Offaly v Galway. All Ireland SF Final 1971

[SearingDrive]

It will be 50 years this September, since Offaly won their first All Ireland title, beating Galway by 1-14 to 2-8, on a wet September Sunday. Willie Bryan was captain on that historic day. Anyone have memories of that very wet, but joyous day for us Offaly folk.
10 years earlier Offaly lost their first ever All Ireland Final, losing to Down by 3-6 to 2-8.

[biffinbanner]

sat on my fathers knee in the hogan stand.. cant remember that much about it .. tony mctague was my hero. i remember the water spraying off the net when murt connor scored the goal..

[Fairplayalways]

great memories no doubt, I was just over one year old...1980 semi final V Kerry my first memory of Offaly footballers (we were not a GAA family so didnt go to matches) 1982 now is a great memory but that is all it is now is a memory...will we ever see us winning a Leinster again even...1997/98 came out of no where so I suppose things can change...

[biffinbanner]

hard see it in either code unless a freak group come at the same time like the minor hurlers in 86/89.hurlers have to try get out of the 3rd tier for a start. footballers are well down the pecking order in leinster? dubs meath kildare laois westmeath def ahead of us. jury out on longford louth. were prob better than carlow wicklow. long road.

[Fairplayalways]

while my family were not GAA mad, I certainly picked up the slack...for some reason, I think our footballers might creep up the lader a tad quicker than our hurlers, no they wont be a Dublin or Kerry anytime soon or at all in the foreseeable future, but they may bridge the gap to Kildare/Meath (2nd 3rd in Leinster type bracket) and if they did that would be Division 2ish which would be a healthy enough headland to rest on for a few years anyway, better than Division 3 survival mode every year as the current situation transpires...the gap in hurling I think is a bit steeper, in that we are at the 2 or 3rd last tier, and the standard above us is Laois/Antrim/Down/Kerry etc...above them you have the challengers for the championship each year, Clare, Wexford (Limerick would have been in this bracket upto 3/4 years ago)...problem for Offaly is anyone of the Clare of Wexfords and Galways etc. would destroy Offaly in a hurling game at the current standard..football wise, Meath and Kildare are not strong strong, so we can give them a game and loose respectably...that is not the situation in the hurling equivalent...

[ryot]

Great memory = Soaked to the skin on the Canal End, Climbed the barbed wire and jumped off the top, Landing was soft !!!!

Was immediately beside an exhausted Offaly left corner back who lay stretched out....... I offered a hand which he took and pulled him to his feet. He suddenly took off at full speed towards midfield.....
When I arrived at my flat off Iona Road my girlfriend was none too pleased at having been deserted (we are still together !!!) and I discovered that every item of dry clothing was now worn by my brothers, sisters and father.......... I did get some items back but not until the following week-end... !!!!!

The train to Tullamore on Monday was mighty and the reception for the team there was a never to be forgotten experience......

The rain drops rising from the net at the Hill 16 end as Murt blasted that famous shot is a memory for almost every BIFFO who saw it live or on TV====

[first_touch]

It was quite simply the happiest day of my childhood! The two previous years had been heartbreaking, losing a final to Kerry in '69 by three points and going down to Meath by a point in the Leinster final the following year despite being ten up at half time. But it made the breakthrough in '71 all the more joyous.

[SearingDrive]

I recall the rain that day, but never minded on the day, of course I was a lot younger then. Like ryot
I can still see the net bulging at the Canal End, after Murt Connor’s goal.
Every fan was on the pitch celebrating after the game. There was even a song composed in memory of that famous win. It was played on Radio Eireann, as it was called then. One line was ‘Cheers to you my Willie lad’. Willie Bryan was captain that day. The title was ‘Offaly the Champions’.

Offaly had a good team then, losing the 1969 Final to Kerry, 0-10 to 0-7. They lost the 1970 Leinster Final to Meath, in an 80 minute game 2-22 to 5-12. It was an engrossing match, Offaly looked like winning at one stage, but Micky Faye was the Meath hero on the day.

Offaly retained their title in 1972, beating Kerry in a replay. A long range goal by the late Paddy Fenning, was the decisive score. Offaly lost the following year’s semi final to Galway.

[Rebelier]

There was indeed a song, in honour of the 1971 victory.
It was co-written by Eddie Masterson, a Sligo solicitor based in Dublin, and my fellow-Corkonian, Art Supple, who recorded it with his showband, the Victors. The record was released in early 1972 didn't trouble the charts but was a good idea for the time. However, I thought it was a rather pedestrian rendition and would have been more suited to a ballad group, e.g, the Clancy Brothers or a similar group of the era.

It was sung to the air of Johnny Lad, which ye'd probably know. So, I now present the lyrics for your enjoyment and maybe adding the song to your repertoire.

"Offaly the Champions
Chorus:
Cheers for you, cheers for you,
Cheers for you, my Willie Lad,
You brought the cup to Offaly,
And we are mighty glad.

Verse 1:
Now Offaly are champions for the first time,
And you all know the captain well,
His name is Willie Bryan.
In the final, at Croke Park,
Attack was Galway's code,
But they met Paddy McCormack,
The iron man of Rhode.
Chorus

Verse 2:
The game it swung from end to end,
But as the match went on,
They couldn't pass the stalwarts,
O'Rourke, Ryan and Furlong.
Other heroes in defence
From the time the game began
Martin Heavey, Nicholas Clavin,
Sports star, Eugene Mulligan.
Chorus

Verse 3:
While Claffey, Cooney and McTague
Gave Galway cause to worry,
There was nothing they could do
To stop tearaway Kilmurray.
With Murt Connor, Gunning, Sean Evans,
How could this great team lose?
For also on the panel
Were Smith, Fenning and Greg Hughes.
Chorus

Verse 4 (half-lenth)
To Alo, John and Father G,
We say congrats as well,
This is the first of many,
As Only time will tell.
Chorus"

[*]g