County deserves an Ulster title, Byrne says
December 30, 2010Winning the Ulster football championship has become an obsession in Monaghan. After 22 years of frustration and pain, players and supporters are desperate to see the Anglo-Celt Cup return to the county.
Monaghan have come tantalisingly close to fulfilling that long-held goal in recent years. Under former manager Seamus McEnaney, they reached Ulster finals in 2007 and 2010, only to be denied by Tyrone both times. Expectations were never higher than in the season just past after both Armagh and Fermanagh were dismissed in ruthless fashion. But when the big day came, Monaghan simply didn't perform and crashed to a 10-point defeat before being knocked out of the All-Ireland race six days later by Kieran McGeeney's Kildare.
"It was very disappointing. They didn't do themselves justice against Tyrone and that's what will be hurting the players most over the winter months," says former county midfielder Davy Byrne, who won two Ulster medals in 1985 and '88.
"This team deserves to win an Ulster championship, I still think there is another kick left in them and that they are good enough to get over the line. But it needs to happen soon because you only get so many chances."
While sorry to see Seamus McEnaney depart as manager, Byrne is nevertheless confident that his successor and namesake Eamonn McEneaney can pick up from where the Corduff man left off.
"I played with Eamonn and I know how serious he takes his football. He managed Monaghan before and had four years with Louth, so he has plenty of experience at the top level. I think he'll do well and that the players will respond to him. He will bring a fresh approach to the whole scene and I know he is committed to bringing through young players, which is very important for any county team."
He continues: "I thought Seamus McEnaney did an excellent job during his six years as manager. Monaghan football at a low ebb when he took over, but he turned things around and got the interest back in the county team. He got Monaghan to two Ulster finals, but unfortunately they feel a bit short. They were also desperately unlucky to lose to Kerry in 2007. If they had won that game, they might even have gone on to win an All-Ireland."
The heartbreak Monaghan have experienced in recent years has made Byrne all the more appreciative of the two Ulster medals he won during a 13-year career in the blue and white jersey which spanned from 1983 to '96. He was also part of the Farney County team which captured a historic National League Division 1 title in '85 and which came within a whisker of retaining it the following year. In addition, he garnered Railway Cup medals with Ulster in 1987 and '91.
"I was fortunate enough to be there in the good times when Monaghan had a team capable of competing with the best," he says.
"We won two Ulsters, a National League title and could have won another one in 1986 when Laois beat us by a point in the final. The fact that we were contesting Ulster and National League finals gives you an idea of just how consistent we were. "By winning the National League in '85, I think we gave other Ulster counties the belief that they could go to Croke Park and win. Up until then, the Ulster champions had been mere cannon fodder for Kerry and Dublin, who met in the All-Ireland final every second year."
Unsurprisingly, Davy's biggest regret in football was Monaghan's failure to beat Kerry in the 1985 All-Ireland semi-final. After Eamonn McEneaney's mammoth last-minute free had forced a 2-9 to 1-12 draw, the Kingdom won the replay by 2-9 to 0-10.
"That was our big chance, but unfortunately we didn't take it," the Inniskeen native ruefully reflects.
"We had some fantastic players who were all household names at the time. We got a good group of players together at the same time under an astute manager in Sean McCague, who had a lot of success with Scotstown and Monaghan, and was ahead of his time in many ways.
"When we won Ulster again in '88, Niall Moyna, who managed DCU to a Sigerson Cup this year, was involved and he took the training and fitness side of it to a new level. But after losing the All-Ireland semi-final to Cork, the team started to break up and the county was down for a long time until 'Banty' took over and got the interest going again."
In his latter years with Monaghan, Davy moved from midfield to half forward. A cousin of Killanny's John Byrne who wore the county jersey before him, the Ardee-based garda sergeant won JFC and IFL medals with Inniskeen before joining the Garda club in Dublin. He later played with Ballyboden St. Enda's who he played out the remainder of his career with. Davy hung up his boots for good in 2000.
Byrne has been a member of the Garda Siochana for 27 years, 18 of which were spent in Dublin. In 2003, he moved to Ardee where he is now happily settled with his wife Martina and their three-year-old daughter Rosa.
While he still maintains a strong interest in the GAA and participates in long distance running, Davy was never tempted to step into management.
"I got a few offers from clubs over the years, but management isn't something for me. In any case, I don't think I'd be able to give the commitment required, even at junior level. At the moment, I'm happy just to be a spectator," he concludes. Tweet
