, Clonmel Commercials. 

A string of wides early on did not help Boden who found it hard to find their rhythm. 

They trailed 0-05 to 0-04 at half time and Clonmel opened up a three point gap with five minutes remaining. But though a man down, the Dublin champions dug deep and three injury time points forced the game to extra time at 10 points each. 

There was only one winner from there on as Andrew Kerins added two points to bring his tally to seven and Conal Keaney finished with four to move Boden into a final against Castlebar Mitchels on a score of 0-15 points to 0-10.

So the Dublin-Mayo rivalry was to continue.  Ballyboden tore out of the blocks and an early Colm Basquel goal was added to by an Andrew Kerin penalty as the Dubs raced into a 2-03 to nil lead. 

The Mayo men were shocked and in truth never recovered. Boden led by eight at half time and cantered home on a scoreline of 2-14 to 0-07.

It was only left to Darragh Nelson to lift the Andy Merrigan Cup for the first time for Ballyboden and bring it across the Liffey to the Firhouse Road to cap the happiest of St Patrick’s Days!

Cuala were crowned All-Ireland Champions on St Patrick's Day 2017- to become the first All-Ireland Senior Hurling Club Champions from Dublin.

The Dalkey men were forced to dig deep in the 2016 Dublin Senior Hurling Final to get past Kilmacud Crokes and seal back-to-back Dublin titles.

Mattie Kenny's side had trailed by two points late on, but six late scores, including two from Colm Cronin who ended the game with 1-3 overall, was enough as Cuala retained their Dublin crown on a scoreline of 1-15 to 0-15.

Emerging talent Con O'Callaghan was the star man for Cuala during their Leinster campaign, hitting 6-10 overall, as the Dalkey men became the first Dublin side to claim Leinster glory since 1980.

In the Leinster decider, O'Callaghan struck 1-04, as Cuala beat O'Loughlin gaels by 3-19 to 1-16, with David Treacy's impressive 0-11 haul helping his side to a strong first half and a big half-time lead, which they never relinquished.

Treacy and O'Callaghan led the charge for Cuala again in the All-Ireland Semi Final, as they beat Derry's Slaughneil by 3-21 to 2-11 to reach the St Patrick's Day All-Ireland Final against Clare's Ballyea at Croke Park.

The Dalkey men lived up to their favourites tag on All-Ireland Final day, shedding any pre-match nerves to win comprehensively.

They led from early on and never looked like giving up that lead- as Colm Cronin's goal midway through the first half helped Cuala to a 1-07 to 0-04 advantage at the break.

A tighter second half followed, but Cuala's second goal from Jake Malone late on sealed a famous win for the Dalkey men.

David Treacy’s 0-09, alongside Dublin midfielder Darragh O'Connell’s Man of the Match display with 0-03 helped Cuala become the first ever Dublin side to be crowned AIB All-Ireland club hurling champions, as captain Oisín Gough lifted the Tommy Moore Cup!