86 August 5, 2018 GAELIC GAMES A spine-tinglingTHEGAMESBETWEENCORKANDLIMERICKAND glimpse of sport

EQUALISER: Jason McCarthy I SAT in Croke Park’s senso- ry wonderland last Sunday, tears streaming from my eyes. Never have I felt so soul- soaringly alive. There are so many narrow, often at its very finest divisive definitions of what it is to be Irish. But here it was, a Eureka moment, something gorgeous and overwhelm- ing that touched the core, a visceral sense of identity, a euphoric taste of belonging, uncontainable, scream- out-loud joy. , in the divine sweet spot located by and Cork, Clare and Galway, felt like home. In an ever more homogenous planet, something uniquely, powerfully ours: a glorious, uplifting Celtic tattoo on the arm of summer. One which, in a cascade of scores and saves, exhibitions of extraordi- nary nerve and touch, courage and physical resilience, advanced to another level of fantasy. The two semi-finals assaulted the senses as profoundly as the handiwork of the Old Masters, until, eventually, in the overwhelming blur of beauty, there was only one rhetorical question. HEAT OF BATTLE: The one that asked whether a sport- of Clare ing 24 hours ever blazed so brilliantly, is tackled by Aidan set off so many emotional tripwires Harte and Adrian and flooded the bloodstream with Tuohy of Galway such a riptide of adrenalin. Nickie Quaid, Peter Duggan and were not so much hurlers, last weekend, as makers of spells. Alchemy THE ALL- HURLING As they worked their alchemy, there was that intense, acute connection that only the greatest works of art achieve. SEMI-FINALS DELIVERED It felt timeless, fathomless, provoc- ative and deeply moving, its haunting grace burrowing ever deeper into the audience’s psyche, until it located and SPECTACLES FOR THE AGES made its home in the soul. These were contests that would not look out of place hanging in a gallery. In any sport, you have moments – a “He had no connection to the larger Shane Dowling and Shane O’Dono- Rumble in the Jungle, Seve thrusting world…just a human being staying ghue, Colm Galvin and Peter Casey like a matador into the heart of Amen ROY CURTIS alive from one nanosecond to the found surreal calmness under intense Corner, Maradona bending the Mexican next, drawing one breath after anoth- pressure. World Cup to his will – that may come er, fully aware that each one might For a little while – calibrating angle along only once in a lifetime. be his last.” and velocity that might carry their Here were two in less than 24 hours. OPINION There is, of course, a world of sideline cuts to the post – Canning A pair of titanic, nerve-shredding, difference between war and elite or might have been the epic semi-finals that yielded seven that pickpocketed the bullet from man inred,green,saffron and maroon sport and while, if comparisons can single occupant of the entire world. goals, 123 points and an even greater Seamus Harnedy’s chamber just as have felt with everything on the line, seem trite, there are, too, undeniable Yet neither their technique nor damburst of exhilaration and torment the Cork gunfighter was primed to at the epicentre of existence, trying similarities. nerve failed. and heroics and immortal snapshots. fire the kill-shot? to breathe as the walls closed in on Remember the dream sequence of A weekend that flooded Limerick Or Duggan, as the Clare forward pin- summer? Combatants perfect Clare team play that climaxed with a hope unknown for 45 years and balled against a wall of Galway bod- In Black Hawk Down, his masterful with Jason McCarthy resurrecting Cork with dark introspection, which ies, yet, even tossed in the spin-dryer, recounting of conflict in Somalia, More than anything, there is the the Banner in the final breath of propelled Galway and Clare back to was able to right his balance, bounce Mark Bowden shines a light on the ex- shared sense of combatants at that ex- Saturday’s exchanges? Thurles this afternoon. the ball off the ground, and fire a hilaration M60 gunner Shawn Nelson treme pitch of awareness, understanding Or, as the consequence of a misfire Along with the wonder and gratitude wondrous one-handed score? felt in that chaotic cathedral of war. the stakes and potentially enormous gusted over Croke Park like a burn- came the tiniest tinge of jealousy. How intoxicating was it to be in the “Close to death he had never felt so consequences of every intervention. ing Gulf desert shamal, Pat Horgan How must it have felt to be Quaid, arena, at the very heart of a contest thun- alive…with death breathing right in For so many of these young hurlers, holding his nerve to secure extra-time when Limerick’s keeper made that dering along the high road to history? his face…a state of complete mental blissfully cast into the crossfire, it was on Sunday? intervention for the ages, the one How animated and vital must every and physical awareness. as if life had regained a vital edge. On and on it unspooled, so many August 5, 2018 87 CLARE AND GALWAY HITA DIVINE SWEETSPOT SPORTS WORLD “Astheyworkedtheir alchemy,therewasthatintense, Embrace that acuteconnectionthatonlythe greatestworksofartachieve” All-Ireland buzz

1. Our lives would be infinitely poorer without a GAA summer. talking WARRIORS: Pat Horgan Yes, there are controversies and GAA of Cork is tackled by Seán complaints: Newbridge or Nowhere, Finn of Limerick the Liam Miller benefit game and ticket ints... distribution for today’s replay in Thurles po a recent high-profile sample tray. with Yet, what a treasure, what a national monument the game of hurling is. ROY Anyone who allowed the beauty of CURTIS last week’s semi-finals to wash over them can only have felt reinvigorated, electrified by the heavenly light shone players ahead of the All-Ireland final on the old coliseum. and has warned of the corrosive effect Bill Shankly defined his mission at of hype. But, really, while accepting his Liverpool in simple terms: “To make concern, the great green tribe should the people happy.” pay absolutely no heed. Last week’s enriching double header Life is short, there is a whole universe continued hurling’s mesmeric summer of bad stuff out there. To the point that trend. It made the people swoon. not to mainline on the high-grade buzz 2. Can Michael Murphy escape of the next fortnight would amount to negligence. Tyrone’s shackles? Limerick have not won an All-Ireland Donegal fans will pray that their in 45 years. creative mainspring can deliver Without getting overly existential, another summer hymn. what is the point of it all if the county Murphy (right), a once-in-a- declines now to binge drink from the generation talent, long ago played glass of fizzing excitement they have the freight on his inter-county been seeking out for decades? journey, yet Even the players should feel has continually found no duty to be po-faced or to ways to clip his wings. hide from the madness all The chairman of the around them. Tir Chonaill board Embrace it, enjoy it, be has scored just three inspired by it. These are points from play in his the days of your lives. last six championship collisions with 5. Was Peter Duggan’s Donegal’s fellow point the greatest alpha males. ever scored, was Nicky Justin McMahon, Quaid’s ‘steal’ the moment Cathal McCarron and, most of the summer? recently, Padraig Hampsey have been Maurice Fitzgerald’s sideline kick that successfully deployed in a velcro man- did for in 2001 has resided at marking role to frustrate Murphy. the top of my all-time list for 17 years. Donegal have argued that some After last Saturday that Semple of the shadowing has crossed the Stadium score detonation of genius line, though a counter-argument has a bedfellow. could be made that Murphy, a hugely Duggan’s score for Clare – bouncing physical presence, frequently blurs the the ball from hurl to ground and firing boundaries of what’s permitted. a one-handed score where just Still, it was significant to hear Declan staying standing while being pinballed Bonner call for the referee to be vigilant from one Galway body to the next in protecting Murphy – and the slighter was a feat – had a degree of sorcery DRAMA TO THE END: Limerick Ryan McHugh – from roughhouse that separates it from even the best of treatment. Bonner understands that, goalkeeper Nickie Quaid makes the rest. with Paddy McBrearty absent, a a save from Seamus Harnedy Quaid’s vital nicking of the sliotar towering display from his greatest from Seamus Harnedy’s hurl as of Cork in the final moments of player is the key to securing a place in Limerick stared into the abyss was their All-Ireland semi-final the All-Ireland semi-final. miraculous, something that nobody 3. Can Galway survive if McInerney who saw it will ever forget. and Canning miss out? Pure intoxicating theatre. moments of thrilling uplift, making can burst through any obstacle. The Hurling’s champions are wobbling on the people happy or tearing out rest of us will simply relish what this their hearts. summer of stunning renewal might the throne. Bad enough that a resurgent Clare In the defining extra-time mo- offer us next. ments, it felt like the assault on the As the 30 gladiators gallop into the replicated Kilkenny’s achievement in senses was strong enough to carry Thurles arena, we can remember the pushing Galway to the brink. across the galaxies, to deliver a jolt words of a wistful Sugar Ray Leon- Worse are the authentic fitness to any life forms that might exist on ard, ringside at a world title fight concerns surrounding their two most Alpha Centauri. shortly after his own retirement. influential players. “These guys are standing at the Forget what Galway team is named: Emotional centre of the world. You can see until the game throws in with Gearoid where I am. I am in the crowd.” McInerney – the supreme centre- If Limerick’s horizons are re- The old warrior’s eyes moistened back in the modern game – and the drawn, Clare and Galway are back as he spoke. transcendent Joe Canning on the field, where they started, compelled to We are in the crowd, too, but any set last weekend’s emotional tour their supporters will fret. tears – in Croke Park last weekend or in Even then, there will be concerns, de force to one side and go again. Thurles today – are shed not in regret. For the champions, there are deep con- just eight days after limping out of the But, rather, in wonder and grati- A CUT ABOVE: drawn game, about their readiness for cerns about two of their cornerstones, tude for this miracle of summer, for Peter Duggan of Gearoid McInerney and Canning. such an intense contest. the untouchable thrill of the ancient Clare during the Clare, empowered by their finest game, for the spine-tingling sense 4. Limerick should go utterly display since 2013, will believe they of coming home. semi-final draw bonkers. John Kiely wishes to cocoon his MASTERY: Gearóid McInerney 46 March 10, 2019 N

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PADDY HE SITS scarcely a short-head rine-drenched territories of sentiment. before us, the Caesar of the He carries the qualities that have POWER elevated him to greatness – a cold, Cotswolds. Ruby Walsh, at ROY CURTIS sometimes sharp pragmatism; brilliant CHARITY 39 years, 295 days, is gleam- understanding of reality; a refusal to ing in his coat, those prob- surrender to peripheral noise, utter EXCLUSIVE fearlessness, a genetic inability to PICKS ing, intelligent eyes aglow, a suffer fools, a perceptive wit – into healthy sheen glinting off skin half clenched, as if around the neck of Kildare Da Vinci adding any further civilian life. HERE are our four an animal charging up the Cheltenham brushstrokes of beauty to his sun-dap- Yet the prospect of leaving that mag- Cheltenham Charity clingfilmed tightly about his hill toward immortality. pled Cheltenham canvas. netic Gloucestershire field of dreams tips, courtesy of our jawbone. Walsh, the Paddy Power ambassador, In May, he crosses the Rubicon into the behind him for a last time, he says Sunday World/Paddy “f**king scares me. As he speaks – and, with his is in a meeting room on the fifth floor of Badlands of sporting old-age, jumps the Power €50 Bet of the penetrating wisdom, the aversion the oddsmaker’s plush Dublin HQ; but “You can’t replace Day for each day of open ditch that has the enemy territory of that can you? A to bullshit, those vivid word-pic- Walsh, the genius horseman, a rider his 40th birthday on the far side. the Festival, writes of such gorgeous poise and intuition John Brennan. tures that chairlift his audience The number at which his great that he brings, an ancient testimonial friend, AP McCoy, allowed We’re hoping to into the coliseum and onto the to Lester Piggott galloping across the raise a few bob back of a snorting half-tonne years – “What happens between Lester the wild and, for so long, for Temple Street equine Ferrari, he is the Arkle and a horse is a mystery known only to unquenchable inferno of Children’s Hospital. Lester, the horse and God” – is lost in his quest for winners, of interviewees, the Kauto Star to at last ebb and So in that spirit of insight – it as if he is sub- his imagination. I won’t be picking Fantasy die. shorties like Altior or consciously transported to the Ruby inhab- Sir Erec. Gloucestershire valley where he Riding on a saddle of air, transported its a world I’m trying to get is the unrivalled maker of magic. to the most storied National Hunt play- many something a little ground on earth, the fantasy palace furlongs When the conversation is steered where Walsh has ridden a record-shat- bit bigger over the toward next Tuesday’s Champion from the line so that we might tering 58 Festival winners, where, for sac- Hurdle, a potential race for the four days in March, he is Master of the raise a decent sum ages, it triggers a subtle change of cha- for Temple Street. Universe. his posture. If springtime at Prestbury Park will Something imperceptible yet remark- TUESDAY (2.50) always be, for many of us, a religious able unspools: Ruby tilts his seat onto experience and a superior refurbish- COO STAR SIVOLA its front legs, with knees tucked in, ment of the soul, still, the sense is that ODDS: 11/1 rump a little higher in the air; his hands it will be diminished when the pitiless OUR BET: e25 each- are extended out in front on the table, revolution of the clock forbids the way This horse won this race a year ago and his whole season has “When you get on one at Cheltenham that’s been geared about lightning striking struggling, you are like a ping pong ball in a twice. It doesn’t often slot machine, getting f**ked around the place” happen at the festival, that a horse wins the same handicap two years on the spin. But Un Temps Pour Tout did it in this race in 2016 and ‘17.

WEDNESDAY (2.10) TOPOFTHEGAME ODDS: 7/2 OUR BET: e50 win This horse is trained by Paul Nicholls and has always had this RSA Chase at Cheltenham mapped out for him. Nicholls’ horses have been in great form of late and I like our chances.

THURSDAY (3.30) FAUGHEEN ODDS: 7/2 OUR BET: e50 win It would be fabulous if ‘Faugheen the Machine’ could turn back time and win Thursday’s Stayers Hurdle. Trainer Willie Mullins has been very bullish about his chances over the last fortnight. That should be good enough for anyone.

FRIDAY (3.30) SHATTERED LOVE ODDS: 25/1 OUR BET: e25 each- way This mare is my big punt of the whole meeting – a horse that has been trained by Gordon Elliott every day since last September with only THE MAKER the Cheltenham Gold Cup in mind. She has good Cheltenham form from last season and Cheltenham legend Ruby Walsh savours getting back in the saddle at F the 25/1 odds makes Shattered Love a nice bet. Here goes! N March 10, 2019 47

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drug, that’s what it is. It is a good way sen sport’s Mozart. dangerous downhill fence four from home, of describing it. That’s the way AP de- A once-in-ten-lifetimes composer of on the wrong stride. scribes it as well, everybody describes the transcendent. Yet, there is no attempt at false modesty. it. I’m sure athletes miss performing, Cheltenham – and those symphonic The aversion to bullshit won’t allow it. He because that’s what it is about. afternoons aboard Kauto Star, Hurri- understands his worth. “Hopefully there’s a few more left cane Fly, Big Buck’s, Faugheen, Annie It is more the bottomless respect he has yet. There better be… But that’s going Power, Vautour, Douvan, Quevega and for the unchartered territory into which his to happen at some stage too. That’s Master Minded, a giddy crescendo close friend, McCoy, relentlessly galloped life…” the words trail away as if he booming across the valley – is the sheet that has taken Ruby off the bridle. imagines it as something closer to an music where the staves and octaves of “I don’t know. It is probably somebody unimaginable darkness, the extraction his genius soar highest. who backed the last winner I rode saying of his very soul. Ruby, brings a Vulcan logic to the that.I don’t know. So who is the best Walsh is perhaps the most rounded, gentlest interrogation about whether he jockey of all time, who knows? McCoy most intuitively attuned horseman to rides Cheltenham better than anybody. is, he rode the most winners.” CREATIVE: Garry Ringrose have stepped into a stirrup. On the better Ridden Do you believe that? days, he seems to have a magical gateway “Ah yeah, he was incredible.” to the animal’s cerebral cortex, to be fluent “No. Cheltenham is simple. Just get Do you think he’s better than you? in the horse-whispering tongue. on the best horse. Best horse is proba- “Yeah.” RINGROSE BET In Cheltenham week, racing, briefly, bly wrong, because it is the best horse But, for the only time, in our hour goes mainstream; As the mother star at on the day. I’ve ridden the best horses totogegether, he speaks with the slightest the centre of the March orbit, Ruby has in Cheltenham and they haven’t won absence of conviction. If a horse beneath WORTH A TRY come to transcend the relatively narrow because they haven’t performed. him was as unresponsive, Ruby would confines of his sport in the way, say, “But when you are in Cheltenham crack the whip. Pavarotti did operatic singing. on a horse that’s on song, Cheltenham Not that interviewers often en- AT THE AVIVA If McCoy’s gluttonous and elemental becomes easy because you are always counter the urge to give Walsh even requirement to prove himself every day where you want to be. the gentlest reminder. – an obsessional pursuit of success that “When you get on one at Cheltenham Like Padraig Harrington or his SUNDAY made even a 30-minute exile from the that’s struggling, you are like a ping good friend Ronan O’Gara, he BETS... winner’s enclosure feel like a gruelling, pong ball in a slot machine, getting has a brilliantly analytical JOHN BRENNAN psyche-sap-ping, life-sentence f**ked around the place.” mind, a beyond-the-bubble – yielded an un- touchable 4,348 When a follow-up question pre- world view, a rare capacity to TO GET evens about Ireland national hunt victories, sents a thesis heard from Naas get to the nub of a subject. The winning today’s Six Nations still there is the to Newton Abbot, the one that sense is he would score highly showdown against France at sense that Walsh announces Ruby as the finest in an IQ test. the Aviva Stadium you have to jockey of all time, he is a little POISE: Ruby after is his cho- riding Footpad to be willing to give the visitors a jerky, like a horseman trying to 13-point start. right an animal coming to that CONTINUED NEXT PAGE victory last year Madness,I say, in a game that is going to be a hard physical battle in difficult weather conditions. A far better wager is that Irish centre Garry Ringrose will score the first try of the match at 12/1. RIVALS: Tony McCoy Now fit again, Ringrose will be one of Ireland’s most creative wins on Jezki as Ruby players and we’ll gamble on him Walsh falls on Arctic to be first over the try-line this Fire at the Doom Bar afternoon. Aintree Hurdle in 2015 and (inset left) the two jockeys €50 bet of the week

OUR Sunday World/ HPaddy Power €50 Charity Bet of the Day goes against the grain as we give you Arsenal to beat a resurgent Manchester United today with their striker Alexander Lacazette to score at any time in the match. The payout is 9/2 and it is Hwell worth a go. United’s players have done a lot of BEST FOOT’ FORWARD: travelling over the last ten days and it might just catch up with Footpad and Ruby Walsh them in a game the Gunners sail over the final fence know they have to win to get winning the Racing Post into next season’s Champions’ Arkle Chellenge Trophy League. Novices’ Chase at last KETHIS year’s Festival TA

THIS afaftteerrnnooonon’s GGAAAA programme is very weak, as the Association tries to get back on track after last week’s weather disruption. I do like both Cork and Kilkenny to win their refixed National Hurling League matches against Tipp and Wexford respectively. The double pays out at 9/4. TOMMY CAN GUN FOR PLAYERS THE Players Championship His one of golf’s great events of the year and my two against the field in Sawgrass this week are England’s Tommy Fleetwood OF MAGIC (30/1) and Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama (40/1). The pair have shown good Hform of late and with Paddy Power paying out a fifth of the odds for six places, they are well ours getting back in the saddle at Festival worth a wager. Both will win big this year, it might be this week! 48 March 10, 2019 N

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SUPER RACE {{ QUIZ 1) How many times I’M A JOCKEY... has Ruby Walsh been crowned leading rider at the Festival? 2) Who trained the winner of last year’s Ryanair Chase? 3) True or False, the Cheltenham Gold Cup was first run as a flat race? I’M NOT A 4) The OLBG Mares’ Hurdle was introduced in 2008; name the first winner of the race. 5) In what years did Dawn Run do the ~ Champion Hurdle/Gold Cup double? 6) Why is the second last race of the meeting, the Johnny Henderson ROCK SSTTARAR Grand Annual, named after the father of current top trainer Nicky Henderson? FROM PREVIOUS PAGE 7) Who trained Imperial Commander to win the Racing is all about breeding and bloodlines, Gold Cup in 2010? about DNA. Ruby Walsh is unbending in his 8) What was the first belief that his greatest favour from the heavens winner Gordon Elliott had came with his sire. at the Festival? His father is, of course, Ted Walsh, for 9) What is the longest decades the blunt yet colourful voice of Irish race at the Festival each racing, a champion amateur rider and a Grand year? National winning trainer. 10) How many times “I had an advantage over a lot of my compet- did Arkle win at the itors in that I was a trainer’s son. And training Cheltenham Festival? is so much more difficult than riding. It gives 11) Which horse won you a much clearer perspective, it gives you a the 2015 County Hurdle reality of what racing really is. before going on to “So before I started I realised there was going to Classic success on the be way more losers than there ever was winners. Flat the following year? When there was big winners, enjoy them, because 12) Which is the oldest they are going to be rare.And there’s going to be race at the Festival? huge disappointments. “For a jockey there’s going to be injuries, for a trainer, there’s going to be horses getting injured. Injury is a huge part of racing.I knew that before I started. Luck “I look at guys who think they should win on every ride, that’s not racing, that’s not the reality of it. “The reality of it is you get a certain few chances to ride winners. If they win, great. I couldn’t foresee the luck I’ve had at Chelten- ham or the winners I’ve rode at Cheltenham. “When I was growing up, Ireland could bare- ly compete in Cheltenham. So you ask, ‘what PRESTBURY did you feel going out at Cheltenham’, I PRINCE: Ruby felt lucky to be f**king there.” Walsh may as well It is from Walsh senior he inherited be a rock star at the inability to speak around the truth. the Festival with 13) Which Irish trainer “That was the beauty of Dad for me. Just his racing fame gave AP McCoy (above) because you won, in Dad’s eyes it didn’t mean his last ever ride at the you had done it right. Cheltenham Festival in “It wasn’t about whether you won, it was 2015? about how you rode the horse, how you per- But Ruby is centre stage at Festival 14) How many races formed. So you could finish third and he’d say did Gordon Elliott win on you are after giving it a great ride, there is no the opening day of last more you can do. year’s Festival? “Yet you could win on one and he’d tell you where he has found such success 15) Which multiple were you went wrong. But that’s what you need. Classic-winning jockey Someone standing behind you and what seemed like every passenger on “Paul Townend was with me. He every stallion and gelding and mare rode the winner of the telling you because you are winning the plane broke into a merry chorus had booked a seat and I was thinking disappeared from the face of the Champion Bumper you are doing great, sure there only of the Kaiser Chiefs’ “Ruby, Ruby, getting on the plane, ‘I wish I’d bought earth? What then for Ruby Walsh? in 2002 and name his telling you a lie. Ruby, Ruby.” that f**king seat.’” He closes his eyes, ponders dystopia. horse? “You have to realise when you are “It happened once and I wanted to get So invisibility, then, as his super- For fully 45 seconds, he spins the 16) How many Festival doing it wrong when you are winning. under the seat. They were (Irish fans) power of choice? thought of a world without oxygen winners has Nicky You have to be able to take criticism going to the World Cup in France.I actu- “No. As McCoy always said when in his head. Henderson trained so and direction. That’s vitally impor- ally hadn’t thought about but people stop recognising you, you are “It wouldn’t be President of Ireland, far? tant, hugely important.” I couldn’t figure out why f**ked. I’m a jockey, I’m not that’s for sure. It wouldn’t be Taoise- 17) Which horse holds Staggered I couldn’t get a flight to a rock star.” ach either. Jesus, can you think of the record for the most France. But at Cheltenham, anything worse? 400 beds in the cor- Cheltenham Festival Criticism can be easier to accept “I ended up having for four days, you are a ridor in Tallaght, what are you going victories? than celebrity. It is why in a recent to go to Beauvais the rock star, are you not? to do about it. What can I do about it? 18) In what year was American vox-pop of sporting super- night before. But “One week of the Smile the Festival expanded stars, when asked what superpower I realised when year. There’s 51 to its current four-day they would choose for themselves, so “If there were no horses, I’d be strug- I was getting others” gling wouldn’t I? What would I be, what format? many chose invisibility. on the For all 52 19) Name the three Patrick Mullins, son of Willie, and would I do? If there were no horses what plane weeks, all would I do? You could have warned me races that Tiger Roll has the leading amateur rider, attended and I 365 days, won at the Festival? a Manchester derby with Walsh last about this one and I might have had hadn’t 24/7 there an answer. 20) Name the last two year and was staggered by the level booked a are horses. winners of the Stayers of recognition, the huge numbers who “What would I do (exhales heavily seat, so I BLUE But what if and long delay)…Go and coach the All Hurdle? sought an autograph or a selfie or a was allot- there wer- BLOODLINE: Blacks with O’Gara.” handshake, or who just did a double ted a seat en’t? What He smiles triumphantly, but, in truth, *ANSWERS ON take when he passed. wherever Ruby and his if, on his OPPOSITE PAGE the smile is as empty and forlorn as a There is the story of Walsh on a it was on Ry- dad Ted 40th stable stripped of its very last four-leg- flight to Paris, when, without warning, anair. birthday, ged resident. SATURDAY 18 MAY 2019 THE HERALD 42 Sport Gaelic Games BluePanther ‘’74 our greatest victory NEWS of his passing enveloped Trawling through some old the capital in pathos; then came interviews on this sad morning, the poignant second wave of Frank it quickly becomes apparent wonderful memories. Anton Roche that this son of Synge Street had adoredasa O’Toole has become the first a particularly strong attach- member of Heffo’s celebrated ment to the seventies team on seventies crew to pass to his All- between ‘74 and which he first made his name. eternal reward. ‘79 as Kevin Heffernan’s Dub- He made his National trueheroby In many other ways, he was lin and Mick O’Dwyer’s Kerry League debut in December a first among equals. Along jostled for ultimate supremacy. 1972, against Longford, at a with , he was the The owner of a revered left time when Dublin football was only Dublin footballer to start boot, he also possessed one of almost like an inter-county all four of their All-Ireland SFC the greatest of all GAA nick- afterthought and supporter Hill16faithful triumphs in that epic ‘Decade of names. ‘The Blue Panther’ had engagement at a low ebb. LEGENDS: and Anton O’Toole the Dubs’ covering 1974 to 1983. such a unique ring that it could Even the young O’Toole at an event to mkark the 40th anniversary He was among the select never be purloined by any rival wasn’t sure if he was cut out of Dublin’s 1974 All-Ireland win crew to start six consecutive player, county or code. for it. Recalling an early league NiallScully E wore his fame as lightly The giants of the 1970s with as the Sky Blue shirt that whom he ran and made history was his superhero cape, and gifted Dublin something YOU’D never hear the jangling of the the uniform from which RoyCurtis beautiful and imperishable. All-Ireland medals in his pocket. H he delivered a golden Just a fortnight ago, serious- He tied his boot laces with humility. The sunburst of euphoria to the city ly ill, Anton called me to his Blue Panther, the most gentle of Heffo’s of his birth. hospice bedside, an urgency in Heroes. Anton O’Toole, that ap- his voice: “Tell the people about Heffo’s hand changed the city traffic. ple-cheeked colossus, a bottom- Hickey.A man who just gives Anton O’Toole’s velvet feet contributed so less reservoir of kindness, was and gives and gives. Please tell much to the revolution. Dublin in the rare oul’ times. Lithe,gentleTooler them. An incredible human be- Quietly, he could skip along the turf. The An immortal footballer; a ing. An extraordinary footballer. little jink, the side-step, gliding in and out once-in-a-lifetime human being. The finest man I have ever met.” of tackles. Gaining a yard of space to pop A gentleman and a gentle man. He might have been talking the ball to a colleague or sink one in the A wellspring of generosity.A pil- about the man in the shaving pocket himself. lar of the city. Among my closest movedinslowmotion mirror. He had wonderful vision. He was ahead friends. But then down all the years, I of the play. The grace, the balance and he A foundation stone of the never once heard a single word could make the ball hum. listed building designed by of bravado, not a solitary boast He was a top footballer with Synge Kevin Heffernan, one that rose from this GAA hall of famer, Street. And Sunday after Sunday, up in up in 1974 and became a symbol butalwaysarrivedfirst this legend of so many Septem- Dolphin Park, he’d make the daisies dance. of hope and renewal for a town bers, the first three-time Dublin You could grown scarred and forlorn. Allstar. write music The Dublin team with which He deflected acclaim as to his move- he won four All-Ireland titles – adroitly as his pal, Paddy Cullen, ment, the 1974, ’76, ’77 and ’83 – opened a in that launch-pad 1974 moment Panther was sluice gate through which sped a that sent Dublin football into poetry in fast-flowing river of joy. glorious orbit, pushing Liam motion. To the foot-soldiers on Hill 16, Sammon’s penalty to safety. But hypnotised by his snake-charm- So, he would redirect the he never ing left foot and selfless leader- spotlight to his friend and thought so ship, he was the Blue Panther; golfing buddy, John McCarthy: himself. A to his old comrades in Synge FLYING UP THE “Unbelievably brave, got his jaw phone-call Street, he was Anto; to his dear, WING: Dublin’s broken so many times by putting to his home dear family, he was Anthony. Anton O’Toole his head where other players would be To me, he was always Tooler; a passes the ball wouldn’t put their foot. He al- greeted with hero, who became the fastest of over Galway’s Joe ways had your back on the pitch. a welcoming fast friends, dispensing wisdom Waldron during How he never got an Allstar I tone. and wit in that self-effacing, hu- the 1974 All- don’t know?” LIke he did mane, forever cordial way of his. Ireland SFC final on the ball, at Croke Park SELF-SACRIFICE he always LOVED HIM Self-sacrifice was the gold stand- made the Little things – he always, always, stardust fell on others. ley cradled in the Cotswolds that ard of qualities he valued. He time. And the got up to offer his seat when my September 18, 2011. Kevin so reminded him of Croke Park. was suspicious of oversized ego, conversation was never about himself. wife, who instantly loved him Mac’s goal. ’s He was, unequivocally, the despised self-promotion. He didn’t look back too much. Back for the goodness that colonised buzzer-beating free.A city burst- world’s worst tipster. I can still In life, in politics, in football, to the glory days of the Dubs. Or before every atom of his being, joined ing its own banks: “The best recall the day in 2009 when he he championed the underdog, them. The memory of doing a few laps in our company. day of my life,” he said, his mind rang me, breathlessly, from the always talked up those who Parnell Park and finishing the night with His hands were immense, like and eyes passengers in the same Cheltenham paddock, cancel- dwelled in relative shadow: a cup of tea and a Marietta in the old the paws of a brown bear, yet the time-machine. ling the advice he had texted Paddy Reilly, Georgie Wilson, pavilion. fingers were the delicate digits Without fail, he would call the night before from the Bee Stephen Rooney. And, the two The Dubs turned the ’70s to rock and of a piano player; at the very into Briody’s pub on Marlbor- Hive pub to put the mortgage on Templeogue/Synge Street play- roll. The old game had never seen the likes peak of his powers, a lithe figure ough Street before the All-Ire- Dunguib. ers to whom he was a guiding of it before. who seemed to move in slow land final to present a ticket to a “False alarm,” he said, “don’t light and father figure, Denis ‘And Hill 16 has never seen the likes of motion yet always arrive at his regular called Larry, an octoge- go near it, whatever you do.” Bastick and Eoghan O’Gara. Heffo’s Army.’ destination first. narian and fanatical Dublin sup- I didn’t. Dunguib won by the Perhaps the only occasions I He was adored up on the famous ter- Oblivious to fashion, he wore porter. Random acts of kindness better part of a furlong. saw any hint of darkness pollute race. Anton was a ballerina on the pitch. this lovely old hat that made were his calling card. Glen Hansard serenading those forever giddy, kind eyes And a quiet, thoughtful soul off it. He lived him look like a cross between His sense of humour endured a plainly ailing Anton with was when some random punter a million miles away from showbiz. Inspector Morse and somebody to the end. When his brother, Raglan Road on Christmas Eve would say something negative His bones were of the street. Synge who had just spent the afternoon Peter, a rock by the side of the is, perhaps, the most beautifully about O’Gara. What Anton Street. When he finished playing, he gave deer-stalking. sibling with whom he shared touching thing I have ever seen valued about Eoghan were the his time to the club. Managing the next He took in wild cats, fed them a boyhood bedroom, would on YouTube. things others declined to see:the generation. And helping the new dawn of and would be visibly upset when, wipe dribble from his mouth, He revered David Hickey. work-rate, the blue-collar graft, Templeogue Synge Street. as felines do, they disappeared he would turn to us, a glint in As a team-mate, a brilliant the tackling, the supreme loyalty He was the best of company. A lovely again, never to return. Because his eye, and murmur: “O...C... transplant surgeon, as the to the team. sense of humour. He enjoyed meeting up he oozed fidelity, his mind bloody...D”. bottomless well of good humour, The last time I saw Tooler, with the Dubs for a regular game of golf. couldn’t compute faithlessness. He approached his daily the friend who flew back from last Friday, O’Gara and James And the banter over a jar. In reflective mood recently, Placepot bet as studiously as a the Middle East and, for three McCarthy had just visited. He was a pundit on Dublin City FM. He he flicked through the immense bookworm taking up the cross- sun-kissed days over the Easter In a laboured whisper, Anton hailed the remarkable deeds of the mod- catalogue of his sporting days word. He loved his pilgrimages weekend, made his home in told me how moved he had been ern-day Dubs. He remained a student of and identified the day that stood to those horse-racing Meccas: Skerries the venue for one last when O’Gara thanked him for all the game. And he was always a professor out above all the rest. Typically, York, Chester, Goodwood, and, reunion between Anton and his he had done for his career. And of his art. he chose an afternoon when the of course, every March, the val- second family. a single tear rolled down that THE HERALD SATURDAY 18 MAY 2019 Gaelic Games Sport 43 because it came from nothing’ Anton was unique

defeat to a vaunted Cork, he Galway as the best of his four. tles’ after three of his team- medal does not compare with as a player for the said: “I never got a kick in the “That was our greatest mates were banished by referee the others. I knew I was capable match and I remember walking victory because it came from John Gough in a torrid 1983 of performing in 1983 but I did home up Camden Street saying, nothing. We had absolutely decider, the then 32-year-old not want to,” he recalled. “I did Dubs and one of ‘I’m not going to make it here.’” no expectation of winning an helped to steer Dublin to victo- not, could not, have the same All changed with Heffernan’s All-Ireland in ’74,” he admitted. ry over 14-man Galway. rapport with the new group. I arrival, and O’Toole became Further September glory Yet, as part of David Walsh’s really don’t know why I came life’s gentlemen a mainstay of the remarkable would come against Kerry in seminal 1989 essays for Magill back. I certainly would not have transformation in the fortunes ‘76 and Armagh a year later, magazine about Heffernan’s if it were not for the fact that and status of Dublin football, sandwiched by three defeats to Dublin, his riveting article on Tommy Drumm was still there.” a legacy that has carried on the Kingdom in ’75, ’78 and ’79. O’Toole reveals that he didn’t In 1984, O’Toole was back in through the generations. The second coming of Anton have the same attachment to his Croke Park on the losing side In an interview with Cian O’Toole, erstwhile wing-for- fourth and final Celtic Cross. to a resurgent Kerry. PaulCurran Murphy - published by the Irish ward trojan, would see him For him, the seventies team was It was his eighth All-Ireland Examiner ahead of the 2011 return at full-forward for more a “special group”. appearance, and the swansong All-Ireland final - O’Toole re- two All-Ireland appearances. “I don’t mean any disrespect to a brilliant Sky Blue career called the 1974 decider against As one of the ‘Twelve Apos- to the guys in 1983 but that whose memory endures. DUBLIN GAA is mourning new group along with the the passing of one of its likes of John O’Leary, Ger- greatest players. ry Hargan, , Anton O’Toole lost his , Kieran Duff battle with illness and and Joe McNally. All-Ire- passed away yesterday land success followed in morning. Where does 1983, his fourth medal. one begin when trying By this time Anton had to describe one of the moved to the edge of the finest men you are likely to square but his influence meet? on the players around him PRINCE In football terms he was key to that successful was, and will remain, an season. I have always rated iconic figure in the capital. that team’s achievements He had a unique style of as one of our finest but for playing the game that reasons I won’t go into, was all his own. He looked they didn’t get the credit slower than his peers when they deserved. moving with the ball but Anton played his club he had a magnificent way football with the Synge of gliding past defenders, Street club, a great inner OFTHE always in control of the ball city team that has survived and his kicking style would some lean times over the be impossible to copy. years. I grew up watching He became the second the great Dublin team clubman to win an All-Ire- of the ‘70’s and for dubs land after Brian McDonnell this was the decade that in 1963 and I am sure Denis changed everything. That Bastick, Eoghan O’Gara team managed by the late and have all great Kevin Heffernan was been influenced in some responsible for lighting way by “Tooler”. CITY... the spark and the success of the current group can, SOFT SPOKEN in ways be linked to what Aside from his footballing happened 45 years ago. talent Anton was one of Anton was of course life’s gentlemen. He was central during that move- soft spoken and always ment. The Synge Street positive and honest when clubman was one of those offering his views on any players who had some- subject. He was great thing different, something to be around and even unique, something very the younger generation SLEEP special. The Blue Panther seemed to flock to him made the number 10 shirt when enjoying a pint wher- his own for a decade, ever that happened to be. picking up three All-Ireland Anton O’Toole is a foot- winners’ medals and a balling icon in this county. bagful of Leinsters. He will be sorely missed In 1980 the team began and fondly remembered. to break up and Anton I believe the number 10 would have been entitled jersey should be retired for to hang up the boots the rest of the season as a WELL along with so many of his mark of respect. team mates but instead he Ar dheis Dé go raibh a stayed on and with Brian anam. Mullins they were part of a Rest in peace Anton. lovely, generous face. those calling to his bedside was It was a beautiful, heartbreak- apt. Cluxton and Fenton and ing, heart-soaring cameo. Kilkenny accepted the baton That was him right there. The from Cullen, Mullins and O’Toole. love and tenderness that dwelled A fortnight ago I saw two of the within in him was as dazzling granite blocks of Kevin Hef- and huge and unmissable as any fernan’s team dissolve in tears, Times Square billboard. struggling with the enormity of Dublin football was as vital, the impending loss of their kind- as elemental, to his existence as ly, courageous brother-in-arms. oxygen, as the blood that for 68 too-short years, kept his mighty RIPPING OUT and kind heart beating. For a troop that was so close, all POETRY IN MOTION: In recent weeks, as his parts of the same whole, this will Dublin’s Anton O’Toole 15-month battle with illness feel like the ripping out of a piece is chased by Kerry’s entered its final days, the old of their essence. during warriors who soldiered along- To the Blue Panther, Anthony, the 1979 All-Ireland side him in the 1970s visited and Anto, Anton, Tooler. SFC final at Croke Park shared stories. Forever a prince of the city, ADAPTABLE: Anton O’Toole moved to full-forward That was among sleep well brother. You are loved. for the 1983 All-Ireland title winning campaign