Roscommon’s Easter Rising

Connacht SFC quarter-final Roscommon 2-8 Mayo 0-10

< SEAMUS DUKE

This Roscommon senior football team is the gift that keeps on giving in 2023. Last Sunday at MacHale Park in Castlebar Davy Burke’s men produced one of Roscommon’s greatest championship wins in many decades when they deservedly knocked the hot favourites and newly-crowned league champions Mayo out of this year’s Connacht Championship.

One man who wasn’t particularly surprised was Roscommon manager Burke, who voiced some frustration after the game with what he considered to be a disrespectful narrative around his team’s chances during the build-up.

Alluding to media commentary, he said: “I thought there was a lot of disrespect to us during the week. We finished third in Divi- sion One on merit. And we were completely written off.

“You’d swear we were a lower level team altogether. I’m sure our boys were frustrated by that and I’m glad they put it right today”.

This was one of the best battling performances that I have witnessed in my time attending Roscommon matches. I say that as someone who was raised on the deeds of men like Harry Keegan, Pat Lindsay, Dermot Earley and Tony McManus. This was as good if not better than any of the wins that those men were involved in – I cannot give our team of ’23 any higher praise than that.

On a foul day weather-wise, it was clear from the opening seconds that Roscommon were on a mission. In the match preview in last week’s Roscommon People, Davy Burke said that the Roscommon players were not going to take any backward steps against Mayo. Boy was he true to his word.

All over the field Roscommon harried and hassled, and tackled like tigers, denying Mayo space and time on the ball. Then, when the counter-attack was on, there were men like Diarmuid Murtagh and Enda Smith who could carry the game to Mayo and get the scores that were needed. Every single Roscommon player contributed to this spectacular victory, one of the sweetest in many a long day.

Playing against the strong wind and squally showers in the first half it was clear Roscommon would need to restrict the Mayo attack. They did that brilliantly, with Niall and Conor Daly, Davy Murray, Brian Stack and Conor Hussey all outstanding.

Roscommon had some luck too. In the 7th minute Stephen Coen burst through the visitors’ defence, his shot coming back off the underside of the crossbar. Still, Roscommon were dictating the pace of the game and Mayo became more frustrated as the action unfolded.

In the 23rd minute Dylan Ruane’s shot was blocked by the Mayo defence. Davy Murray