What might have been...

SEPTEMBER 3rd 1961, All-Ireland hurling final and with time running out Dublin have Tipperary on the rack, stretching them all over Croke Park.

For those final minutes, however, Tipperary take off centre-back Tony Wall who, along with Kieran Carey and Jimmy Doyle, had carried injuries into the game, bring Sean McLoughlin in at corner-forward, switch Liam Devaney back to the heart of defence, and BANG — the door is slammed in the face of the Dubs, beaten by a point, 0-16 to 1-12.

“We were the luckiest team ever to win that All-Ireland,” says Tipp midfielder Theo English. “We won against the run of play, a medal I always say we should never have won. We were carrying a few injuries but Dublin deserved to win that day. They were all over us. I was on Des Foley and got a fair roasting, John Doyle got a terrible roasting off Achille Boothman.