FROM THE GET-GO, Davy Burke and his Roscommon side had one day in mind.
Easter Sunday.
8 April 2023 was circled in red, a Connacht quarter-final clash against Mayo in Castlebar.
The Rossies smashed their target and won on a scoreline of 2-8 to 0-10.
That Easter Sunday mantra they had lived by for months? Completed it.
Obsession and repetition.
Burke referenced the red-letter day time and time again in his post-match interviews.
“Unbelievable,” he reflected. “First time I met the lads, they said, ‘Easter Sunday, we’ll be ready.’ They were ready.”
Two weeks later, though, Galway had the upper hand at Dr Hyde Park. They went on to lift the JJ Nestor Cup, while Roscommon were left to prepare for the All-Ireland series.
The draw was made on 2 May, and they were pitted against the Leinster winner and Connacht runner-up in Group 3.
First up? A trip to face Dublin or Louth on the weekend of 27/28 May. A new target moved into full view. A new date circled.
Burke knew he’d have a little under a month to prepare for the Dubs, barring a huge shock for the 13 in-a-row chasing Leinster champions; a nice chunk of time to come up with a plan, and to figure out how best to tackle Dessie Farrell’s side.
There’s no getting away from the fact that Roscommon have suffered a lot against Dublin.
The 2012 and 2014 U21 All-Ireland final defeats and 2018 and 2019 Super 8s games spring to mind, while there have been other heavy beatings through the years.
Jim Gavin was manager for the 2012 U21 showdown, which finished 2-12 to 0-11.
Dublin’s Class of ’93 were all involved that season: Jack McCaffrey, John Small, David Byrne, Ciarán Kilkenny and Paul Mannion, the latter two scoring 0-4 and 1-0 respectively in the final in Tullamore.
Ciaráin Murtagh, Donie Smith, Conor Daly, Niall Daly and Cian Connolly were among those on the Roscommon team that led 0-11 to 1-6 at the beginning of the fourth quarter but an unanswered 1-6 saw the Dubs lift the Clarke Cup.
They repeated the trick two years later, with Farrell at the helm this time around. This was a more straightforward win, a 0-14 to 0-1 lead built up by half time at O’Connor Park. Add Brian Fenton, Cormac Costello and Niall Scully into the mix from the current Dublin crop, along with a host of other recognisable names, and they were celebrating their third U21 title in five years after a 1-21 to 3-6 victory. Enda Smith and Diarmuid Murtagh were among those joining the Rossies’ ranks, the latter finishing with 2-3 that day.
At senior level, many of the same names locked horns in Super 8s Championship action in 2018 and 2019. Roscommon lost heavily twice, Dublin triumphing by 14 and 18 points respectively.
Gavin’s all-conquering Sky Blues roared to a 4-23 to 2-16 win in Croke Park the first year.
It was a largely uneventful contest, perhaps best remembered for Bernard Brogan’s swift return from a cruciate ligament injury. The Dubs led 2-12 to 0-7 at the break, their All-Ireland semi-final spot assured before throw-in and allowing for squad rotation.
Costello top-scored with 0-9 (1 ’45, 1f), while Eoghan O’Gara and Paul Flynn hit 2-2 and 1-3 respectively. The 2-16 they conceded was surely a concern at the time but Kevin McStay’s men finished with a flurry, Donie Smith and Diarmuid Murtagh prominent on the scoresheet.
A little under a year later, at the same stage of the competition and same venue, the board read 2-26 to 0-14 at the full-time whistle.
The Rossies were brushed aside at ease once more, a devastating first-half performance putting Dublin 1-15 to 0-7 up at the break. Dean Rock chipped in with 1-11 (10f) while nine other big-hitters scored from play. Conor Cox was Roscommon’s main man with 0-7 (4f), but their struggles were compounded by Conor Daly’s dismissal early in the second half.
In terms of league meetings, the counties have locked horns four times over the last decade. While Roscommon yo-yo’d through the ranks, Dublin were permanent fixture in Division 1 until this year.
They met in the the final round of the top-flight in 2016, the Dubs holding out for a 1-13 to 1-12 win in Carrick-on-Shannon after Dr Hyde Park failed a late pitch inspection.
Writing in his book, The Pressure Game, McStay explained how the Roscommon supporters gave the team a standing ovation afterwards but they would have been happier had they remained seated.
“We’d lost. Bottom line, we had Dublin off balance. They were not at full strength. Ciaráin Murtagh missed with a free-kick in injury time to level the game. It was an opportunity he would normally would have taken with his eyes shut, but he slipped as he struck the ball. He was unlucky, but he should have made sure not to slip.”
“Senan Kilbride had finished off a beautiful tapped goal to give us the momentum to really go after Dublin,” he later added. “We should have won it after that. A draw with Dublin would have been something, and far bigger for is than a bloody good performance against Dublin. It would have been in the bank for another day.”
McStay was “irked” and “pissed” by a potential pre-match snub by Gavin, although uncertain whether he had heard him say hello.
“Business faces. No nonsense. No selfies , or any other unnecessary shit from them, thank you. They were already in their pre-game… ‘process’. Their bubble.”
2017 at Croke Park was a much wider margin of defeat: 2-29 to 0-14, as Gavin brought his unbeaten run to 35 games. Again, McStay was left annoyed by the Dublin manager afterwards, though he did acknowledge his politeness on this occasion.
“His precise thoughts on defeating us by 21 points were hard for me to digest,” he wrote.
“‘We got a good performance here,’ he told reporters. ‘… but we didn’t get the complete one and that’s what we’re always striving for.’
“The evening before had been demoralising enough. Gavin’s thoughts were the kind that shovelled a whole lot more clay on top of the body of a dismissed opponent.”
Anthony Cunningham was in the hot-seat for the 2019 (2-14 to 1-12) and 2021 (1-22 to 0-16) defeats, both at the Hyde.
On Sunday, it’s back to Croke Park.
While Burke never faced Dublin as Wicklow manager, he has some history with — and against — the county.
The Kildare man assisted Gregory McGonagle with the senior women a few years back, before managing his native Lilywhite U20s to 2018 All-Ireland glory. They defeated a highly-rated Dubs side in the Leinster final and went on to overcome Mayo in the national showpiece.
Now, he gets his chance at senior level. After an impressive start to 2023 and a mixed bag thereafter, the Rossies will be keen to lay down a marker.
With question marks still hanging over Dublin to some extent, a rested and ready outfit could catch them on the hop.
One with a plan and target — like when this Roscommon team downed Mayo in Castlebar. Their defensive effort and attempts to frustrate the Green and Red and slow them down proved fruitful.
“If there’s going to be an upset this week, I think it’s Roscommon,” former Kerry star James O’Donoghue told Off The Ball’s The Football Pod this week.
“I’m not saying that they’re favourites or anything, but there’s definitely an opportunity to get at Dublin there.”
An opportunity Davy Burke will certainly eye.
28 May: one day in mind.
