Sporting memories of 2004The Taoiseach and personalities from Irish sport, politics and entertainment outline their particular highlights of the past year to Gavin Cummiskey
Bertie Ahern (Taoiseach)
2004 was, yet again, a memorable year across a number of sports for Irish sportspeople. I really enjoyed most of the matches along the way to the finals of both the hurling and football championships. I also got a chance to see quite a few women's matches during the year and am delighted to witness the ever-improving standards and crowds going to watch the women's championship. I hope 2005 is a good year for Paul Caffrey's reign as Dublin manager in building for the future.
Eddie O'Sullivan and his team had a fantastic Triple Crown 2004 along with the recent Lansdowne victory against South Africa. Things are looking very bright on the rugby front.
On the soccer front we witnessed Arsenal's historic run as an unbeaten team throughout all of the last Premier League season. Brian Kerr and the team had a very successful year and I am quietly confident that his team can look forward to the coming World Cup qualifiers. We all watched the fabulous Paris team-performance along with the very steady results here in Lansdowne Road.
The FAI's Summer League proved a worthwhile exercise and Shelbourne can hold their heads high after their great Champions League experience which was a highlight, especially the August Deportivo matches.
There were too many other highlights to mention including the Ryder Cup victory, Dr Clare O'Leary's Everest climb and our Olympic team's efforts.
I want to wish all Irish sportspeople best wishes for 2005.
Roddy Doyle (author)
The theft of Waterford Crystal's urine sample from outside the drug-testing centre. It said an awful lot about modern sport and was also hilarious.
Also, Chelsea beating Manchester United on the opening day of the season. As a Chelsea fan I am trying to rein in my enthusiasm as I have a few quid on them to win the Premiership.
Des Cahill (broadcaster)
I sit in the same seat in Croke Park every year and a Fermanagh guy sits behind me. We got talking and he got really emotional. A real fanatic. But when he is in the bar after people always ask him if he is from Donegal or Tyrone, and when he says Fermanagh they lose respect for his opinion. This year that changed and he said he felt part of the GAA family for the first time.
Westmeath winning the Leinster final was next, although they blew it subsequently. There was a woman next to me for the replay against Laois. Early in the game I asked her was she a mother of a player and she said yes. Then I asked her was she Dessie Dolan's mother and she said: "Yes, how did you know?" I said she was the only person shouting "go on Desmond". She concurred he hates being called Desmond.
Next was Shelbourne in Europe. I was at the Olympics for the Deportivo match but I was at Tolka Park when they beat Hajduk Split.
Finally, at Cheltenham when a Kerry horse called Total Enjoyment trained by Tom Cooper, who is a part-time trainer, and owed by a syndicate of Kerry fellas won, they all sang the Rose of Tralee in the parade ring.
Justin McCarthy (Waterford hurling manager)
I only think about hurling so my memories are all from that.
From my perspective I thought a lot of people played down or picked holes in the games, but there was a very high standard this year.
I thought the Munster championship was outstanding with great games the whole way through. We had three tough matches. Okay, Clare fell flat the first day but against Tipperary we only stole it in the last minute with a goal.
The Munster final against Cork had everything; quality, excitement and tension right to the finish. Some of the scores were extraordinary making it, I think, the best game of the year.
It showed there are a lot of great players around and the game is really flourishing. With the new programme and new format coming in, it makes for very exciting times for hurling in general.
Eamonn Coghlan (former athlete)
The Olympic Games were the highlight but the manner Fr Neil Horan disrupted the marathon was utterly shameful. It made a show of the Irish all around the world.
On the track, the way Hicham El Guerrouj completed the double gold in the 1,500 and 5,000 can be considered one of the greatest achievements in athletic history. They call it the impossible double and not since the "Flying Finn" Paavo Nurmi achieved the feat in 1924 had anyone done it.
What made it even better was many expected El Guerrouj not to win either gold after coming second in Sydney (2000) and falling in Atlanta (1996).
For the 5,000 metres final I was a pundit on RTÉ and I rightly predicted that all he had to do to beat Kenenisa Bekele was sit and kick on the final lap. Run it like a miler, which he did brilliantly.
I've never been a great rugby fan but I was enthralled by the manner Ireland performed under Eddie O'Sullivan this year to win the Triple Crown and then carry that through to the autumn series by beating South Africa. The win in Twickenham over England particularly stood out.
Seán Kelly (GAA president)
Presenting Dara Ó Cinnéide with Sam Maguire was my highlight of the year. Mick Jacob's second goal against Kilkenny also springs to mind, as does Fermanagh's run, especially Tom Brewster's winning point against Armagh. Then there was Gooch's (Colin Cooper) goal in the final, probably the goal of the year.
Waterford's win in the Munster final was another high point. In particular, Ken McGrath's point from 100 yards and his catch at the end.
Brian Corcoran also brought many a smile back to Cork hurling fans. His point at the end of the All-Ireland final and the one from his knees in the Munster championship (v Limerick) were special.
The Kerry county championship final with Maurice Fitzgerald, fittingly, winning as captain of South Kerry was great poetic justice as after 18 years he finally collected the full set of medals.
The final GAA memory came late in the year, but the Munster club final, because it was contested by weaker counties, Kilmurry-Ibrickane of Clare beating Stradbally of Waterford, was a great game.
In other sports, the Ryder Cup because of the three Irish boys, the Triple Crown and Cian O'Connor winning his gold medal, although that doesn't glitter as brightly any more but it was a tremendous performance.
Eddie O'Sullivan (Irish rugby coach)
Obviously from a personal point of view winning the Triple Crown and beating South Africa were the highlights of the year.
Going into the Scotland game people expected so much, but as a team we trusted ourselves, especially when we were pegged back to 16-all. Then of course the first win over South Africa in 39 years was very special because of the manner in which we defended at the finish and after losing twice to them during the summer.
Outside rugby, the Ryder Cup is another memory from the year. Considering the pressure they were under in the build-up and the high stakes they (Europe) played brilliantly. It was that much more difficult as golfers would not be accustomed to playing a team sport.
Miriam O'Callaghan (Camogie chairperson)
It was a special year for the organisation as we were celebrating our centenary. I thought we put our best foot forward, particularly at the recent All Star event.
The All-Ireland final itself (Tipperary v Cork) was also memorable, not just for the match but the pageantry attached to it and the fact a bumper crowd in excess of 25,000 showed up - considerably higher than previous years. Our first international events also took place this year and they made the units abroad feel a part of the association.
Due to all this there was very little time to see other sports but the International Rules - although one-sided - was a pleasure to witness and the horse-riding in the Olympics as well. It was tremendous achievement even if the events after were unfortunate.
John O'Donoghue (Minister for Sport)
As a Kerryman watching the awesome display of the footballers in the All-Ireland final will live long in the memory. It was one of the great displays by a Kerry team in Croke Park. (Colin) Cooper's goal was the highlight of the day and it will surely find a place in Kerry folklore.
At Cheltenham, the victory of Total Enjoyment coming up the hill all on his own had a lasting resonance. It was always felt in Kerry that we could get a win at Cheltenham and with a Kerry owner, a Kerry trainer and a Kerry-ridden horse just that occurred.
The night of the 100 metres final in Athens was another great memory. The sheer colour and anticipation made for an electric atmosphere.
Also, Ireland's victory over England at Twickenham was another memorable day in a year of many fine days.
John Maughan (Mayo football manager)
From our own perspective the way we performed when we were 1-3 down against Galway in the Connacht championship semi-final. To come back and win by six points was very satisfying, as was beating the All-Ireland champions Tyrone in Croke Park at the quarter-final stage.
Cian O'Connor winning the gold medal was also memorable but so was the disappointing display of our athletes in Athens. Several misadventures in the space of two days saw us lose real medal hopes in Jamie Costin in a car crash and Gillian O'Sullivan to a hip injury.
Also, the Irish rugby team impressed, especially Ronan O'Gara's performance against South Africa and of course the victory over England at Twickenham.
Ken McGrath (Waterford hurling captain)
In other sports, Ireland's performance in the Six Nations was the highlight. It was at the same time that we were going well in the hurling. But the main memory for me personally was the Munster final in Thurles. It was a just a brilliant match.
The rest is not so great as we performed so poorly in the All-Ireland semi-final against Kilkenny, without the suspended John Mullane. The whole county was sick about that one for a couple of months, we just never got going like we did in Munster. It was a massive let-down after the hurling we produced six weeks before.
The Munster club final defeat was another let-down as I missed a late free to draw up the match (for Mount Sion against Toomevara). Although there were some massive lows, overall, it was a great year with the three games in the Munster championship ensuring that.
