Colourful character Tierney puts faith in instinct
Flamboyant on and off the field, he was very much at home in the media scrum which surrounded him at the Armagh press night last week.
He reminds me of Johnny Pilkington in the way he introduces a note of humour into his comments. For instance, he said goalkeepers are "half-mad" and that he's no different.
Making his debut at the age of 20 in the League against Donegal in 1969, he had decided to slip quietly into retirement after the team's failure to Galway in the qualifier competition last year.
Acknowledging his good fortune to be still involved when Armagh won three Ulster titles in a four-year period, he followed his wife's advice to give it a break.
Only when Joe Kernan called on his door did he agree to come back. Even then he wasn't guaranteed his place because of the determination of the new management to alternate the goalkeeping position between him and Crossmaglen Rangers' Paul Hegarty. "I watched Eastenders for about two months and if that doesn't send you back out to train and play football, I don't know what would," he says.
"It was a life I wasn't used to, but after about two months I had itchy feet. I wanted to do something. Joe gave me an option.''
Whatever about last year when a mistake led to a dramatic winning point for Galway Tierney feels that in each of their two meetings with Kerry in the 2000 semi-final they dropped the ball: "We had them down to a point in the first match and maybe a silly free cost us an All-Ireland final appearance against Galway.
"In the replay we again had them on the rack and they came back. But, that's Kerry for you. They have won All-Irelands. We haven't.''
He agrees it's the reason why few people expect Armagh to win Sunday's game: "We're underdogs because we haven't won an All-Ireland and because we have yet to prove ourselves in Croke Park. It's as simple as that. And, we're always going to be underdogs until we are successful.
"To be recognised with our neighbours Down and Derry and Donegal we're going to have to win.''
In 1977, he was in Croke Park to see Armagh win through to their last final, remembering Brian McAlinden make an early save. McAlinden, joint manager with Brian Canavan up to last year, was the team's regular keeper at the time.
However, Tierney says he would have taken more notice of Joe Kernan and Jimmy Smyth, "thinking that he'd be one of them".
"I honestly believe you have to be semi-mad to be a goalkeeper. It's part and parcel of the job. Ray Morgan, my old coach, said every goalkeeper that went through St Colman's was certifiable and that I was no different.''
Meanwhile, he regards Kerry duo Mike Frank Russell and Colm Cooper as predators in front of goal, adding: "Dara Ó Cinnéide has an eye for a goal as well. And you have Eoin Brosnan who can run from the centre half-back position and score.
"You can be mentally tuned in, but at the end of the day it comes down to instinct.
You can watch all the videos you like but when there are 80,000 people watching you, you have got to be able to stand up and make your own move.''
He credits Kernan with making a huge difference, suggesting his influence is reflected in their forward play.
"The two Brians did an enormous amount for Armagh football, discipline-wise and getting us up to a level that we hadn't been previously at. If you look back, one was a goalkeeper and one was a defender and maybe in the forward department we were short a little.
"Joe has brought that new element. He was a forward himself. We have seen our forwards play better this year. I suppose that's the biggest change that has taken place.'
"Our aim all year has been to win the All-Ireland and whether we play defensively or dourly I don't care as long as we are successful.''
