Travelled to Tullamore last Saturday evening and simply could not believe how bad Offaly were.

Yep, perhaps  manager Pat Flanagan had his eyes on the Dubs. And no disrespects whatsoever intended to a game Longford who for years have gallantly fought above their weight.

There are bigger populations in Dundalk, Navan, Naas etc than in this proud GAA bastion at the heart of the midlands.

Back to the Faithful though. Wrong options, woeful passing, did not use the wind. The list of inadequacies goes on and on.

Certainly three or four of the Offaly players in action were amonst the worst this writer has seen lining out at intercounty level.

And it all begs the question. What the heck has happened to Offaly football?  Has any county witnessed a decline as swift in such a short period of time?

The great Matt Connor

The Faithful has produced three magnificents football combinations in the second half of the last century. The men of the early sixties, the team of the late sixties/early seventies and Eugene McGee's bunch in the late seventies and early eighties.

All three sides did come from fine underage teams of previous years and while this years minor xv were supposed to have a certain amount of talent they too were out of the championship by early May. A familiar story of late.

Nor, with the exception of Rhode are Offaly club teams faring any better. Gone are the days when Walsh Island, Ferbane and  Clara frightened the life out of their counterparts on the Leinster club scene.

A couple of days back when researching the late great Mick Brady we happened to come across an Offaly Team of the Century chosen by readers of the local Leinster Express newspaper.

Just look at the talent involved. Here is a team that would beat any best xv from any county and dare say it even Kerry.

1- Martin Furlong.  Part of a great GAA family, so brave and agile.

2- Paddy McCormack.  Christened the Iron Man from Rhode by Micheal O Hehir and with good reason

3- Greg Hughes.  Like Mick  Brady recently deceased. A true footballing defender who ruled the edge of the square.

4- John Egan.  The man from Doon and a vital part of this great full back line of the sixties.

Offaly celebrate as the 1982 All Ireland is won

5- Eugene Mulligan.  Another of the Rhode contingent who overlapped when people thought overlapping was part of a Russian spaceship.

6- Nicholas Clavin.  The footballing priest was a real Rolls Royce of a footballer and the best centre half back of his time.

7- Mick Brady.  Small in stature but fast and a great reader of the game.

8- Willie Bryan.  Also on the small side as midfielders go but a classic fetcher of the high ball. His tour de force in the last fifteen minutes of the All Ireland final replay with Kerry in 72, Mick O Connell and all, was the greatest ever individual display seen by this writer.

9- Sean Foran.  A midfield colossus.

10- Sean Cooney.  Half a dozen machine guns simply would not stop the Pullough man if he had his eyes set on the opposing goals.

11- Kevin Kilmurray.  A powerful man on the solo run who often sucked in two or three of his markers before off letting to a teammate.

12- Tony McTague.  Mr Twinkle Toes himself. Manys the time he turned his immediate opponent inside out. So reliable from frees and generally the teams top scorer.

Offaly All Ireland senior football champions 1971. Front l-r: Sean Cooney, Tony McTague, Willie Bryan, Eugene Mulligan, Martin Heavey, Jody Gunning. Back l-r: Paddy McCormack, Mick O'Rourke, Murt Connor, Kieran Claffey, Nicolas Clavin, Sean Evans, Martin Furlong, Mick Ryan, Kevin Kilmurray.

13- Mick Casey.  Was an Offaly football hero when such were scarce in the Faithful.

14- Matt Connor.  A true living legend. Two great feet, so accurate, possessed massive power in his kick and a body swerve to leave the best grounded.

15- Brendan Lowry. Where would Offaly footballing be without the Lowrys, Bradys, Connors, O Connors, and Furlongs. Brendan was every bit as accurate as his golfing son.

And the thing about Offaly in the 60s, 70s and 80s and even towards the turn of the century is that they did not give a hoot about reputations. Manys the time they sent Dublin and Meath spinning out of the championship.

They were generally too cute for southern neighbours Laois and often put the fear of God into multi talented Kildare combinations.

Remember the days when Richie Connor would go through half a dozen Dubs underneath the Hogan to gain possession. Or when Sean Evans soared over the Kingdom, the birth place of his father, full back line to make a clean catch. Or when the man with the peculiar name Har Donnelly split the opposing posts with unerring accuracy.

Offaly football of course needs a successful team and maybe more importantly so does a declining Leinster GAA. The county which gave us All Stars in each position, hurlers as well, deserves an upturn in fortunes.

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