Captain's View: Offaly 1981

Padraig Horan - (Offaly v Galway)

Offaly's historic breakthroughs in Leinster in 1980 and at All-Ireland level in '81 were achieved under the captaincy of Padraig Horan. He was still playing four years later when the team won its second All-Ireland and he managed the county to a National League in 1991. Offaly were underdogs in 1981, against reigning champions Galway, and came late in the match to win a memorable final.

"We were fierce well prepared for the match by Dermot (Healy, Offaly manager). He talked an awful lot about crowds and what to expect. That morning we went to mass in Tullamore and got the train to Dublin, avoiding most of the crowds. When we got there, we had a puckaround in Trinity College during the minor match and by the time we headed up, most of the spectators had gone ahead.

"When it was over, I remember the bedlam at the presentation. It was most uncivilised, I'd just got my hands on the cup when it was whipped away and gone. I didn't get to say a speech hardly at all - there was so much shouting - just a few words. These things are more dignified nowadays. None of us minded once our hands were on the McCarthy. Eventually I gave it to Pat Carroll, Lord rest him, and he nearly got killed bringing it back to the dressing-room. "What I remember most was the homecoming and the crowds in Tullamore and Birr - I didn't think there were so many people in the whole county. It was great for me because the year before when we won our first Leinster, my father had died during the match so I didn't go home with the team on that occasion.

"Healy's speeches (at the homecoming) actually laid the foundations for the under-age success to come and I suppose the All-Ireland a couple of years ago."

Clubcall: The managers' clubs

Clare: Feakle (Ger Loughnane) - Founded in 1886, Feakle contested four county senior finals before their first success in 1935 when they beat Newmarket. They won three in a row between 1938 and 1940 and in 1944 they won their fifth title. While they contested the 1958 final, in the following two decades the club suffered the effects of emigration and were relegated to intermediate ranks in 1971. Yet, with Seamus Durack and Ger Loughnane in harness, they bounced back to the senior grade just two years later. Between 1982 and '85 the club won four consecutive under-21 A titles and in 1987 they reached their first senior final in 29 years, only to lose to Clarecastle. A year later, however, with Loughnane, the Guilfoyles and Val Donnellan, they defeated Ruan to win their sixth title.

Date founded: 1886. Number of county championships: 6. Captains of All-Ireland winning teams: None. Parish base: Feakle. Current players on senior panel: None. Population of catchment area: 650. Club members: 100.

Tipperary: Kilruane MacDonaghs (Len Gaynor) - In 1901 a club called Lahorna De Wets, named after General De Wet, the freedom fighter, was formed in the Kilruane, Cloughjordan and Ardcroney area. They won six Tipperary North senior championships between 1901 and 1909 and the county title in 1902. Yet, by 1915, they had gone into decline and the parish had separate junior teams. In 1935, Kilruane MacDonaghs, named after Thomas MacDonagh, was set up. They club won north titles in 1940, 1944, 1959 and 1969, but failed at the county stage each time. Their golden era began in 1977, when they won the first of three consecutive county senior titles. In 1985, they won their last senior title, and went on to win the All-Ireland club title.

Founded: 1935. Number of senior titles: Four. Captain of All-Ireland winning teams: None. Parish base: Kilruane, Cloughjordan, Ardcroney. Current players on senior panel: Brian Gaynor. Population of catchment area: 2,000. Club members: 100.

Take Two: Munster s/f, 1938

Tipperary: 3-10, Clare: 2-3 Cork Athletic Grounds

Reigning All-Ireland champions Tipperary recorded a comfortable victory over Clare in this match, but ended up being disqualified as the result of a bizarre episode which came to be known as the "Cooney Case".

Jimmy Cooney had played centre-field in the previous season's All-Ireland final and was one of the best players of the time in that position. On February 12th 1938, he attended a rugby international in Dublin where he was a student at UCD. Inevitably he was spotted and, under the vigorously-policed rule banning attendance at "foreign games", was reported.

This led to a three-month suspension which was served by the May 14th. Complications arose from Cooney's status. He played his club football with UCD and, under the rules of the time, had to declare for his native Tipperary at county level on an annual basis.

This had been done on February 2nd, 10 days before the rugby match. For some reason, it was not forwarded to Central Council until around Easter. GAA president Padraig McNamee ruled that the day of receipt was the relevant date and that Cooney's declaration had therefore been invalid because he was under suspension at the time.

Consequently, his appearance for Tipperary in a match played after May 14th (when he believed his suspension to have been served) was deemed to have been a breach of the rule governing playing while under suspension and accordingly, he was handed a further six-month ban.

For reasons not entirely clear, Tipperary chose to ignore this second sanction and despite warnings from Clare that they would object if Cooney was played in the championship, the player lined out in the Munster semi-final.

There is little doubt that Tipp could have won this match without him, but they took the risk and when Clare lodged the objection, Tipperary countered by accusing a Clare player, Michael Griffin, of having attended the same rugby match. Cooney's testimony was the only evidence against Griffin - and Cooney as a suspended player was incapable of giving admissible evidence.

Finally Central Council upheld Cooney's six-month suspension and after all their efforts, Clare were beaten in the final by Waterford, who were beaten in the All-Ireland final by Dublin, the capital's last senior success.