“We did have a conversation, leading into the game, saying, ‘Look, if anything kicks off here, no-one is going to back down’.”
Dublin were geared up for battle, in 2006, when they landed in Omagh for a National Football League encounter with reigning All-Ireland champions Tyrone. It had been 11 years since Dublin had last raised the Sam Maguire but under Paul ‘Pillar’ Caffrey they were heading in the right direction.
Taking on Mickey Harte’s champions on their home turf was as big as tests came, at the time, and Dublin knew they could not give up an inch.
Caffrey’s side won out on a fractious day in Omagh in a match that saw both sides reduced to 13 men and nine players brought up on report by the GAA.
The GAA Hour: Live paid a visit to Cookstown ahead of Dublin and Tyrone’s Super 8 clash and many of the protagonists from that day ave their forthright, hilarious version(s) of events. Caffrey revealed, too, [from 10:00 below] what the Tyrone physio mouthed at Alan Brogan to stoke his fury.
“We spoke about not backing down beforehand,” says former Dublin star Barry Cahill, “but little did we know it’d be Alan Brogan and their physio that would spark the whole thing.
“It was definitely the case of it being a ‘One in, all in’ sort of mentality, which wouldn’t have normally been the case. But playing the All-Ireland champions on their home patch was a big game for us.”
Brogan was shown the red card just after half-time for his second yellow card offence. As he made his way to the sideline, he lit on a remark made from a member of Tyrone’s back-room staff. As Caffrey recalls:
“Alan Brogan is a lover, not a fighter. He was one of the cleanest players I knew.
“I think yer man asked him, ‘How many All Irelands have ya? Can you hear the jingle [of medals] in my pocket? How many have you got?'”
Micky McGee, the Tyrone corner back, was straight on the scene and grabbed a hold of Brogan’s jersey before players from both sides charged in and bedlam ensued.
“Kevin Bonner comes in,” jokes GAA Hour Colm Parkinson, “and it was WWE stuff – off the side ropes and onto McGee… he absolutely took him out of it!”
With the meleé exploding near the sideline, both benches got involved and there were even ructions in the main stand. As it escalated, Caffrey was quick to reef onto Brogan and get him the hell out of there. The former Dublin boss says:
“My thought process, immediately, was, ‘Right, this has kicked off. There is going to be hell to pay for this further down the line. Brogie is already off. If he steps back and starts getting involved in another row he’ll get double suspensions’.
“So I’m saying, ‘Brogie, get the f**k up the steps!’
“The championship was only three months and they [the GAA] would throw a three-month suspension at you. I was minding my prized asset. Get up behind me pal!’
Brogan ended up avoiding any suspension from the whole incident. His two yellows meant he had not received a straight red card while all nine of the players charged with bringing the game into disrepute saw their cases thrown out on “technicalities”.
A marker was laid down that day and Dublin showed they could mix it with the best. It took five more years, still, before they could back that start up by raising the Sam Maguire.
