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Offaly fans of all ages!!

I suggest we put together the ultimate fifteen in both codes of terrace heroes for posting on the site. This allstar team will be made up of Offaly players down through the years and on into today who have truly fired up the Offaly faithful on the sideline like no other - the lads that will always be spoken of warmly by Biffos everywhere, the characters that the Westmeaths and Laoises of this world just don't have.

For the purposes of creating these teams, I think it's safe to say that there are certain players who would be above debate. By these I mean:

Football:

Martin Furlong
Paddy McCormack
Tony McTague
Matt Connor
Seamus Darby

Hurling:

Brian Whelehan
Johnny Pilkington
Pat Carroll

All other spots are up for grabs.

To start the nominations, I propose one in each code - In football, one of the country's greatest, fittest, and most wholehearted players, and certainly the subject of intense love/hate feelings across the terrace. I refer obviously to the one and only Mad Mac, Ciarán McManus. Without question our talisman for the last five years, and possibly the most devoted and driven player ever to pull on a county jersey of any kind, not just a tricolour one. His performance in Nowlan Park against Kildare when asked to carry the midfield on his own summed up the character of the man.

In hurling, I propose the hunchback of Notre Dame himself - Kevin Kinahan. In terms of all time Offaly heroes, the fullback spot is a tight contest between himself and his fellow Clareen man Eugene Coughlan, but for his attitude, his character, and his downright indomitability, I suggest we give it to the legend of the 2000 Semi.

Your thoughts are welcome .....

dont know about macmanus. kinahan was some boy all right, but id give it to eugene coughlan over him.

i might be biased, but just for being offalys only man to win an all ireland in both football and hurling, how about liam currams? some player in his day.

padraig horan would be the other id say. won a heap of club championships with rynaghs in the 70s, and led the line when we broke through in 1980. good hard hurler.

Not a huge fan of Padraig Horan to be honest. Terraces love a wild man (Roy Mannion or the Hippie - now there were hurlers!!) but Horan to me was just dirty. Like Galway people love Lynskey, and personally I'd respect him, but Horan to me was more a Silvie Linnane instead. And I don't like Sylvie .....

Don't leave out Daithi Regan!

Not a risk - legend!!

he was some man all right. give me joachim over him any day though. just as tough, but well able to hurl as well. and he kept his fitness right up to the end, which is more than can be said for a lot of the siochana.

I like the way this is aimed, i.e. not necessarily the best Offaly players ever but more the ones that really "fired the belly" or were likely to do the unexpected. So in no particular order, I'll add these nominations:

Football
Johnny Mooney
Sean Lowry
Kevin Kilmurray
Vinnie Claffey

Hurling
Joachim Kelly
John Troy
Johnny Flaherty
Joe Dooley
Pat Delaney

Lads, how could ye forget Martin Hanamy?? A legend of a corner back. I'd go for Eugene Coughlan over the man with the shovels for hands. Also:

Pat Carroll
Joachim Kelly
Johnny P
Sid

and Brendan Kelly

Hard to disagree with most of what's said there.

Interesting choice with Brendan Kelly all right. Might struggle to hold down a spot with the same gusto he might hold down, say, a burger, but worthy of debate.

Lowry and Claffey I'd go with. Troy, Hanamy and Flaherty will certainly be there or thereabouts, and I'd say Joe is pretty close to being a shoo-in.

If nothing else we've learned that Loughers is probably from around Lusmagh somewhere!

In that vein, I'd say the two Grennans at midfield would definitely have terrace approval .....

Lone Shark wrote:If nothing else we've learned that Loughers is probably from around Lusmagh somewhere!

I thought Loughers was from Birr and used to bully Daithi Regan and Joe Errity in school?

I'd be pushing for the inclusion of Larry Carroll.

Brendan Kelly is a definite, that man was falling all over the place before diving ever became popular.

Legend.

I'm from Birr alright. Kelly did a job, much like Horan, but my tongue was firmly in my cheek when I included him. I'm led to believe that an old neighbour of mine, Paddy Molloy was a right dinger. I've seen a video of the 1969 Leinster Final, when we should have beaten Kilkenny, and he was excellent. Christy Ring used send him Christmas cards urging him to "keep the faith" and the breakthrough would come. Come back Christy!!

I've heard a bit about him actually. Before my time, but I believe in the NY scene he was considered up there with the best of them, and that was a pretty high standard at the time.

Since he kept it going when we were going nowhere, I think we'll nominate Paddy alright ....

does anyone have the offaly football and hurling teams of the millenium that were picked?

they used to be in the offaly express archives

Just rooting through the archive on the site!!!

Wondering if anyone had any more suggestions to add to this.........