Ulster counties' faltering back-to-back bids

Armagh's All-Ireland defence starts on Saturday afternoon and in the coming months Kieran McGeeney’s squad are hoping to manage what no Ulster side has managed since 24 September 1961, and that’s to retain the Sam Maguire.

Since the start of the 1990s, the northern province has become a behemoth on the national stage with four counties – Donegal, Derry, Armagh and Tyrone – all winning their first-ever All-Ireland.

Three of those, Derry the exception, have since added to their tally while there were also Down’s successes in 1991 and '94 - the Mourne County also having the honour of being the last Ulster side to go back-to-back after that 1961 final win over Offaly.

The following 30 years would see Sam go north just once – Down winning title number three in 1968 – but the visits have been much more regular over the last 35 years, although the cup has never stayed more than 12 months.

The Down 1961 team - the last Ulster side to successfully defend Sam

McGeeney knows how hard the task is having come up just short as a player when they were beaten by Tyrone in the 2003 season, and while all focus will be on the Ulster championship for now, there is no denying what will be the driving motivation inside the camp.

Here’s how Ulster teams came unstuck in their years as champions since Down’s 1960/61 triumphs.

DOWN - 1969

Perhaps the signs were there as the league drew to a conclusion with Down suffering a shock loss to Westmeath in their Division One semi-final in Carrickmacross.

They recovered from that to beat Antrim and Monaghan to secure a spot in the Ulster final, but lost by seven points, 2-13 to 2-06, to Cavan as they surrendered their provincial and national crowns.

DOWN - 1992

Down’s 1991/92 league campaign saw them draw four of their five games, so it was hard to get a handle on the champions heading into the Ulster series.

No such issues for Derry who won a second-ever league title in the spring before ending Down’s reign with an 0-12 to 0-09 Ulster semi-final win after the champions had opened up with a comfortable win over old foes Armagh.

The Oakleafers were a real thorn in Down’s side at that time and would win by 11 points in Newry the next season in what became known as the ‘massacre at the Marshes’. Pete McGrath’s side would gain revenge a year later in arguably the greatest game of all time (more on that later).

DONEGAL - 1993

A combined crowd of over 110,000 came to Croke Park for Donegal’s 1992/93 league final and replay with Dublin with the Leinster side prevailing second time around with the Ulster side only managing six points.

Still, it was excellent preparation for the Tir Chonaill County overall, but that 0-06 tally came back to haunt them as Derry took them out in the Ulster final by two points, 0-08 to 0-06, on a day when Clones turned into a bog.

Derry’s first-ever win over Donegal at the venue was marred when Tir Chonaill boss Brian McEniff was struck by a number of Derry fans afterwards – one of the guilty party contacting the manager afterwards to apologise.

Derry knocked Donegal out in the 1993 mud-bowl Ulster final

DERRY - 1994

Derry had been building a head of steam in the early 1990s and that culminated in their famed 1993 breakthrough.

A teamsheet containing the Downeys, Joe Brolly, Enda Gormley, Brian Gilligan and, of course, Anthony Tohill, looked set to be a force for years to come, but their title defence fell at the first hurdle as Down beat them in what is considered by many to be the greatest game ever played.

Celtic Park hosted a rollercoaster thriller – Down winning 1-14 to 1-12 – in what would be Eamonn Coleman’s last game in charge of Derry as he was controversially removed five months later.

DOWN - 1995

Down, buoyed by that Celtic Park win, were on a mission and secured Sam for the fifth time in 1994 – and incredibly they haven’t even won an Ulster title since.

Their 1995 title defence was meek, losing out by six points to Donegal in the Ulster preliminary round with Gary Mason’s red card early in the second half having a major influence.

That match was perhaps more memorable for a bitter row between broadcasters RTÉ and UTV that led to the cancellation of The Sunday Game show as UTV refused RTÉ permission to show footage of the entire match before they had the chance to. RTÉ had planned to show deferred coverage at 6pm with UTV set to show the game at 10pm.

ARMAGH - 2003

The closest any Ulster side has come to defending their title since Down in 1961, but in the end it was the red and white ribbons of Tyrone on the Sam Maguire for the first time.

Joe Kernan’s side were also the first Ulster champions to have the backdoor option and they walked through it after being shocked by a Paul Finlay-inspired Monaghan in their provincial opener.

Their response was impressive as they made it all the way to the All-Ireland final. Following Diarmaid Marsden’s controversial sending off, they were left chasing Tyrone but it still took a famous block from Conor Gormley on Stevie McDonnell late on to finally end their hopes.

TYRONE - 2004

Mickey Harte’s Tyrone side of the noughties was simply incredible, but they always seemed to follow a Sam Maguire success with a damp squib of a campaign.

Donegal were too good in the Ulster semi-final despite losing Niall McCreadie to a red card in the first half.

It meant the back door for Tyrone and wins over Down, Galway and Laois allowed them to build up some momentum, but they were caught by big underdogs Mayo in the quarter-final in a Croke Park double bill of shocks with Fermanagh knocking out Armagh on the undercard.

TYRONE - 2006

Tyrone’s first half of championship football as reigning 2005 All-Ireland champions is also one of their most notorious as, despite being on home soil in Omagh, they failed to score against Derry.

Tyrone failed to score in the first half of their 2006 Ulster meeting with Derry

A red card for Kevin Hughes didn’t help and it actually took until the 38th minute for the Red Hands to raise a flag, but by that stage Derry were well ahead with Enda Muldoon’s goal helping them to a 1-08 to 0-05 win.

Louth nearly clipped them in the first round of the qualifiers, Mickey Harte’s side advancing after a replay, but Laois, managed by Mick O'Dwyer, did put them out of their misery next time out with Tyrone only managing six points.

TYRONE - 2009

Tyrone do have the honour of being the first reigning All-Ireland champion since Down in 1961 to have won the Ulster title the following year after a win over an Antrim side that had caught the imagination with victories over Donegal and Cavan.

They still weren’t at their fluent best though and needed a fine second-half comeback to get past Kildare in the All-Ireland quarter-final before Cork beat them by five points in the semi-final despite losing Alan O’Connor to a red card in the first half.

Seán Cavanagh was ruled out with a stomach bug pre-match, and Tyrone really missed him.

DONEGAL - 2013

After Jim McGuinness inspired Donegal to All-Ireland glory in 2012, few would have bet against them lifting Sam again 12 months later.

All seemed to be going to plan as they defeated Tyrone and Down to reach the Ulster final, but they were easily outplayed in the final by a Monaghan side that defied big odds on a day of splendid colour at Clones when many Oriel veterans got the reward for their years of toil.

Mayo were far too strong for Donegal in 2013

Donegal responded with a qualifier win over Laois, but they were absolutely blitzed by Mayo in the All-Ireland quarter-final – the Connacht side running in 4-17 against the country’s best defence.

TYRONE - 2022

Tyrone’s 2021 All-Ireland triumph was unexpected so losing in Ulster the following year maybe doesn't seem that surprising – but the fact that Derry had 11 points to spare in Omagh set alarm bells ringing.

They were ringing for a reason because despite an early Conor McKenna goal against Armagh in the first round of the qualifiers, they were swatted aside by their rivals on a day when the Ethan Rafferty goalkeeping experiment really took off.

Watch Tyrone v Cavan in the Ulster Football Championship on Sunday from 3.45pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1

Watch the Camogie League finals, Offaly v Derry and Cork v Galway, on Sunday from 12pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Follow a live blog on the Division 1 final on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app

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