Monaghan driven by pain

THE 1985 All-Ireland semi-final could have been Monaghan’s greatest hour.

Instead, it is their biggest regret and the memory of that game will haunt many of their number when they travel to Dublin to take on Kerry tomorrow.

The Kingdom broke their hearts 22 years ago when Monaghan came to Croke Park as NFL and Ulster champions. They were a team trading at the peak of their powers and the majority of the 21,746 crowd were bedecked in blue and white.

Kerry were still buttressed by the guts of the team that made the unforgettable breakthrough 10 years earlier and, though long in the tooth, they still possessed a bite few sides could survive.

Monaghan pushed them all the way. It took the Munster side 56 minutes to claim the lead but an injury-time free from current Louth manager Eamonn McEneaney meant the sides went at it again a fortnight later.

The drawn game was described as the best All-Ireland semi-final in almost a decade at the time and over 51,000 people were persuaded to part with £200,000 at the gate to witness the second act.

As is so often the case, the sequel failed to live up to it’s billing. Kerry had scored 2-3 by the 27th minute, their opponents had yet to catch a glimpse of Charlie Nelligan’s goal.

The Bomber Liston’s sending off after 20 minutes should have given Monaghan hope but, though they dominated vast tracts of the remaining 50 minutes, their forwards had the kind of day where they would have missed the water had they fallen out of a boat.

“It was a tough break not doing it the first day but those years were the best we ever had in Monaghan,” says current manager Seamus McEnaney. “In fairness to the team at the time, they met one of the best teams the country had ever seen.”

The only unique aspect to the 1985 defeat for Monaghan was how close they had come to victory. Their two previous meetings with Kerry — in the 1930 final and ‘79 semi-final — had ended with a combined deficit of 40 points.

They have had other tormentors in Dublin down the decades too. The Farney men have played championship games in Croke Park 13 times in total, and the semi-final defeat of Kildare 77 years ago is the only time they have managed a win.

The Leinster side had already seen them off three times before in the previous quarter-century but the worst run of luck Monaghan have ever endured in the capital was the three defeats to the all-conquering Wexford side in 1914, ‘16 and ‘17.

More often than not, the defeats in Dublin have been heavy. Their last appearance at HQ was a 10-point reversal against Tyrone in the qualifiers two years ago and Cork handed out an 11-point lesson when they last reached the All-Ireland series proper back in 1988.

Hard luck stories abound and that windy day 19 years ago is no different, despite the fact that Cork kicked 20 wides and Paddy Linden made a hat-trick of superb saves — as he did nine years earlier against Kerry.

“The biggest thing that would stick in the memory from the Cork game would be Brendan Murray getting his jaw broken. The referee waved play on and I think it was Dinny Allen who stuck the ball in the net. That was criminal for us at the time. That was the tail end of that Monaghan team,” recalls McEnaney.

It has taken until now for Monaghan to re-emerge from the shadows and, given the lean times they have suffered since, the ‘80s has taken on a magical aura in the minds of everyone in the county.

The two Ulster titles in ‘85 and ‘88 were the peaks but Monaghan spent most of that decade at a rarefied altitude, winning an NFL title in ‘85, reaching the final 12 months later and reaching the same stage of the Centenary Cup decider in ‘84.

“We played Division One football all that time and won a lot of games,” says Ciaran Murray, who earned an All-Star from centre-back in ‘85 and is now physio to the Irish senior soccer team. “We lost very few games in all that time. It wasn’t like now either. Back then you had one chance and you were out. You were devastated if you were beaten in the first game.”

Their inability to take that last step and reach an All-Ireland final was nothing unusual. As McEnaney points out, that was a different era, one where Ulster teams rarely found themselves togging out in September. Far from being helped by the lack of expectation, some players wilted under the realisation that their big day out in Dublin could be the first and last in their entire careers.

“Growing up in Cork and Kerry as a kid you know that if you make the senior team you will probably have a good few chances to play in All-Ireland semis and finals,” says Murray.

“When you are born in Monaghan that isn’t the case. You can’t say you will always be back if things don’t work out for you on the day — and that’s an added pressure.”

Times have changed since then. Most of the current Monaghan panel have played in Croke Park three times in the last three seasons between league and championship engagements and there is more than mere familiarity in their favour. Whereas Kerry have had only the Munster final to sharpen their swords this summer, Monaghan have been able to steel themselves with four seriously competitive fixtures.

“The reality is that Kerry are All-Ireland champions and that they have been in the last three finals,” says McEnaney. “There is no hiding those facts. They are the best team in Ireland but this is about how well Monaghan can perform. We would like to think we will competitive.”

They will be that, at least.