Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

National Forum

Monaghan GAA thread

(Oldest Posts First) - Go To The Latest Post

The man has had 8 attempts to win an Ulster title. The record stands:
1. Lost first round
2. Lost first round
3. Well beaten in final (6 down and a goal made it respectable)
4. Lost first round
5. Lost first round
6. Hammered in final (1-14 to 0-7)
7. Lost prelim following the worst tactical meltdown in half a century
8. Lost by a point in final

Eddie the Exile (Monaghan) - Posts: 1391 - 29/09/2026 15:40:08    2695526

Link

Replying To farneygael3:  "Did you listen to Chrissy McKaigue on the Irish news podcast yesterday. Would like to have Gallagher in our dressing room after listening to him."
Yes, In a heartbeat

monaghanmad (Monaghan) - Posts: 538 - 29/09/2026 15:55:06    2695527

Link

Replying To Eddie the Exile:  "The man has had 8 attempts to win an Ulster title. The record stands:
1. Lost first round
2. Lost first round
3. Well beaten in final (6 down and a goal made it respectable)
4. Lost first round
5. Lost first round
6. Hammered in final (1-14 to 0-7)
7. Lost prelim following the worst tactical meltdown in half a century
8. Lost by a point in final"
That's a very selective way of looking at it.

First off, it was 9 Ulster campaigns, not 8. In those 9 campaigns he got Monaghan to 3 Ulster finals, and 6 times the team that knocked Monaghan out went on to win Ulster.

2007 wasn't a "well beaten" final either, it finished 1-15 to 1-13. And even the 2020 game you're calling the worst tactical meltdown in half a century was a one point extra time defeat to Cavan, who then went on and won Ulster.

Fair enough, you can compare him to Malachy and say Mal had 7 years and won 2 Ulsters, but you can't compare the two spells without looking at the players they had available. Malachy had that core at or around their peak - McManus, Beggan, the Hughes brothers, Corey, the Wylies, Karl O'Connell, Colin Walshe etc. By the time Banty came back in 2020, Corey and Mone were gone and a lot of that same group were already into their 30s or coming towards the end of their county careers. 6 of the 18 players who played in 2015 Ulster final were gone by 2020.

And it's not as if Banty came back and just kept flogging the same old team either. He brought a number of younger players into the senior set-up and gave them a proper chance while still keeping Monaghan competitive (Andrew Woods, Aaron Mulligan, Jason Irwin, Seán Jones, Karl Gallagher, Shane Hanratty and Gary Mohan)

That's actually one of the reasons I wouldn't be against him coming back now. He has shown before that he'll give younger lads an opportunity instead of relying on the same older players year after year. If younger players don't see a pathway into the team, eventually some of them are going to walk away, and that's something Monaghan can't afford and has happened far too often in recent years (Bannigan + Corey regime).

Malachy was obviously more successful and nobody is arguing otherwise. But boiling Banty's record down to "9 attempts and no Ulster" while ignoring who knocked Monaghan out, the stage of development the squad was at, and the rebuilding he was doing at the same time is a very convenient way of presenting it.

And then the elephant in the room - the players want Banty because he will give them 100% and get them the best coaching and resources available. Money can't buy Ulster championship but sure can help. At the end of the day, it's what players want not people who havnt a notion but think they know it all on a GAA forum!

MonaghanBoi (Monaghan) - Posts: 57 - 29/09/2026 19:49:02    2695585

Link

Replying To monaghanmad:  "Yes, In a heartbeat"
All this hype around Gallagher, I'm not sure. As a previous poster said, I think he could be a product of the old rules. Corduff have been found out massively since the new rules. He was also in with Carrickmore in Tyrone this year on the hush, and they got a tanking by Donaghmore in the SFC Semi Final in a game they were favourites to win. Thats before you even go into the rest of the baggage that comes with him.

HB245 (Monaghan) - Posts: 320 - 29/09/2026 20:00:52    2695586

Link