Joe McQuillan to ref the final

Willie Joe

Photo: Independent.ie

It won’t really come as a shock to anyone as it’s an appointment that was widely expected in advance but it was confirmed earlier on this evening that Cavan’s Joe McQuillan will be the man with the whistle in this year’s All-Ireland final. It’ll be his third decider, having also reffed the 2011 and 2013 ones.

We’ve seen a fair bit of him this year, as he took charge of both our Connacht semi-final against Galway and the drawn All-Ireland quarter-final against Roscommon. We should, then, be well versed about what rocks his boat and what doesn’t.

I’m aware that plenty of supporters – from both counties – are rushing to judgment on this appointment. To my mind, however, this makes little sense. From our perspective, we’ve had good days as well as bad ones with Joe McQuillan in charge and so there’s no reason to conclude that our task on Sunday week has been made any more difficult due to this appointment.

Reffing is a tough job at the best of times and Gaelic football matches are often impossible to ref properly. The task is even harder in a final, where the two teams are going at it at full tilt and the hits are flying in every direction. All we can hope is that Joe McQuillan gets the big calls right on the day and that he gives us a fair shake overall. The rest is up to us.

So, then, I’d prefer to congratulate the Cavan official on his appointment and wish him all the best for the final. He’s been handed a big responsibility so here’s hoping – as I’m sure he will be too – that he’s able to discharge it in an even-handed and competent manner.

101 thoughts on “Joe McQuillan to ref the final”

  2. Reffing an All Ireland Final is a thankless job. Do it perfectly, and no-one notices – make a mistake, and EVERYONE notices. You’re not even paid to do it – it’s for the love of the game.

    Best of luck to him. He may need it.

  3. Hear hear WJ. There’s a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth over this one with absolutely no need. It’ll be grand.

    Best of luck to Joe McQuillan and as you say, let’s hope for a fair shake of the dice, nothing more, nothing less.

  6. In this match, the 2 linesmen are prob more important as there will be a lot going on off the ball. And the good news is deegan isn’t there! The kerry man should give us a fair shout and the Fermanagh man also.

    Let’s hope we don’t see the ref during the game.

    Maigheo Abú

  7. Best of luck to Joe McQuillan. Hope he gets the big things right and that anything he gets wrong is the right way. Maigheo abú

  8. Best of luck to McQuillan, I say! Hope he has a game he’ll have no regrets about afterwards.

  9. “It’s joy for all of us in the west of Ireland. Mayo hopefully will finish it off for the west in a fortnight’s time.” – Joe Connolly, you legend!

  11. Ahh definitely we wish him well in his appointment and I have no doubt he wants to give both side a fair crack of the whip but for me this is to do with past performances of the men in black as a collective on All Ireland final day rather than the failings of any individual referee. When the winning margins are so small and the implications of decisions so great I would gladly accept breaking 50 50 right now.. but that hasn’t happened for us yet on the big days. I’m not going to drag up the past, we all know the incidents all to well by now and anyway the past is the past and there is a new dawn coming. You never know maybe this is to be the time we will get those important calls and if we were to win it.. the man would be re-christened Mayo Joe or Joe Mayo even

  12. I was asked by the club if I would consider being a ref a few years back. I couldn’t get out of the clubhouse quick enough.

    It’s a bloody thankless job. So I’d give Joe McQuiillan a bit of a break.

  13. I agree with you Micky Mac. The linesmen and the umpires should play a greater role in policing the match given the number of off the ball incidents. However I do not think the final will be a dirty game. It will be physical and the lads need to be disciplined. No blacks or reds. The support from our Galway neighbours is much appreciated . But we were all rooting for Galway last Sunday. While we are great rivals in football we are the best of neighbours.

  14. Is Joe the best ref in the country? Is Joe the worst ref in the country? Answers to both ponderings is a No. We’re well used to him. Let Donie Buckley work out a strategy to use him to our advantage and we’ll have to play “cute…..”

    This game will be tighter than a ducks arse irrespective of the ref.

    We aren’t playing Joe we are playing ” The Empire” we are the “New Hope & The Return of The Jedi” all rolled into one.

    We’ll win. By 2.

  15. Willie Joe as you said yourself after the Roscommon game – Joe McQuillan. What can you say about him? All I’ve ever wished for in a match involving us is a ref who’ll give us something approaching a fair shake in his decisions. It’s clear, if it wasn’t already, that we’ll never get anything approaching that from the Cavan official. Once more in a game involving us he was truly abysmal

    AnnMarie you said – Dublin Joe was an embarrassment once again. We didn’t fail to win because of the ref but when will referees remember that they have a responsibility to players on both sides to ensure they are safe on the field of play?

  18. I know we do not allow rumors but I assume this doesn’t apply to the opposition…

    I heard from someone with “inside knowledge” they are starting Connolly as Man Marker for AOS. Again this may be just a rumor.

  19. As refs go I think McQuillan is probably as good as there is. At least it’s not Deegan or that Meathman whose name I forget. I had a fair idea it would be McQuillan as the parting gift from his fellow Cavan man O’Fearghaill.

  22. Why is Joe McQuillan referred to as Dublin Joe? Does he live there or does he work there or what?
    Anyway if we can impose ourselves on Dublin and press up on them at every opportunity rather than defending deep and inviting them on to us, then we can be the ones that will benefit most from his calls. And I agree with some of the comments above, that it’s the lines men we need to be more careful about, as a word in the ref’s ear from one them for an off-the-ball misdemeanor can easily result in a black card, or worse.

  23. Heard from a “reliable Source” that Ciaran Whelan is back training with the Dublin panel and is reported to be flying. He will be starting the next day – to do a “sorting out” job on AOS. I wonder is this true. Would be a big boost to Dublin if it is.

  24. Don’t worry South Mayo Exile, Dublin Joe will do that all be himself when he gives zero frees to Aiden as he always does!

  25. The issue we should have is not with Dublin Joe but with GAA HQ. Why have they yet again not appointed a man with the integrity to give a fair shake to both teams. There are men in these positions in the GAA who can ref a game by applying the rules of the game.but when it comes to big games the GAA always go for a certain type. The net result is 80 minutes of anarchy. We have a rule book that covers most things in the game. We have an unwritten undocumented rule that goes like “let the game flow”. In plain English this means ” do not apply the rules”. So most of you are ok with this. Expect an un- provoked attack on a player who has just scored a goal to go un punished as long as the victim does not retaliate in self defense. If there is any retaliation then this guy gets it up the arse. So this is ok I take it. Expect eye gouging, physical assault off the ball and GBH to come under the ” no I did’nt see anything.there”. Imagine if the GAA marinades had the game of International Rugby in there remit. How would the forward pass be worked out, or coming in from the side. I can see ye all wetting yourselves at the very thought. Take golf and the placing the ball on the green. How would they handle that one on the last day at Agusta. Dublin Joe is not the best ref and not even close. Expect 80 minutes of Anarchy its what you voted for.

  26. Don’t worry about the ref. The only thing us Mayo supporters need to concern ourselves with is being louder than the Hill from start to finish. We can do no more than that. Support the lads at every turn. If we turn them over, go mental. if we win a Cluxton kickout, go f*cking mental. If we are behind at any stage, rise your support of the team. Drive them on. Do not go quiet. The players deserve more than that. Don’t let f*cking anything get you down. Keep shouting Mayo Mayo. We’ve bloody well been told often enough by OUR OWN PLAYERS that they hear our support and it galvanises them so please please, do not let them down on 17th. Mayo forever. Mayo for Sam!

  27. Hope Aidan wears a coat of armour under his jersey, he’s gunna get bet like nothing before, while given zero frees. The dubs will have free reign to batter him…Joes appointment makes me sick tbh.

  28. I heard dublin are putting up as set of bouncy castle goalposts and switching them at half time so that mayo will he shooting in to them for both half’s. The umpires are going to have strings and when mayo.shoot the umpire pulls the string and pulls in the top of the posts to make sure the ball goes wide.

  29. Pj you’re 100% right. This let the game flow thing is the greatest nonsense going in the GAA. The rules are the rules. However some refs think they know better. Like when deegan didn’t want to black card small when he tripped Andy early in the game last year. “Ara I can’t send anyone off this early, it’ll ruin the game”.

  31. Your right NiallMc1983 and didn’t red card him either when he swung at one of the O’connors.
    No problem black carding Lee though.

  32. All of a sudden it seems to be a love Joe fest! Even from WJ’s opening article!

    What happened to all of the “Oh no not Joe” and the “Dublin Joe” brigade? He has to be one of the most biased Dublin refs I have seen. Give me D. Gough any day, he applies the rules to the letter, no “letting the game flow”, he applies advantage all right but then goes back and applies the law for the foul ( O’Sullivans black card in the semifinal) and beside I love the part in his hairstyle,how does he get it so right on match day?

  33. It’s one of these maddening situations for aos to be in. He gets walloped and assaulted by Dublin defenders on and off the ball, assault a mayo player and wait for retaliation and then lie down like a coward and wait for the card to be produced.
    To get Sam Maguire to Mayo, where it needs to be for a change, all the Mayo players need to stay on the field and play their usual game which dublin have being really struggling to handle.
    To cillian, Keegan, Vaughan and Higgins, please don’t buy what the dub will try to sell on the pitch, walk away and play your football. Doing that, you are The Director, not the one being directed. You can direct dublin into defeat by not getting upset but laughing at the insults and sledging during the game. Same goes for Mayo sideline, keep it cool, you have to think calmly and not get sent to the bench like the kerry lunatic, it’s not good for a player on the field with his hands full, looking at his management going bananas on the sideline, so lead by example. Calm.
    Of all the things Mayo need on the big day, staying on the pitch and being in control of their own emotions are the 2 biggest things.
    If Mayo Inc. do that, their football and power will do the rest and that big party in Galway on Monday last will look like a tea party in the back garden compared to what would be on show in Castlebar on Monday the 18th.

  34. Willie Joe, S Rochford & the selectors know McQ very well at this stage & so do the players. J McQ is assessed every game he Refs, he can’t just favour one team over another? He has to go by the RULES & a little bit of common sense thrown in, he will be fair through out the game. Now MAYO go & Win the All Ireland.

  35. MayoRos.

    If you get a chance to look at the ladies match at the weekend. That ref must never have been assessed. Couldn’t believe what I was watching. He was so one sided I thought he’d fall over. It makes their win all the more remarkable.

  37. Hopefully his agent has negotiated a good cut with the GAA for him if he can deliver a draw!

    joking aside, neither here nor there who refs. Mayo need to win however they can:

    win ugly
    win beautiful
    win lucky
    win well
    win falling over the line
    win like the dubs in ’83
    win like ben johson
    win like usain bolt
    win like kerry in 04
    win like kerry in 06
    win like Mayo in ’51
    win by 1
    win by 10
    win graciously
    win like bastards
    win in a replay
    win like joe sheridan
    win like your due
    win like your long overdue
    win like if there ever was an all ireland it absolutely doesn’t matter how you win, just win, this is it

    its the only thing that matters – at the end of the day no one is going to care why you lose it, if its ref, luck, weather whatever….the same goes for when you win.

  38. If some of the supporters blood is rising for the final imagine how much the players will be fired up after being beat by the Dubs in 2 finals.
    I only hope that management get it right on the day, match ups but more importantly to act on Dublin substitutions, Mayo didn’t act last year when McCauley and Costello came on, our own substitutes will need to make an impact. I am praying for a wet, windy day this will surely benefit us.

  39. Kilmeena beat Castlebar yesterday in u13 division 1.
    I think it is a remarkable achievement and deserves a mention.

  40. Mayo88 i’m looking for it to be a dry day with no wind.. i always believe we play our best football on a dry day. We dont need it to be so hot you could fry an egg on a stone either.. just dry overcast will do fine.

  41. JOE McQUILLAN: WHAT THE PAPERS SAID 2007 TO 2017

    Here are some extracts from an online trawl of reaction to McQuillan’s calls in big games over the years.

    Galway v Mayo 2007

    But let’s not let Mr McQuillan off the hook totally. What a nob. Galway employed exactly the same kind of tactics in 2005 and, as I recall, largely got away with them then too but there were aspects to McQuillan’s performance today that were mindblowingly pathetic. He was presented with the chance early on to stamp his authority on the match when Joe Bergin, Niall Coleman and Ja Fallon all hacked down one of our lads as they broke through. Every time, the ref flashed the black book so, of course, the boys took this as the green light to do it again. Coleman managed to get to half-time without being booked, although he had committed at least two yellow card offences by then, Bergin had got a yellow but should have had two. No matter how you cut it, Galway’s persistent, cynical tactics should have seen them reduced to fourteen men before the break. (Blog: Willie Joe 20 May 2007)

    Kildare v Tyrone League 2009

    McGeeney bites lip over referee as his Lilywhites miss out on promotion

    IT’S fair enough to surmise that Kieran McGeeney was seething with Joe McQuillan’s officiating in yesterday’s draw between Kildare and Meath in Páirc Tailteann. (Conor McKeon, Herald.ie– 13 April 2009 12:00 PM).

    Jack O’Connor on Kerry v Dublin 2011 Final
    Kerry boss Jack O’Connor is still none too happy with how his team lost the 2011 All-Ireland final to Dublin, pointing the finger at ref Joe McQuillan.
    Everybody knows Kerry don’t like losing. They really don’t like losing All-Ireland finals and when they are lost to Dublin, well, it takes a while to get over.
    Christy O’Connor interviews Kerry manager Jack O’Connor in today’s Sunday Times and just as we are all getting geared up for the 2012 Championship, O’Connor is still preoccupied with last year, and the All-Ireland defeat to Dublin. Dublin, famously, won it via a late Stephen Cluxton free but O’Connor has questions about just how many frees Dublin got that day and the man who awarded them, referee Joe McQuillan
    “I have to admit that Dublin deserved it for the way they came back from the hammering we gave them in 2009,” said O’Connor. “Still, we thought the authorities made a mistake by appointing the same referee for five Dublin matches. It was very unusual.
    “It’s a massive advantage to have a referee that knows your style and your style of tackling,” he continues. “We thought that his interpretation of our tackling and their tackling was different during the game. We certainly weren’t happy. Referees aren’t that scarce now.”
    The Cavan whistler refereed four of Dublin’s Championship games, and their League final loss to Cork, which is a bit strange but surely it just poor planning and not a scheme by HQ to help the Dubs get back to the top of football’s ladder, right?
    O’Connor says no more thasn that but ahead of today’s League semi-final with Mayo, it’s clear that the Kingdom are certainly a very motivated team in 2012, which is probably very bad news for everyone else.
    The final line of the interview is telling. “At the end of the day it all comes back to one thing. Winning an All-Ireland is the only aim in Kerry,” says O’Connor. They definitely mean business this year.
    Still, it will be interesting to see if McQuillan gets another Kerry game after this though, won’t it? (Jack O’Connor Sunday Times, quoted in Joe.ie 2012)

    Dublin v Mayo Semi Final 2012

     This time last year Joe McQuillan, one of Ulster’s top referees, was preparing to take charge of the All-Ireland football final.
    And by and large McQuillan acquitted himself very well on that occasion, even if he did incur the wrath of Kerry followers by allowing Dublin goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton to amble up and pump over the injury-time ‘45’ that secured the Sam Maguire Cup for his side after a 16-year famine.
    Cluxton’s almost casual approach to what was a defining moment in the context of Irish sport in 2011 was regarded as a time-wasting exercise by Kerry and perhaps not without some justification, too.
    But their ire rates as nothing more than a gentle slap on the wrist compared to the criticism that has been heaped on McQuillan following his handling of the Mayo v Dublin All-Ireland semi-final on Sunday.
    A referee tends for one reason or another to become a central figure in the white heat of a high-intensity championship showdown played out in front of a frenzied 83,000 crowd.
    In McQuillan’s case, the reasons were very much of a negative variety.
    His failure to penalise an early trip on Mayo’s Alan Dillon might have been interpreted as a minor blip had it not been compounded by a failure to punish Dublin hard man Denis Bastick for a punch on Aidan O’Shea and excessive leniency shown to Mayo defender Donal Vaughan.
    Human error were perhaps contributory factors in these omissions but McQuillan’s lack of instant punitive action against Dublin full-back Ross O’Carroll for his unnecessary man-handling of the stricken Enda Varley was surprising.
    Here we had a player clearly in distress who was being unnecessarily physically abused — to be fair to McQuillan, two umpires were yards away from the incident and as far as could be observed remained oblivious to what was unfurling in front of their eyes.
    McQuillan eventually brandished a yellow card in O’Carroll’s direction but it smacked of an after-thought. (Belfast Telegraph: By John Campbell September 6 2012)

    James Horan in 2013 ahead of Dublin v Mayo Final

    “He’s a top-class inter-county referee,” he said. 
    “There’s a lot of commentary out there that he is very familiar with the Dublin set up and, as you said, he refereed a lot of their A versus B games this year. But, look, we’re happy with the referee that’s appointed. There’s a review committee there so if there was any questionable decisions they’d review that. 
    “We just go with the referees that are there. I have a lot of Kerry friends from last year that weren’t too happy with some of his decisions but sin scéal eile. (James Horan in Irish Examiner 2012

    DUBLIN BOSS JIM Gavin was heavily critical of the free count against his side in yesterday’s All-Ireland final and insisted that ‘not only were we playing Mayo but we were playing the referee as well’ (The Journal 23 Sept 2015)

    Semi Final 2015: Dublin v Mayo Draw

    Referee Joe McQuillan is not having a great game this afternoon, judging by the reaction on Twitter (unless you are a Dub…)
    The Cavan whistler gave Dublin a first-half penalty that could have been adjudged to have happened outside the box and later denied Mayo’s Aidan O’Shea a spot-kick after he was brought to ground.

    But he has received most ire for leaving his card in his pocket when Blues defender Cian O’Sullivan dragged Diarmuid O’Connor back by the shirt. (Gareth Makim SportsJoe.ie 30 August 2015)

    “Aidan O’Shea worked a point with four, yes four defenders hanging out of him, and the ref’ gives a free out for charging… Next high ball into O’Shea and Cluxton comes out and boxes clear
    This time O’Shea looks to overcarry and a free in is awarded – Dublin players are furious and the ball is moved in. Not for the first time. THe whistle hasn’t left McQuillan’s mouth so far” (Irish Times live updates 30 August 2015).
    Twitter Cliona Foley: How no black card for Cian OSullivan??!!
    Twitter Alan Cadogan: deliberate pull of the Jersey and no black card.That inconsistency by referees frustrates people.

    QF 2017 Mayo v Roscommon

    JOE McQUILLAN did Mayo no favours in what turned out to be a game of inches.

    The referee pulled Mayo’s Stephen Coen for handling the ball on the ground and Donie Smith scored the equaliser from the resultant free.It was a great kick by Smith under huge pressure but I thought it was a ­dubious call, at best.

    On another occasion, he blew Aidan O’Shea up for hopping the ball twice when replays showed he hadn’t done that or over-carried.

    McQuillan actually got a bit of praise on TV for letting the game flow but I thought he had a poor enough afternoon.

    He seemed to pull a good few silly frees and Mayo would have been raging with him if they’d lost.

    When you look back on those decisions at the end of a drawn game, you realise that they’re hugely important.( By Graham Geraghty The Sun 31st July 2017, 9:39 am)

  42. Toe to hand, I agree that we play better on a dry day. However I think that the days that Dublin played “poorly” in the last few years have been wet days. The key is if it was a wet day, and it came down to heart and will to win, I’d fancy us more than on a dry day.

  43. Cactol, Don’t agree, having looked at it back it was off the ground, cant winge about that one to much

  44. Catcol, that’s allot of research there in Joe McQuillian…. Thanks for the time taken… Without doing any research what stands out about Joe McQuillian is that AOS almost never gets a free regardless of the circumstances… I think that our ex Mayo players, now pundits should be proactive in pointing out the the facts,as regard’s to Joe and his blind spot on fouls committed on AOS.. No point in being too Mayocentric about it, just be objective and point out the obvious facts… Some of our ex players and current pundits need to brush up on just being objective… John Casey explained about how the ‘Mayo Team’ layed in wait for Dublin to come on to the pitch, in an effort to ambush Dublin, in the drawn All Ireland final… Nothing could be further from the truth… The truth and fact of the matter are that ‘Dublin’ lay in wait to ambush ‘Mayo’ on the day, and ‘Mayo’ entered the field of play at the appointed time, Dublin also came on at the appointed time, but it was Mayo’s appointed time… John Casey as a pundit in the tunnel should have known that Dublin would be let out first, just in case the ‘Cuilchies’ took over the Hill 16 end again… Maybe John was startled by all the commotion and got all in a muddle…. Can you see that happening to Tomás O Sé?… My message to the Mayo media is stick to the facts and if there is something that can be truthfully pointed out, ala Joe McQuillian hesitancy to award AOS a free, do so.
    .. Don’t you know it, the Dub’s will be allowed out onto the pitch first again, as is always the case, since 2006… Do you think that would be happening if Mayo had lost in 2006.. The attitude of the GAA powers that be to Dublin, in every little thing, is to put them on a pedestal, some people have the same attitude to Royalty….. Now it’s not the Dublin team fault that they are fed with a silver spoon, (hard to see them objecting to it).. But it is all the rest of us fault, if we turn a blind eye to it!

  45. Got to say i prefer if Dubs go out first. Let them take the hill and let noise die down before we take over on that
    department.

  46. If we win on Sunday week and I firmly believe with all my heart that we will, then it will truly be one of the greatest All Ireland victories of all time. A campaign that saw us beat Sligo, lose to Galway (and don’t for a second doubt that the Herron Chokers will always remind us of that), beat Derry, Clare, Cork, Roscommon, Kerry and eventually the greatest team of all time Dublin.
    It will wash away every horrible, lazy tag that has been attached to Mayo football for the last 20 years and will remove that huge burden that so many of our teams have had placed upon their shoulders. Some of the tags probably had a kernel of truth to them, we were a little soft and naive at times. In 2012 the McGee’s spat on, battered and bullied Cillian for 70 minutes, but by christ they wouldn’t do it now. Like a nice family Labrador, it hasn’t always been in our nature to be mean and aggressive but 5 years of being hurt and abused has created a mean animal.

    Joe McQuillan will wake up on Sunday the 17th of September and I can guarantee he won’t care who wins that day, all he will pray for is not to make a shite of things. We cannot change the ref, location, weather, injuries, media or opposition, all we can do is support the team. That means doing the players lotto, putting up flags around your house and town, the willingness to do some unsavoury acts to secure that ticket and shouting louder than the brides mother at a tinkers wedding. At 5pm on Sunday the 17th we will experience a feeling not felt in the county in 66 years.
    Keep the faith…

  47. @AMayoFan – We should let the Dubs kick into the hill in the 2nd half too. I think there’s more pressure on us kicking into the hill in the 2nd half. I know it might sound ridiculous, but look at the recent stats:

    2012 – Not kicking into the hill in the 2nd half (Win)
    2013 – Kicking into the hill in the 2nd half (Lose)
    2015 – Not kicking into the hill in the 2nd half (Draw)
    2015 (Replay) – Kicking into the hill in the 2nd half (Lose)
    2016 – Not kicking into the hill in the 2nd half (Draw)
    2016 (Replay) – Kicking into the hill in the 2nd half (Lose)

    But still there’s a part of me that thinks “Ah fuck it, let’s just kick into the hill in the 2nd half anyway to fuck and repeat the heroics of 06!”

  48. Is it true that Dublin Joe is a Cavan man that lives and works in Dublin city?

    Put it this way. If he was a Cavan man that lived and worked in Castlebar, do ye think he would be reffing this final? Yeah right.

    Lookit though, at the end of the day, if we play like men possessed we will win and no referee will stop us.

    Prefer to let the Dubs run out onto the pitch first and prefer for Mayo to play towards Hill 16 for the first half. Interesting statistics above from Maigh eo go deo about what happeed us when playing into either end. Winning the toss could be important and choosing which end etc.

  50. We as supporters can only make noise.
    The players need to learn from previous allirelands.
    The ref won’t get everything right but if we get frees move the ball fast it worked in 2012.
    That’s how to beat the dubs like in 2012 play them at there own game,boy did they whinge after that defeat.mayo need to exploded on the pitch for 70 plus the 17th and get the right men on at the right time.
    Now to me the losing of the replay last year and I have said it quiet a few times was not replacing boyler in time, he couldn’t keep with Costello.
    Barret came on when the 3 point damage was done.
    Now I also think rochford thinks the same and has been keeping a close eye on boylers fatigue all year.
    Boyler gives it everything from start to finish but he’s only human and can’t be expected to last the full game the way he plays.
    We need big games from the 2 O’Shea’s and if Keegan and diarmuid up a few percent I cannot see us losing.
    And if cillian can’t take the long range ones go short or let somebodyelse have a go.

  51. @Maigh eo go deo that’s indeed interesting stats. I wonder what the stats of us scoring into each side this year. Going to dig that up.

  52. AMayoFan – I was just highlighting our games played against Dublin and the possible influence the hill has, but then again maybe there’s more pressure on the Dubs when they kick into the hill in the 2nd half against us too!

  53. Of course we want the ref to be fair and to do a good job but I don’t think that we can blame refs for us not winning an All-Ireland title, consider the following:

    1. In 1989 we missed some great chances after we scored our goal.
    2. In 1996 we let the ball bounce over our own crossbar when we were a point up in injury time.
    3. In 1997 we let Maurice Fitz run riot.
    4. In 2004 we let Kerry run riot.
    5. In 2006 we let Kerry run riot again.
    6. In 2012 we conceded two very bad early goals.
    7. In 2013 we missed enough chances to win 2 All-Ireland titles in the first-half.
    8. In 2014 in the drawn semi-final we didn’t track Donaghy and gave up a 5 point lead with minutes left.
    9. In 2016 in the drawn final we didn’t knock out the Dubs when we had them on the ropes.
    10. In the 2016 replay we replaced our keeper with disastrous consequences.

    We cannot blame refs for any of these things. Our destiny is in our own hands. Its the 2017 final, so the slate is wiped clean. We have no need to feel any sense of inferiority going into this game. We are there on merit this year. We seen from the first second of the All-Ireland Hurling final that Galway believed that they were going to win that game. We were the same against Roscommon and Kerry in the replayed games. Lets hope that we see that replicated in the final against Dublin and who knows what is possible. Best of luck to all involved. Roll on the game!

  55. IN 1989 we may have won if padraig brogan was playing . IN 1996 we may have won if ciaran mcdonald was playing. IN 2012 we may have won if conor mortimer was playing. IN 2017 LET us go and win the final and all previous losses will be forgotton about and a new era will have begun.MAYO have the team and together with the magnificent supporters, this final is defnitely there to be won .the team believe and every mayo supporter with a ticket for the final must also totally believe we can win it and be ready to roar on the team for the whole game.IF A MAYO supporter does not believe we will be victorious i do not know why you are bothering to attend the game

  56. Revellino, yes I agree there was some strange decisions alright but if anything the MAYO ladies played with more determination as the game went on, they were all playing so brilliantly it was great to see. Surely Joe McQ has to Ref the All Ireland fairly & honestly? What has he got against Mayo?? I don’t believe he has anything & if he has, he should not be there as Referee on 17th September, no way.

  57. It doesn’t matter which goal you kick into, Andy Moran has scored goals into both nets in recent weeks and will do the same again on the 17 th with a bitteen of luck. As far as pressure goes, the national media is taking care of that for Mayo thankfully.

  58. Anybody who is focusng on the referee being a negative on this game, let go of this now lads (girls) let go of this now. History will Judge Joe Mc and he won’t want to be known as Dublin Joe no more than anybody outside of Dublin who loves the GAA.
    Cavan a county who have decades of love but under achievement in the game would not have a gaa purist on anybody other than Cavans side

  59. HopeSpringsEternal

    You’ve listed your points out well. However regardless of a teams mistakes a referee’s influence shouldn’t be the deciding factor. Teams are allowed to make mistakes. It’s part of the game.

    Take last year’s final. At worst Lee keegan committed a harmless.foul. I still don’t believe it was a yellow never mind a black.

    The referee has to make a decision. He knows the situation is in his hands. He knows it was not a serious foul by Lee. He knows Lee keegan is Mayo’s key player. He knows that if he sends off Lee Keegan that Mayo’s chance at winning is most certainly gone. He knows it’s an all ireland final. He asks himself “what is a reasonable action to take here”. He decides screw Lee keegan and screw Mayo.

    I agree Mayo have made mistakes in All Ireland finals. So have Dublin. John Small should have gone twice in last year’s final. The referee and his officials decided there was no issue with Smalls fouls.

    Mayo get punished, Dublin don’t and Dublin win.

    I have no problem.with a referee making a mistake. I have a huge problem with any referee that intentionally makes a decision in a game where he knows it’s the wrong decision.

  60. Why don’t we stop complaining about Joe McQuillan until after the 17th. It’s a long winter after all. Who knows, he may do a perfectly adequate job.

  61. Very interesting interview with Joe Connolly in today’s IT about his utter disappointment at Galway being questioned for years of many All Ireland losses.
    Some strong resonances there with Mayo!

    But Joe finishes up with a very rousing finale – substitute “Mayo” for Galway:

    “We’re a proud county. The West’s Awake, that song is about Munster and Leinster coming together in the 13th century to fight against Connacht and we ran ye, through Curlew’s Pass and Ardrahan. We ran the Normans, which was ye lads from Munster and Leinster. It isn’t ‘croppy lie down’ as regards Galway and I’m bloody glad that that manifested itself this year at Croke Park.”

    The West’s awake – C’mon Mayo!

  63. hey revellino u have it nailed in the head .
    Its the curse of the refs i much preferred the ref we got in replay against roscommon

  64. 12 day’s out from the final… It’s irrelevant into which goal we play, first or second half…besides Mayo will like last year have taken up a large part of the Hill.. Every year that Mayo are in an All Ireland final… someone comes up with, some or other coincidence with 1951,..it’s not just the ‘supposed curse’ that’s completely irrelevant… Look up at the score board as Joe McQuillian is blowing the final whistle, and you will see what team win’s,… And anyone you ask will tell you that it’s 2017…and the 20th century and its irrelevant superstition long behind us… Which goal Mayo kicked into first or second half will not be noted…. It doesn’t matter, neither does it matter to Dublin… Superstition, Mayo are far too good a team to be reliant on Superstition… But you would be surprised the amount of people that place some relevance (to say belief is going too far) in it… I’ll give ye an example, as I was going into the Pearce Stadium earlier this year, A wet and extremely windy day… I seen a printout ticket, (season ticket) on the ground, I picked it up and continued on my way.. I seen this guy walking towards me, looking at the ground… ‘Did you lose something’ I say to him ‘”Oh I did, my ticket’..’ Well is this it ‘..’ ‘It is’ he says and so it was ‘we’re sure to win it now, when someone finds your ticket’… And what happens, Mayo lose… Completely irrelevant, me finding his ticket.. Hopefully after the 17th, we in Mayo will be able to leave all this superstition, where it belongs in the past….. Paudi O Sé was very superstitious, phisoegs.. Of course he was very successful on the pitch as well… He always wore the same lucky underpants for the All Ireland final, from 1975 to 1986 Kerry played in every All Ireland final, bar two.. 1977 & 1983…. I tell them garments were made out of good stuff back in the last century…. (Paudi told the story in his own book, and I heard him tell the story on the he Late Late Show on one occasion, of course he didn’t take anything away from story either)……
    The late and great Paudi was undoubtedly a Legend of the game, but maybe that story had a slight hint of a Myth to it… Kerry also lost the odd match back in those years as well, but very few!… I just can’t imagine Mick O Dwyer telling the Kerry players… ‘now lad’s, just make sure that ye are all wearing the correct lucky underpant, yeah the one’s, with Superman on them’

  65. I think as a team we have learnt the most from playing Dublin.. more so than anyone else.. from playing them in last year’s draw, the replay and then the hocking we got in this years league. Our whole game plan from the start of the year has got to have been based around taking on and beating Dublin. We tried a sweeper against them in the league and it was a disaster so we will be reverting back to the tried and trusted of man on man. We will be taking the game to Dublin with the confidence and belief that as a collective we are the better more skillfull team and with the full intentions of beating them. IMHO to do this we need a dry day to show our set of skills to the fullest which are high fielding, tackling, kick passing, running game and most important of all defending. I remember chatting to a Roscommon colleague before that Rossy replay match and he reckoned the dry weather would be in their favour and if it was wet it would be a great leveller for us.. I burst out laughing at the notion that (a) we are conceived as a wet weather team and (b) that we should need a leveller. The same applies against Dublin.. if I thought we were a long way off them and we wanted to turn this into a nasty hard edge defensive slug fest with a lottery breaking ball into a Donaghy like character in the forwards as was the case in recent All Ireland Dublin Kerry Final turned out to be then yes we would want it out of a bucket. We are not a long way off them.. we are not even a short way off them.. we do not require a leveller.. we want good weather because then and only then we will prove to ourselves and by doing so prove to them that we are better and then we will win. Jesus I’ll never last.. how many days are we out now?

  66. Galway via Ballina… The word ‘Croppy’ is a derogatory term used by the British to describe the rebels of 1798… Benburb Street in Dublin, right in front of Collins Barracks is the ‘Croppy Acre’ a park now and the graveyard, mass grave of rebels of 1798… The only grave in Mayo with a Rebel that I know of, is in the Mall in Castlebar, where John Moore, who was actually the third President of a Republic in the history of the world..for a very short time.. Believe it or not, was reinterred in the 1960s… Now I will read the link you posted.

  67. Leantimes – My theory about playing into the hill in the 2nd half has nothing to do with superstition. It was about the psychological effect it may have had on players.

  68. Revellino, Are you inferring that Maurice Deegan or any ref has made a decision in a game against us that he knew was wrong? I disagree with you if that is the case, mistakes may have been made but I do not believe that we have lost due to a ref going out with an agenda against us. Refs have different approaches, but we know his style enough now so that should not be an excuse. Tough job being a ref, I wish him the best of luck and hope that we are not discussing his performance negatively post the final.

  69. Yes Mikey.

    I believe that he knew exactly what he was doing when he sent Lee off last year.

    That however is only my opinion.

    I would be the first to say that the referees job is a.very tough job and am not usually giving out about them. I have often stuck up for them after matches when calls are been questioned. I have my fingers crossed that Joe has a great game on the 17th.

    I believe we are every bit as good as Dublin and I really do think we have a big chance sunday week.

    We are playing back to back champions and I believe that our improvement this year along with our greater hunger to win is going to land Sam for us.

    I hope I’m right.

  70. I think that decision more than anything was influenced by Connollys waving of the invisible card. When Deegan initially blew you can see him signalling for a jersey pull. Then Connolly throws a strop and the rest is history.
    It doesn’t exactly put Deegan in a better light but I think it was a split second balking under pressure rather than setting out to do Mayo wrong. I don’t believe he’d have done that.
    The media campaign was probably in back of his mind when the split decision (change of decision) was made.
    Doesn’t make it any less sickening mind. That’s why Rochford HAD to mention it recently. There’s nothing to suggest Dublin won’t try and pull another stroke before the 17th. This is our biggest threat, not Joe McQuillan.

  71. They may indeed try to pull a stroke but let them, we need cool heads on the big day and not to get drawn in to a debate with joe. Joe will have heard plenty before the game on how he is perceived and won’t want to enhance the reputation. As long as he’s fair we can’t ask for anything else.

  72. who out of the dressing rooms first is down to alphabetical order, as Gaeilge. Dublin ( atha cliath ) not baile atha cliath ( not sure why) are out first followed by us. the team that comes out first warm up the Hill 16 end.
    the only time Dublin wouldn’t be out first in a game in Croker would be if they played Antrim (Aontroim)
    That’s what the tour guide told me anyway and i’ll go by that.

  73. Stephen Cowley… I’d say your tour guide was a Dub, The Alphabet must have been different in 2006, if that’s your reasoning…for who comes out first… Maybe A was in the same place as M last September, because Atha Cliath came out at same time as Maigh Eo….. Loads of Urban Myth about Croke Park, From Hill 16 getting its name from 1916 and supposedly built from the rubble if that rebellion… Not true, if fact not a grain of truth in that one, another is the many times repeat that the GAA can’t open the gates of Croke Park without a crowd in excess of 30K, again not a grain of truth in this either… And coming out on the field in alphabetical order, well that was not the way it was in 2006… And Mayo won….. Joe Duffy’s phone’s were in meltdown the following day, one particular Dub said that Dublin should always be let out first so as to avoid this problem in the future…. That particular was a RTE sports journalist. Why should there be a problem in any team claiming any end of the field to warm up, in what is a National Stadium….. Diarmuid Connolly, tweeted ‘Hill 16 is Dublin only’… Last year… I was there myself in 2013, a minority chanted the same thing….. In Alabama in the 1960s black people had to ride in the back of the bus, in Ireland in the 21th century, the opposition that faces Dublin, must come out last, unless the opposition is Antrim……. Because of alphabetical order some would have you believe… That was not so until Dublin got shocked by a team that claimed their legmitate right to warm up where they wanted in the National Stadium. … The biased voices of Ciarán Whelan and Keith Barr were allowed to set an agenda against our Lee Keegan last year… This blog and many tried to nullify the agenda as well as they could with the # what Lee did, campaign.. , regrettably that agenda was successful against Mayo… Dublin are quiter in this regard, this year,Kerry ‘s Eamon Fitzmorris being the man that exposed this most clearly, and successfully before the league final…. Dublin are no stranger’s to all sorts of questionable behaviour… From the shame of the 12 apostles in 83, to continuing to play with 15 men against Tyrone in 95 when a player had been sent off….. There is no question of fair play for Mayo unless we demand it… Let’s take the Hill again, fan’s and the team.

  74. Ah here,I was just relaying what I was told. This current protocol was introduced post 2006 to ‘try’ and prevent a repeat of that. Last year Dublin delayed there entrance, our lads didn’t want to wait any longer inside,that was the reason for that. Just out of curiosity ,what method would you suggest should be used, to see who comes out first and warms up in front of the hill. Like Gaillimh last Sunday

  75. We have enough to be worrying about and getting on with besides worrying which time will come out first and warm up at the hill let the dubs have the hill to warm up at we’ll have Sam

  76. Joe McQuillan was the ref when we beat Dublin in 2012 in the All-Ireland semi-final. Maurice Deegan was the ref when we beat Tyrone in 2013 in the All-Ireland semi-final. David Coldrick was the ref when we beat Tipp in 2016 in the All-Ireland semi-final. All of these refs have refereed All-Ireland finals. Those days when we won we were the better team and the days we lost we were not the better team. In 2016 we were the better team the first day in the All-Ireland final and we drew the game. In the replay Dublin were the better team and won the game.

    On the 17th, if we are the better team on All-Ireland final day we will win, if we aren’t we won’t. Galway found this out at the week-end compared to the other finals that have they played in. In saying that it was no harm that Stephen Rochford said what he said about the decisions that went against us last year, i.e. we will take no shite this year. It’s all to play for, we are well capable of beating the Dubs.

  77. What about Armagh. Would they not come out first before the Dubs too then. Not sure exactly how ya spell it in Irish. Not that it matters a hoot to us. Armagh v Dublin is a more likely fixture than Antrim v Dublin in a final or semi.

  78. HSE – your post, as usual, is impeccable.

    But, those online trawls i dug up show some interesting comments – by neutral observers who regarded some decisions as critical in a game of inches. I think Graham Geraghty used that very phrase when referring to the Roscommon drawn match. One of the reasons Gavin was so agitated after the league final was that Paddy Nealon had gone rogue and not really followed the script. I can’t imagine McQuillan not giving Dublin a free in that instance when a draw beckoned.

    Gough’s reffing made a difference in the Kerry replay. He punished Kerry from the off and their dirt and fouling became cumulative leading to yellow, black and red cards. We didn’t escape either, but I couldn’t complain on Cillian’s or Paddy Durcan’s dismissals. Deegan gave Kerry carte blanche in the drawn match and of course they loved it.

    I hope the Bradys Carneys Caseys Horans hammer this point before the final. So what if we are moaners. Fergie was always like that at United, but he wasn’t doing it for fun.

  79. I would imagine there would have been holy war if the calls in last year’s final were the other way around and if the Dubs were the ones that had gotten the calls against them and we were let off the hook.

    Mind you I’d rather win Sam with an evenly refereed game.

    In any case, if we do lift Sam sunday week it will be the greatest March any team has ever made to lift the title.

    This is the year to win it.

  80. Dave, someone by the name of ‘mayoaremagic’ has copied your post word verbatim and posted it on gaaboard a few minutes ago. Just letting you know.

  81. Stephen, toss a coin, … Would be fair for everyone, …. A hill full of blue in full voice could on occasions be a negative for lesser team’s that have to play the Dub’s … And Dublin get to play allot of lesser teams… Read today on the ‘Examiner’ that Séan Cavanagh thinks that Dublin could do a four, five or even eight out of ten Sam Maguires, with this present Dublin team, the best he ever played against …. If you take a backwards step, that’s sure to happen… Mayo are a different proposition, our team and our fantastic fan’s… Wait until you see. and hear the Green and Red in full voice in the Hill…. The minimum mindset for anyone playing the Dub’s is,.. Fight for every inch, we only lost by the minimum last time round.. I’m looking forward to another battle this year, and we have had loads of battles, we should look forward with enthusiasm and we should love it!

  82. Very interesting piece on Joe Catcol,What happens if it turns out like limerick?,surely it wont but if it does how many of us has the bottle to do what Mayo Mick did?

  83. GAA comunication Dept says. Joe McQuillian is Caven born, a resident within Cavan, and a member of the Kill club in Cavan.

  84. The Blogs on here are deadly, great research of facts about games, players, pundits, supporters, referees, linesmen, & tactics, absolutely brilliant blogging, I know it’s serious business at times been a MAYO supporter but I have to laugh at some of the individual blogs, they’re brilliant.

  85. Joe should not be involved in any National League or Championship games involving Dublin if he has been used by Dublin to referee the Dublin Senior Panel interpanel training games in any way, shape or form. Can anyone confirm that he has reffed the Dublin training games?
    There was talk that he lived in dublin, can anyone confirm where he actually lives? I find it hard to believe that he lives in Dublin, because there’s no way that a Tipperary born referee that lives in Castlebar would be chosen to ref the final with Mayo involved.
    This is all just noise I know, but it would be nice to know the actual facts before we complain about Joe any further.
    Rochford threw out a nice little grenade about ex Dublin players putting out the word that Leroy was due a black card. I watched the incident, there was no black card needed by a long way for that incident. But the seed had been planted and Connolly lied down like he was hit with a hammer to get his man a card. Probably couldn’t believe his luck, the black card, of course he wasn’t expecting Leroys replacement to be just as combative as Leroy.

    Tick Tock, Tick Tock

  86. Listening to Rochford on newstalk, what kept coming across is how much they are looking forward to the final. Definately not a man who is phased.

    Whatever transpires on the 17th the team and management are exactly where they want to be. They seemed primed and ready for the big one.

    With a little luck we’ll come through.the next 10 days with a full clean bill of health.

    Its going to take some.performance from Dublin to beat us this year.

    Wouldn’t want to be in Jim.Gavins or Dublins boots either. Lauded as the greatest team ever and almost unbeatable. I can smell the pressure they are under. Mayo are moving with pace, power, single mindedness and they smell blood.

    Like I said, I wouldn’t want to be the team that stands in croke park and tries to stop this Mayo team from winning Sam Maguire.

    The Dubs are in for a.very very tough afternoon on the 17th.

  90. They played the interview last night NialMc 1983 abut 8.45.. Believe the interview was recorded in breaffy house. Must have been part of the press night from last week.

    K kilbane was saying last night that he has noticed a serious improvement in the team over the past 3 matches. I know he mainly does the soccer games but he is a big red and green fan as well.

  92. Still no clearer on what county Joe actually lives in and if he does indeed referee the Dublin interpanel training games.
    Whatever he has to do is ok, as long as it’s fair and even. And if a player needs a red 30 seconds into the game, give it but don’t try to balance your decision by red carding another player from the other team at the first opportunity. The bottom line is that joe should not be part of any balanced conversation the night of the final. Let’s hope it works out that way.

  93. Dave, if you read what i’ve already posted about Joe McQuillan, its a official statement sent to me by Croke Park, so unless someone out there knows something different, I believe it to be true.

  94. Dave and Norris, one of the questions we should ask, is not about what Joe says, but rather what is the thinking behind the appointment?

    What the hurling final demonstrated and what Croke Park want, is a horror of lots of cards being dished out on final day, and God forbid black or red cards. This would offend the great and the good who will be present on the day. Let it be a free-flowing spectacle that showcases ‘our games’ and of course showcases them in the best possible light. Witness the hurling final where there was hardly an intervention by the ref until late in the second half.

    This all sounds very apple pie, but it’s a green light for Dublin to pursue their dark arts to the max. For sure we’re no angels, but Philly, Jonny, Dermo, and McCarthy in particular and all others in general will know that they can dish it out with impunity. Advantage Dublin, pure and simple. A David Gough approach, as demonstrated in the replay would just punish cumulatively each could and indiscretion and as they mount up the dirt dishers have to make a choice – keep going or risk black or red.

  95. Spot on Catcol.. Philliy, Johnny and Dermo have it to a fine art just how far to push it and even if they do go overboard they have replacement’s that we just don’t simply have in comparison . We just simply can’t afford to loose anyone early doors.. if we lose Cillian 5mins in to a black card for a third man tackle well then it’s good night. Will Dublin start highlightin Cillian behaviour between now and game day in the media? Surprised at how quiet things are.. Is it the calm before the storm? Discipline discipline discipline

  96. Well he’s appointed and we have to play the game. We could just offer the best wishes to Joe and hope he does a fair and even job. For sure, it will be a hard game to referee, plenty of the stuff behind the refs back will need to be watched by the linesmen. That’s the hope anyways.

  97. Tom Parsons lives in Dublin and as such, should not be allowed to play. Come on lads, we’re better than that. Convert that attitude into the energy to scream the lads on from the terraces on tyhe 17th.

  98. Anybody know will the kids that accompany the players be wearing the players club jerseys for the football like they did for the hurling final ?

  99. Folks chins up FFS! Look at how we are in the last few games compared to this time last year…hungrier more ferocious showing grit I have not seen in ten years….ya dubs have few things over us but we’re mayo…rochford has few tricks up sleeve and we are under the radar…enjoy this as earlier poster said bring the colour and roar lungs out on the day it WILL make the difference..mayo by 2

  100. If he was reffing their inhouse games, it would be interesting to find out how much he was paid….That would be interesting..

  101. The Mayo football team are going to have One right go at winning Sam this time out, they are very good players but they are about to become great players when they go at Dublin from the very start, tear into them , man mark Kilkenny to stop him calling the shots, backs will have to be able to cope with the switching of Dublin forwards & stay tight, the forwards have to go at their defence which can be opened up, even Tyrone got through For scores when they decided to change things a little, but all the MAYO team will have to play very hard & I know they will because they are a brilliant group of players, now do the Biz.

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