McNulty: Lifelong regret Armagh greats didn't win more

Enda McNulty says he thinks about the Orchard County's failure to win more All-Irelands with a generational group of players 'every single day'.

Former Armagh footballer Enda McNulty, pictured today for AIB ahead of GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-final between Kerry and Armagh this Saturday, July 13th. AIB have also today announced the return of the Volunteer VIP competition which gives GAA volunteers the opportunity to win a money can’t buy behind the scenes tour of Croke Park, on the morning of the GAA All-Ireland Senior Football final as well as tickets to the match. Details on how to enter the Volunteer VIP competition will be announced on Monday, July 15th. For exclusive content and behind the scenes action from the GAA All-Ireland Senior Football Championships follow @AIB_GAA on X and Instagram and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AIBGAA. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Enda McNulty reckons the Armagh players who defeated Kerry in the 2002 All-Ireland final 'will go to our graves' regretting that they didn't win more.

The former defender says he thinks about the Orchard County's failure to win more All-Irelands with a generational group of players 'every single day'.

McNulty also lined out in Armagh's 2006 All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Kerry, a finish line of sorts for that team whilst the Kingdom went on to conclude the 2000s with five All-Ireland wins.

The counties will meet for just the seventh time in the Championship this Saturday and for McNulty it has brought back memories of both a golden period for Armagh and an era of unfulfilled potential.

"I think '06, '07 was the end for that great Armagh team," said McNulty at an event organised by Championship sponsors AIB ahead of the All-Ireland semi-finals. "We never won enough during that time. We'll go to our graves with that regret. I cannot mince my words with that.

"I'll go to my grave with the regret that we didn't win more All-Irelands. I wouldn't try to plamas that and put lovely glossy language around that. I literally, every single day, think about how we never won more All-Irelands."

Asked which other All-Irelands they should have won, McNulty had a long list.

"If you look at '99, we got to the semi-final and we were rocking against Meath," he said. "In '00, we got to a replayed semi-final against Kerry. In '01, we got to a qualifier, didn't perform well for about 50 per cent of the game and still could have beaten Galway, who won the thing out.

"Then '03, '04, '05, '06, we might need a psychological counselling session here! Every one of those years, we could have won."

McNulty said the big positive from all of that hurt is that Armagh churned out a group of future coaches and managers who felt they had a big point to prove. Two of those, Kieran McGeeney and McNulty's brother, Justin, will manage Armagh and Laois in huge Croke Park games this Saturday.

Tony McEntee and Oisin McConville, who also played in the 2002 defeat of Kerry, managed in this year's Championship too. Aidan O'Rourke, another team-mate, was in charge of the Armagh minor team that contested last weekend's All-Ireland final. John McEntee, Stevie McDonnell and Ronan Clarke are others who later got into coaching.

"All of us have probably been impacted by the fact that we've only won one All-Ireland, which means, and I can't speak for everybody, but I would say on my behalf that I almost feel that because we never won more, I'm hungrier to do more now, I'm more humble, I'm more curious," said McNulty, a renowned performance coach who has worked with elite sports people and leading businesses.

"I think the fact that we never won so much has actually been an advantage, that everyone involved with that team has unfinished business in life, which is a good thing."

McNulty sees a lot of McGeeney's stubbornness and determination in the current Armagh team.

They have lost four huge games, including two Ulster finals, on penalties across the last three seasons. But another way of looking at it is that in Armagh's last 18 Championship games, only one team, Tyrone in 2023, has managed to beat them over 70 minutes.

"I agree, their consistency of performance has been excellent over the last five years," said McNulty. "I think the fact that they haven't been beaten in normal time much over those years obviously will give them confidence and belief. Time has clearly built significant resilience and mental toughness and grit."

They'll need all of that and more to overcome Kerry.

"I think it's 50-50, I do think it's 50-50," said McNulty. "I think it's the team that gets the game plan best, it's the team that reacts best to the pressure, it's the team that does something maybe special with blitz defence either side and probably it's the team that has the best critical moment toughness."