Memories of ’06 and the lessons learned

The All Blacks call it a “no dickheads” policy. Alex Ferguson put it more bluntly when advising British Cycling supremo Dave Brailsford on the secret to team success: “Get rid of the c****.” Both of these maxims about team culture sprang to mind when meeting up last weekend in Westport for a reunion with teammates from the 2006 All-Ireland Under-21 triumph. A lot of us hadn’t seen each other in nearly 20 years, but we picked up exactly where we left off — as thick as thieves enjoying each other’s company. That was a great team with no bad eggs.

What was even sweeter about that team’s success was its development arc: from getting absolutely annihilated by Cork in a challenge match in Ballinrobe in February, to comprehensively beating the hotly-fancied Rebels in Ennis, barely three months later. Massive improvements were derived through hard work, honesty and camaraderie. We trained hard and well on the back pitch in MacHale Park, but for me, the making of that success was as much about the time spent off the pitch – eating Sean Julian’s chicken curry together after training and matches, or five or six of us piled into cars as we commuted from college in Galway to Castlebar on those dark winter and spring midweek nights. The craic and banter forged a closeness that made us almost unstoppable when we got going.

The soft skills – the soundness, the communication, the leadership traits – were the glue that got us over the line in many tight matches. But I don’t want to underplay the footballing ability of that squad either; it was stacked with top-quality operators. Time would prove that to be the case, as many of that group went on to form the backbone of Mayo’s senior dominance in Connacht and, almost, Ireland for nigh on a decade.

Every successful team has a brilliant goalkeeper, and we were no different. Kenneth O’Malley, on the back of League of Ireland and international soccer caps, was as safe as houses between the sticks – a rock of sense and as sweet a kicker as you will find. Kenneth was also the instigator of last weekend’s reunion, showing that his leadership traits have not diminished over time.

Cork had a much-vaunted attack with Daniel Goulding, Fintan Gould, Paul Kerrigan and John Hayes in their ranks, but those boys had nothing on our defence. Four of our six defenders went on to win All-Stars, and as a unit they were almost impregnable. A full-back line of Trevor Howley, Ger Cafferkey and Keith Higgins is as good as it gets. Howley was such a brave, aggressive and dynamic defender who was unfortunate with injuries in his later career. Keith Higgins, our captain, led by example – always winning his battle against his direct opponent and starting many an attack. Having your best player at corner-back gives a team huge confidence and security.

Our wing-backs, Colm Boyle and Chris Barrett, were physically and mentally the toughest players I have ever played with. You were always going to dominate the breakdown with those boys under breaking ball. At 3 and 6 were Ger Cafferkey and Tom ‘Turbo’ Cunniffe – two lads just out of minor, but ready for the step-up with their pace and athleticism.

On the day, Cork had Alan O’Connor and Paddy Kelly at midfield, both central figures in their 2010 All-Ireland senior success, but we had a deadly duo too in Seamie O’Shea and Barry Moran, who lorded the land and the skies that afternoon in Cusack Park. Barry and Seamie had a tour de force in the second-half, totally dominating exchanges, which went a long way towards deciding the outcome. If you have a good midfield, you always have a chance – and we were blessed with a formidable one.

What I loved about our forward line was the balance. It wasn’t full of big scorers, but each player was a cog in the chain, complementing one another. We had good firepower on the wings and link-men and fulcrums in the middle that gave the thing a nice alchemy. Scoring wing-forwards are worth their weight in gold, and the two Aidans, Campbell and Kilcoyne, always contributed handsomely to the scoreboard. When Kilcoyne was on it and hot, he was unmarkable – thankfully, he had one of those days when it mattered most in the All-Ireland final.

Michael Conroy is the best teammate I’ve ever played with. His pace, strength and finishing gave defenders the runaround that year. With him at 15 and me at 13, we felt in total sync – a kind of telepathy where we could read each other’s moves like a book and dovetail instinctively to run opposition defences ragged.

Off the pitch, Conroy was a tonic and the funniest guy you’ll ever meet. Every dressing room should have a Mickey C – a colleague so funny and uplifting that you look forward to going to training just to hear his stories. That he was also a brilliant footballer was an added bonus. I remember sitting at my kitchen table studying for college exams a week before the final when out of the blue he rang me and simply said: “This time next week, Ronnie, we’re going to be All-Ireland champions. We’re going to do it.” He was a mature member of the panel, someone who had played with the Mayo senior team, so his word carried weight. From that moment, I started to believe.

There were many stars on that team and lads who went on to become household names in GAA circles, but it was some of the unheralded players who knitted it all together. Super fellas like Joe Dillon, Alan Joyce, Marcus Hannick, John Healy and Henry McLoughlin were solid individuals who gave everything for the cause and contributed enormously to the team’s cohesion and success.

Indeed, McLoughlin was the catalyst that got this team moving and behaving like a real unit. We had a middling enough pre-season with mixed results but one day in Ballinrobe, McLoughlin got involved in a skirmish against Clare in a “friendly” a few weeks before our Connacht opener. This teak-tough Crossmolina man and army cadet was not backing down when wearing his beloved green and red, so we all rowed in behind him – one in, all in. Here he was defending his county’s honour against what seemed like the whole of Clare. Had Anthony Daly or Ger Loughnane or any other Clareman appeared, he probably would have had a cut at them too. That set the tone. The moment a group of individuals became a team. We never looked back.

The role of Pat Holmes, Noel Connelly and Micheál Collins in getting this group performing at such a high level cannot be overlooked either. As we know too well, leading a team to a Celtic Cross is no easy feat. They did a wonderful job of creating a balance and spirit within a squad drawn from many clubs and a wide mix of abilities and personalities. They were always excellent at selecting a strong starting XV while leaving something in reserve. Leaving quality players like Enda Varley and Kevin Costello on the bench for the All-Ireland final proved a masterstroke when the pair came on and caused havoc in a stunning second-half. Team talks were always pitched at the right level between manic aggression (Connelly) and calculated control (Holmes) and management engendered real momentum in the group that saw us improve with each game. We will be eternally grateful to them for that campaign.

*****

Speaking of balance, Andy Moran will look to find the right blend of personnel and tactics that can get Mayo’s season back on track this weekend in Clones. The current Mayo senior squad is full of excellent players who are good lads and want to do well for their county. The management’s job now is to select a team that gets the mix right and ensures a tighter defensive setup that is more competitive in the middle third. If they nail that, the scores will come given the attacking arsenal at their disposal.

Recent reports of challenge matches against Meath and Kildare would suggest that Andy and co. are indeed tweaking things and reconfiguring team selection in a bid to find some chemistry and synergy. They were caught in the perfect storm against Roscommon a month ago, but in this most open of All-Ireland championships, I still believe that with adjustments Mayo can have a big say in championship proceedings in the weeks ahead.

As we saw 20 years ago, when a group of talented footballers comes together and the harmony, cohesion and balance is right, magic can happen.

One more thing… 

Trevor Lydon, from Clonbur GAA club, was part of the squad that won the All-Ireland Under-21 title in 2006. Has that ever happened before — a Mayo man playing club football in Galway winning an All-Ireland medal for Mayo?