‘We talked about the mad stuff we did’: Dublin and Mayo legends recall past encounters before counties renew rivalry

Diarmuid Connolly is on Clonliffe Road, shooting the breeze with Lee Keegan. From where they stand you can glimpse a section of the faded blue seats on the top tier of the Cusack Stand.

The rivalry between the pair has dulled over the years too, a natural consequence of time and retirement. Their relationship is no longer confined to the premise of a gladiatorial battle inside that coliseum across the road.

For if Dublin and Mayo has been the GAA rivalry of a generation, nothing encapsulated the mania quite like Connolly v Keegan.

The duo were on the Ireland International Rules squad together in 2015 but this media event for Boylesports is the first time they have really been in each other’s company for a prolonged period.

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Their on-field clashes were wild and ferocious, a form of mortal combat that occasionally involved a size five football, but rarely did the contests appear to veer towards an exchange of denigrating comments.

“No, we never had a verbal conversation on the field,” says Connolly. “I don’t think that’s his nature though, he was more of a physical, hands-on sort of player, he wasn’t a guy that was in your ear. I did mark players, a few of the Donegal lads down the years, that would be in your ear, trying to get in your head, but Lee was never like that.”

There is clearly huge respect between the two and in between photos and interviews they chat easily.

“We had a bit of craic there talking kids, punditry and a bit of sh*te talk in between,” says Keegan. “Talking about some of the mad stuff we did in the 10 years we were playing against each other, there was enough in that alone to talk for an hour or so.

“If you can’t respect him for what he did as a player then you are crazy. I loved every bit of playing against him.

“If you look at the rivalry in general it was always bubbling in nearly every position, but for some reason us two got a lot more attention. Maybe it was the sending off or some of the mad stuff we were doing off the ball, checking jersey sizes!”

Connolly says Ger Brennan was the toughest defender he ever faced, though admits Keegan’s approach to curtailing him “was way more effective” than the players who resorted to verbals.

Despite being one of the most gifted footballers of all time, Connolly is only playing club hurling these days.

“I last played football about 12 months ago,” he says. The game in question was a Senior 2 Championship win away to Ballyboughal last August.

“That was my last football game. I got injured afterwards and then work has been crazy so I just took a step back.

“But Pat Gilroy is after taking the senior hurlers down in the club, and my younger brother is on the team, we haven’t won one in 30 years, so he asked me would I come back and contribute a little bit. That was only three or four weeks ago.”

His love for St Vincent’s is evident – Connolly classes the club’s All-Ireland success ahead of anything he achieved with Dublin – but the two-time All Star is not convinced he’s the saviour of the football team’s fortunes any longer.

“I’d never say never [about going back] but they’re struggling a little bit at the moment, they are last in Division One in the league. They probably need a couple more players to come back and I’m not the guy to do it, I’m 36 in July, they need it coming from the grassroots rather than from the old fogeys.”

He doesn’t miss the intercounty scene either. He had tucked away his Dublin career in 2018 only to be persuaded to return in July 2019 for the tail end of that championship campaign.

“I’d finished up in ‘18 and I’d made my peace, I was done with it. Obviously, I came back late in the 2019 season,” he recalls. “I’d sat down with my family, a couple of my close friends, the management team and a lot of the guys on the team and made the decision to come back for a couple of months, but I knew that’s all it was.

“I don’t think I had the fire any more either. I think that kind of died out a little bit and when that happens to a player you kind of have to take a step back. When I came back in 2019, I wasn’t the same player that I was in ‘17 or ‘16 or the years previous.

“I had been the one driving the standards, I was the one doing the extra stuff, but I wasn’t doing that. It’s not a mindset thing, it’s something that changed. I just seen the bigger picture and I’d enough of it at that stage.

“When I stepped away [it was said] I fell out with Jim Gavin or I had a fight with someone, or this happened and that happened. And none of that happened. It was completely my decision, I didn’t have a falling out with anybody on the panel or the management team.”

The biggest challenge of Dublin’s season awaits on Sunday – and almost inevitably Mayo will be the ones asking the questions. Connolly feels Dessie Farrell’s side can go all the way this summer, and for one player in particular he hopes they do.

“I’d love to see James McCarthy win one as a captain. I think he has been the standout outfield Dublin player for me for the last 15 years,” says Connolly.

“He’s the guy on the field that drives all the standards. And for him to pick up one as captain would be a nice cap to his career.”

Diarmuid Connolly and Lee Keegan took part in an ‘Epic Conversation’ for Boylesports