Following on from the excitement and entertainment Derry and Dublin served up in the Division One final last weekend, many are saying that the woes of gaelic football have been fixed. It was a match that featured everything, including total chaos towards the end.
We've found that chaos is a brilliant - if unplannable - element to a game of gaelic football. While modern football seems deadset against chaos, the sport itself naturally tilts towards bedlam. These are seven of the most memorable chaotic Gaelic Football games down through the years.
Kerry v Mayo 2014 - drawn match and replay
Two games of pure and utter chaos the likes of which we may never see in gaelic football again. The move to Limerick due to a college football game taking place in Croke Park didn’t go down well at first but it only added to the magic that Kerry and Mayo produced. James O’Donoghue and Keith Higgins went at it in one-on-one combat, Kieran Donaghy emerged from the wilderness, there were goals, fights, a fired-up Mayo supporter was dragged off the field, there wasn’t much else that could have been added to this one. In the end, Kerry, without the injured Colm Cooper, crawled over the line as Rob Hennelly’s free in the dying seconds of added time just dropped short and saw Mayo exit the All-Ireland series.
The replay in Limerick was somehow even more chaotic, thanks for the unusual venue. It was another drawn game that would eventually be decided in extra time. Pitch invading Mayo supporter Mayo Mick enjoyed a memorable cameo.
30 August 2014; A Mayo supporter is restrained by security staff after he tries to confront referee Cormac Reilly during the closing stages of the game. GAA Football All Ireland Senior Championship, Semi-Final Replay, Kerry v Mayo. Gaelic Grounds, Limerick. Picture credit: Diarmuid Greene / SPORTSFILE
Armagh v Galway 2022
This game literally had it all and was one of a number of hectic games that Armagh have been involved in down through the years. Both sides won this game and lost it many times before the final whistle eventually sounded and ultimately the outcome was decided via the first ever penalty shootout at Croke Park. The ruckus when both teams were heading into the tunnel after Rian O’Neill’s monster score to draw the game only added to the drama and such was the tension and excitement, very few cared about the main event of All-Ireland champions Kerry and Mayo that was played after.
Donegal v Kildare 2011
A defining moment in the first coming of Jim McGuinness came when they battled past Kieran McGeeney’s Kildare in an extraordinary tug of war type of game. The first period was a cliched battle of attrition but as they game progressed, there was nothing either manager could do to control the chaos. Kildare had a goal wrongly ruled out for a square ball while Michael Murphy didn’t start the game due to injury but had a massive part to play when introduced. He kept the ball from going over the sideline while led to one of the most dramatic scores ever seen in Croke Park as Kevin Cassidy blasted over the winning point.
Cavan v Down 2020
Cavan displayed a never say die attitude in 2020 that eventually led to a first Ulster title since 1997 and they needed to show all that character in the opening two rounds of Ulster. They saw off rivals Monaghan after extra time, when they trailed by seven at half time of normal time. In the semi-final, they came from ten-points behind against Down to again pull off the most unlikely of comebacks and reach the Ulster final. So much was Down’s dominance, manager Paddy Tally began to substitute some of his star players and a converted penalty from Marty Reilly kickstarted Cavan’s revival.
22 November 2020; Cavan captain Raymond Galligan lifts the Anglo Celt Cup following the Ulster GAA Football Senior Championship Final match between Cavan and Donegal at Athletic Grounds in Armagh. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Dublin v Kerry 2013
In a repeat of the 2011 All-Ireland final, it felt like everything was on the line when these two met in the 2013 semi-final. A number of generations talents at either end locked horns as we witnessed Tomas O’Se going up against Diarmuid Connolly, Cian O’Sullivan picking up the elusive Colm Cooper, Marc Ó Sé on Bernard Brogan. It was a frantic and wild game, and it was impossible to keep up with as both teams had chances to win it at. It was Dublin who took off on the home straight and incredibly, two late goals from Kevin McManamon and Eoghan O’Gara saw them go seven clear at the final whistle.
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Dublin v Mayo 2016
Gameplans, systems and tactics all went flying out the window early doors in the memorable 2016 All-Ireland final. Never before did the Mayo curse gain so much traction as Stephen Rochard side hit two goals inside the opening few minutes, although they were both in the back of their own net! Amazingly, those in Croke Park witnessed not one, but two own goals and Mayo’s uphill battle became an even tougher one. In the end, as usually happens when Mayo meet Dublin, it all came down to a tense finish and Cillian O’Connor held his nerve to slice over an equalising score, although the Dubs went on to win the replay.
Tyrone v Kerry 2003
“We’ll have to crash into these boys and test out their f*****g pulse” was a message delivered by Paidí Ó Sé to the Westmeath team in 2004 but 12 months earlier, Tyrone took that same advice when they met Ó Sé Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final. Later labelled as ‘puke football’ from Pat Spillane, one of the most chaotic scenes ever witnessed on a GAA field took place in this game. Tyrone were ravenous and in a 30-second period along the sideline they showed passion, drive, desire and heart to crash into Kerry and cause a huge upset in beating the Kingdom fairly comfortably, 13-6, on the way to the Sam Maguire.
