At the time they were the full six degrees of separation and yet Michael Darragh Macauley and Bernard Brogan share strangely close experiences of Dublin’s last football championship match outside of Croke Park, 10 years ago this Saturday, to the exact day.
For Macauley, a then 19 -year-old with little prospect of playing senior football for Dublin, it was a mere road trip, shared with his club mates at Ballyboden St Enda’s, for the sheer pleasure of it. There was no certainty that Dublin were about to dominate Leinster football, so road trips like this would most probably be the norm over the next 10 years.
For Brogan, a then 22 -year-old with highly exciting prospects of making his senior debut for Dublin in the near future, it was a mere road trip, shared with his team-mates, for the sheer business of it.
Dublin travelled to Pearse Park to play Longford that day (June 4th, 2006) and were expected to win but it proved far closer than expected before Dublin prevailed by 1-12 to 0-13.
Brogan was an unused substitute on the day and didn’t make his senior debut until a year later. Goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton is the only current Dublin panellist to have featured in that game. Both Macauley and Brogan players still share vivid memories of the day, too, although the former didn’t make his championship debut for Dublin for another four years.
“Ah yeah, it was a great day,” said Macauley. “All my friends went down, the place was packed, probably 10,000 over capacity that day. And it was one of the nicest days of the year. Dublin got over the hurdle in the end, though they stumbled along the way, too.
“But I know a lot of Dublin supporters still talk about that day as being a great road trip. They do it during the league, obviously, but it’s never the same as the championships, so I think it’s going to be a great day again.”
Brogan is aware of the talk that Dublin have enjoyed the considerable advantage of playing in Croke Park for every Leinster championship match since, which means they have something to prove when they face Laois in Nowlan Park on Saturday evening.
“We know there are questions being asked of us, people saying ‘you’re always playing in Croke Park’... So we want to prove we can adapt, and play good football anywhere we’re put. We play in Croke Park because that’s where the GAA puts us, because of the crowds and everything else. But as an athlete, you always want to challenge yourself. As Dublin players, we’ll go to war anywhere.”
Dublin manager Jim Gavin isn’t taking the game lightly; he took his team to Kilkenny last Saturday, playing a practice game at 7.0pm, the exact same time as throw-in. Laois, who also trained there on Tuesday evening, are looking for their first win over Dublin in 13 years, having lost to them on six occasions since.
Macauley, however, feels Dublin have nothing to prove when it comes to playing outside Croke Park: “No, it means absolutely nothing to me. Okay, I’m just speaking for myself but I don’t think it is going to motivate me or do anything for me. It’s just something new.
“There’s no sense of trepidation, or anxiousness. We’re just looking forward to getting out of Croke Park, going for a road trip and hopefully playing a bit of football in the sun in Nowlan Park.
“None of us [besides Cluxton ]has played there. Except Tomás Brady, maybe [the former dual player]. I know all the Dublin fans are talking about it, and I know a lot of friends have all booked tickets and are making a weekend of it.”
Not that Macauley feels the occasion will be any sort of distraction to hi. Unlike 10 years ago, this time he’s there on business.
“No, none of that talk seeps in, it really doesn’t. Lads are just focused. We’ve been successful in Leinster over the last few years but that’s only because we’ve tried to maintain our own standards and focus on just the hurdle in front of us.
“The day you start talking about a Leinster semi-final or a Leinster final is the day that we’re going to get caught. . . It’s probably one of the strengths of this team, that we’ve been able to focus on what’s been in front of us. You’ve heard the cliches coming from a million athletes that they don’t look past their next race, or whatever it is. But once you’re caught daydreaming you’re gone.”
Laois manager Mick Lillis has described the game as David against Goliath’s bigger brother:
“Well, that would be what managers do in interviews,” say Macauley. “Jim Gavin is going to do the same, but at the end of the day it’s a game of football. Two teams are going to go out to try beat each other and get into the next round. . . Whoever is the best prepared, the fittest, and wants it more is going to come out with the honours.”
