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Your First GAA Memory

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Hi all

What is your first GAA memory?

I've got a few but the one that stands out is Limerick facing Cork in the 1983 championship. My brother & I got presents of hurleys, sliothars & football boots. The game was a draw (Limerick 2-14 & Cork 3-11) and being taken to the replay in Cork was a great day out only Jimmy Barry-Murphy inspired Cork to a 1-14 to 1-12 win over Limerick.

Later that year came the first memories with the club.

Might have been a thread discussed before, but for many of us of a certain vintage the GAA Was a lot different when we started compared to now.

slayer (Limerick) - Posts: 6480 - 05/09/2018 10:39:36    2139359

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1983 All Ireland Football Final on the Hill and the 12 apostles game.

I wasnt even three, in those days the kids were just lifted over the stile, remembering going to the game with a Dublin scarf out the window of the car, having one of those melt in the rain hats, three bars or cans for 50p from the prams outside the ground and the ice cream lad milling about on the hill.

I vaguely remember some of the red cards and the surges on the hill and being on the shoulders of any adult in the general vicinity.

TheUsername (Dublin) - Posts: 4445 - 05/09/2018 11:11:35    2139376

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1993 replay against Armagh in Breffni Park. We played brilliant stuff that day but my abiding memory is being behind the goal where we scored our goals in the first half and the crowd going crazy.

JoeSoap (Donegal) - Posts: 1432 - 05/09/2018 12:17:31    2139406

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22nd September 1957 when the smallest county in Ireland beat the biggest county in Ireland on a score line of 1-09 to 1-07 in a David v a Goliath clash. The wonderful Wee County won their third All Ireland and their first Sam Maguire. Louth's heaven was 57.

OLLIE (Louth) - Posts: 12224 - 05/09/2018 12:28:20    2139411

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John Fentons goal against Limerick and Joe McNally swinging off the crossbar v Meath in 89 !

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 05/09/2018 12:30:29    2139412

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I guess the 1980 All Ireland Hurling Final when Galway finally won was one of my standout memories as a young lad. The 1982 Football Final when Offaly beat that great Kerry team was huge for me too. Lots of changes since then...

Trump2020 (Galway) - Posts: 2127 - 05/09/2018 12:31:05    2139413

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1991 Munster final, Kerry v Limerick.
Limerick had a fine player, think he was in their half forwards? Anyway I distinctly remember he had big flowing grey hair so he stood out on the pitch! I also remember my Dad telling me he was a doctor and a real danger man.
Whatever about the game though, I was much more interested in getting to sit on the actual pitch with the other kids I saw in there, especially when my cousins spotted me inside the fence and started jeering me that they got to go and sit on the field while I had to make due with the stand :(

TheHermit (Kerry) - Posts: 6354 - 05/09/2018 12:57:33    2139430

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Replying To TheHermit:  "1991 Munster final, Kerry v Limerick.
Limerick had a fine player, think he was in their half forwards? Anyway I distinctly remember he had big flowing grey hair so he stood out on the pitch! I also remember my Dad telling me he was a doctor and a real danger man.
Whatever about the game though, I was much more interested in getting to sit on the actual pitch with the other kids I saw in there, especially when my cousins spotted me inside the fence and started jeering me that they got to go and sit on the field while I had to make due with the stand :("
Haha TheHermit as soon as you I read that post , the image of that forward came into my head :-)
he was a lively forward for Limerick who was always a danger to us.
Those days in 91/92 going up to games to the Gaelic Grounds in a bus with my father organised by the Club. Couple of pit stops on the way and a couple down. Some people had gone for pints somewhere else away from the rest us and most of left waiting for them to come back and the driver of the bus going mental threatening to leave without them!

woops (Kerry) - Posts: 2073 - 05/09/2018 13:06:28    2139435

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Replying To woops:  "Haha TheHermit as soon as you I read that post , the image of that forward came into my head :-)
he was a lively forward for Limerick who was always a danger to us.
Those days in 91/92 going up to games to the Gaelic Grounds in a bus with my father organised by the Club. Couple of pit stops on the way and a couple down. Some people had gone for pints somewhere else away from the rest us and most of left waiting for them to come back and the driver of the bus going mental threatening to leave without them!"
Woops what was his name, maybe some Limerick poster might know? I wonder is that game on youtube or anything I think it was a pretty close and high scoring. I certainly remember my Dad and my Godfather being very animated throughout and at the final whistle.
Sure them were the days when you could jump into the driver seat after a sculling a few pints and no-one batted an eyelid. Crazy to think of now. I remember coming back from the Gaelic Grounds after Clare's historic win over us in 92. My God we must have stopped in every second bar from Limerick city to the Halfway on the way back. Sure I was happy out, crips and cidona till I was fit to burst!!!

TheHermit (Kerry) - Posts: 6354 - 05/09/2018 13:31:53    2139452

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Dublin/Meath saga 1991.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13718 - 05/09/2018 13:38:36    2139459

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Replying To TheHermit:  "1991 Munster final, Kerry v Limerick.
Limerick had a fine player, think he was in their half forwards? Anyway I distinctly remember he had big flowing grey hair so he stood out on the pitch! I also remember my Dad telling me he was a doctor and a real danger man.
Whatever about the game though, I was much more interested in getting to sit on the actual pitch with the other kids I saw in there, especially when my cousins spotted me inside the fence and started jeering me that they got to go and sit on the field while I had to make due with the stand :("
I remember that game,we came so close to winning that game, another false dawn for limerick football.

cityman73 (Limerick) - Posts: 779 - 05/09/2018 13:44:08    2139464

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1976 All Ireland Semi final between Kerry v Derry. I was 7. Dad took me to a live screening of the game in Coventry. I drank 3 bottles of fizzy orange. Good times.

FootblockREF (Monaghan) - Posts: 564 - 05/09/2018 14:07:37    2139475

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Dublin v Galway - 1974 All-Ireland football final.

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8596 - 05/09/2018 14:17:13    2139484

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Being brought to the 1996 semi final - Mayo v Kerry.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11236 - 05/09/2018 14:34:27    2139493

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I remember going to the county final between Na Cealla Beaga & Naomh Columba in 1990. Both teams were very strong back then and contained players who would backbone the All Ireland team of 92. You had Manus Boyle, Barry McGowan, John and Barry Cunningham from Killybegs and the Noel Hegarty & JJ Doherty from Glen.

My first county memory was Down wolloping us in the Ulster final of 91. Some team that was! Mickey Linden, Greg Blaney, the McCartans, Carrs etc

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9154 - 05/09/2018 14:43:15    2139500

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Replying To TheHermit:  "Woops what was his name, maybe some Limerick poster might know? I wonder is that game on youtube or anything I think it was a pretty close and high scoring. I certainly remember my Dad and my Godfather being very animated throughout and at the final whistle.
Sure them were the days when you could jump into the driver seat after a sculling a few pints and no-one batted an eyelid. Crazy to think of now. I remember coming back from the Gaelic Grounds after Clare's historic win over us in 92. My God we must have stopped in every second bar from Limerick city to the Halfway on the way back. Sure I was happy out, crips and cidona till I was fit to burst!!!"
Think the stand out players on that team were Philip Danaher, a young John Quane and Joe Reddington
would Reddington be your man folks?

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 05/09/2018 15:07:01    2139512

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Replying To Lockjaw:  "I remember going to the county final between Na Cealla Beaga & Naomh Columba in 1990. Both teams were very strong back then and contained players who would backbone the All Ireland team of 92. You had Manus Boyle, Barry McGowan, John and Barry Cunningham from Killybegs and the Noel Hegarty & JJ Doherty from Glen.

My first county memory was Down wolloping us in the Ulster final of 91. Some team that was! Mickey Linden, Greg Blaney, the McCartans, Carrs etc"
Think that was the game Sean Bonner was harshly blamed by McEniff for Down's goal. Bonner left the panel and missed out on his All Ireland medal in 92.

My first real memory was the 92 semi final v Mayo. I don't remember too much about it to be honest, just the delight of getting to the final afterwards.

I watched that 92 semi final back not so long ago and it was a truly awful game of football, littered with mistakes and awful shooting. Spillane was bemoaning Donegal for their short hand passing even back then!!

HandballRef (Donegal) - Posts: 520 - 05/09/2018 15:43:46    2139528

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Replying To Liamwalkinstown:  "Think the stand out players on that team were Philip Danaher, a young John Quane and Joe Reddington
would Reddington be your man folks?"
Timmy Cummins is his name no 13
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujnBRd_uEyY

woops (Kerry) - Posts: 2073 - 05/09/2018 18:15:17    2139592

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The league semi final in 1994 against Meath. My first time in Croke Park. The attendances for those games back then would be greater than provincial finals now.

Concerned_Supp (Westmeath) - Posts: 71 - 05/09/2018 19:09:12    2139612

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The Connacht final Galway v Mayo in St.Comans Park 1948. It went to extra time in the replay before Mayo won.
I was told that the Mayo midfielder ,Pat McAndrew, was the tallest player in Ireland,so I followed him out the gate just to get a good look

worple (Roscommon) - Posts: 340 - 05/09/2018 19:36:57    2139620

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