Cult hero whose influence is felt on and off the field

When Diarmuid Marsden was carried off the field moments into the Ulster semi-final against Fermanagh, it was remarkable how calmly he took the latest twist in an injury-riddled few seasons. The ankle wrench occurred even as Marsden attempted his very first shot. Disheartened though the Armagh support and management must have been, there was little surprise. Marsden has been cursed in recent seasons, but refuses to bow down to the extraordinarily poor luck that has dogged him.

"I think that Diarmuid has reconciled himself to the fact that these things will happen and is determined just to recover from them as quickly as possible," says Dessie Ryan, who coached the Armagh forward throughout Queen's Sigerson Cup winning run this year.

"For instance, the Friday before the Sigerson tournament, Diarmuid was in Dublin and had gotten the all clear, ready to play. On Saturday morning, he met up with us for a very light kick-around, nothing really, and the hamstring went again. So frustrating for him, but he just gets on with it. When it came to the tournament, we were able to use him sparingly. But that was his decision as well. For the final, I just said to him to tell me if he feels ready. And in the second half, he just walked up to me and said, `I think I can go in, I think I can be of help here'. And of course his arrival made a tremendous difference."

Marsden is a cult hero to Armagh football supporters. A central member of the 1992 minor team that heartbreakingly lost the All-Ireland final to Meath by virtue of a last-minute goal, his singular brilliance was a constant source of optimism in the bad days of the mid-90s when the senior side struggled to make an impact. With Armagh's emergence last year came an All-Star award after a brilliant Ulster campaign.

Even then, however, there was always a doubt lurking over him, always the fear he might succumb to injury. This season, it has hindered him with a vengeance, rendering him a spectator for the win over Fermanagh and the Ulster final victory over Derry. Worrying though his absence has been, the consequences have also been encouraging. That Armagh have been winning without Marsden points to an evolving side.

"The feedback I'm getting is that even though his influence on the field has been marginal through circumstances beyond him, he is having a tremendous effect behind the scenes," comments Jim McCorry, who drafted Marsden into the senior squad in the autumn of 1992.

"The other lads draw real inspiration from him, he is someone they respect and his presence has been a tremendous motivating factor."

Dessie Ryan endorses this viewpoint: "Yeah, Diarmuid has a special attitude. For instance, after the semi-final, he might have expected to start in the final but given the weather and everything, we felt he could only play for so long. This was a county star, but he was quite happy to sit on the substitutes' bench. That has a tremendously unifying effect on your squad, when you see someone of that calibre just happy to contribute to the effort in any way he can."

Marsden, though, has long been regarded as one of the game's true gentlemen; animated and exciting on the pitch but a clean, honest player and humble about his gifts. "He was a quiet, very likable young fella when I worked with him and I'm assured his personality hasn't changed any in the mean time," says Jim McCorry.

Like Maurice Fitzgerald of Kerry, Marsden will probably start Sunday's semifinal on the bench although he has recovered fitness.

That makes for a highly unusual situation in which two non-starters could well have a defining say on the game.

"With Diarmuid, it just takes a minute," says Ryan. "Armagh don't need to play him all that long for him to turn it. He can be having a quiet game and then in a half-flash, he'll have made the difference." Having him on the bench for Sunday's showdown gives the Armagh management a tremendous weapon.

A great target man, Marsden has a rare understanding with Oisin McConville. and the pair of them gave a truly brilliant forward display in last year's Ulster final against Down.

But neither made the impact they hoped for in the semi-final against Meath and Sunday offers the chance for atonement.