Mind the gap - the dangerous leap from provincial champions to All-Ireland contenders

One evening a few weeks back, Jackie Tyrrell and I were talking about the Dr Harty Cup when I mentioned to Jackie that my Harty medal from 1987 meant far more to me than the Croke Cup (All-Ireland) I won with St Flannan’s against St Kieran’s six weeks later.

Jackie was almost incredulous in trying to understand the full meaning of the comparison. “Do you really mean to say a provincial medal means more to you than an All-Ireland?” he asked. “For definite,” I replied.