The Kieran Shannon Interview: Stevie McDonnell: 'I was lucky, to be part of the greatest ever era in Armagh football'

Armagh. And Tyrone. “Tyrone wouldn’t have achieved what they did without us pushing them, and we wouldn’t have had done what we did without them,” says Stevie McDonnell, a standout scorer in any era. Such was the rivalry between the Ulster neighbours in the noughties that 20,000 watched a McKenna Cup game between them. There’ll be four times that and plenty more at stake in Croke Park today, writes Kieran Shannon.

Tyrone’s Conor Gormley blocks a late shot from McDonnell in the 2003 All-Ireland final. Armagh almost became a caricature of themselves that year and went on to lose the showdown. Picture: Ray McManus

Midweek in Dublin and a bit like Armagh football, Steven McDonnell is increasingly spending more time back there, taking in and enlivened by the buzz and energy of the big city.

We meet in a diner off Stephen’s Green, just after he’s recorded the latest podcast of sportsjoe.ie’s The GAA Hour with resident host, Colm Parkinson. The show routinely makes terrific listening: informed, irreverent and insightful, with McDonnell, in particular, taking us onto the training ground and into the dressing room, making it the footballers’ football show.