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Peter Sweeney

Peter Sweeney's Blog

Peter Sweeney is the Gaelic Games Correspondent with the Irish Daily Star Newspaper. He is a regular on television and radio and even though he isn't any good he still tries to play Gaelic football.

  • 23 Aug 2010

    Heartbreak for the Boys in Blue

    NO one can do All-Ireland semi-final heartbreak quite like the Dubs. Mayo might self-harm in All-Ireland finals in the most spectacular of fashions, but its Dublin fans who know the heartbreak of semi-finals. read more

    NO one can do All-Ireland semi-final heartbreak quite like the Dubs.

    Mayo might self-harm in All-Ireland finals in the most spectacular of fashions, but its Dublin fans who know the heartbreak of semi-finals.

    Since 2002 the Boys in Blue have been to the second last fence on four occasions. There have been four agonising defeats by a combined total of five points.

    In ’02 Ray Cosgrove hit the post with the last kick of the game and Armagh squeezed into the final by a single point.

    In ’06 they blew a seven-point second half lead against Mayo to lose by one. 12 months later two points was the margin against Kerry.

    And yesterday, after dominating the game and leading for 68 minutes, they let another invitation to the big dance in September slip through their fingers.

    Credit must go to Cork for sticking to their task in a game they looked set to be rubbed out of for long periods.

    But it will take Dublin a long time to get over this one.

    Before the match, manager Pat Gilroy spoke about being in ‘bonus territory’, but this was just a screen to deflect as much pressure as possible away from his team.

    Gilroy and his players will know that they are unlikely to get a better chance of winning Sam Maguire than they had this year.

    Kerry were beaten, they knocked Tyrone out and Cork were stuttering through the season.

    Momentum was behind them and the fans had finally returned to Hill 16.

    Gilroy will be content with 2010 on many fronts - he has rebuilt a team, found a few new players and hit upon a system that masks many of his side’s short-comings.

    Progress has definitely been made, but there’s no guarantee that Dublin will be back in an All-Ireland semi-final again any time soon.

    Tommy Lyons was in charge in 2002. It was his first season in the job and even amidst the heartbreak of that defeat to Armagh, there was optimism for the future.


    But Lyons never again managed to steer his side to a Leinster title. His time as Dublin manager ended in acrimony and boos and fans spitting at him as he left the field.

    There’s no one predicting that anything similar awaits Gilroy, but it illustrates how things can go wrong.

    When the dust settles on Sunday’s loss to Cork, the size of the opportunity lost will live with Dublin’s footballers.

Home Away Date Time Venue
Mayo Dublin 11.02.2012 12:00  
Cavan Longford 11.02.2012 12:00  
Kerry Armagh 11.02.2012 12:00  
Waterford Kilkenny 11.02.2012 12:00  

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Home Score Away Score Date Venue
Clare 1-17 Waterford 0-12 05.02  
Kilkenny 1-01 Wicklow 3-25 05.02  
Leitrim 0-09 Limerick 1-09 05.02  
Armagh 0-10 Cork 1-07 05.02  

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