Garrymore's Vincent Nally A Mayo Inter County Star from 1961 to '68 At the moment G.A.A. fans in Mayo wouldn't seem to have all that much to shout about. The glory of the dramatic Connacht final victory over arch rivals Roscommon in wind-swept Dr. Hyde Park is now very much forgotten and the 1993 Championship season will be remembered by most Mayomen for the humiliating fifteen point defeat in the All-Ireland semi-final at the hands of Cork. But is it really fair on Jack O'Shea's men to remember the year as one of failure rather than one of success? They did, after all, prove themselves to be the cream of Connacht - and they certainly learned a thing or two about championship football. The men from the West can now set about the task of fine tuning their team for next year's competition. And Vincent Nally, who wore the Green and Red jersey with great distinction during the sixties, is just one within the Mayo county confines who is hoping that brighter days aren't too far away for the county team. Vincent Nally played Senior inter-county football for Mayo from 1961 to '68 and he was undoubtedly one of their better servants during that era. The Managing Director of Brooks Hanley Ltd. in Sligo represented his local Garrymore club at all levels. His first taste of success on the football field came when he collected an Under 14 county Championship medal and he quickly followed this up with county titles of the Minor variety in '58 and '60. Once the Garrymore clubman experienced the sweet taste of success his hunger increased and it was always going to be difficult to deny him further honours. Enjoying a successful career with both club and county, Nally's mantlepiece is undoubtedly decorated with a wide variety of souvenirs of the golden hue. One might spot the Junior medal he picked up to commemorate the occasion of his part played in helping the club reach Intermediate status, or perhaps the two Intermediate medals of '65 and '69 which signalled the club's turning Senior. Or maybe, one of the medals Vincent won with the county team! For Vincent playing for Mayo was a case of following in his father's footsteps - his father played a couple of game between the posts for the county team. His days in the Senior team were preceded by a lengthy stint involved with the Minor set-up. Vincent was on the Mayo Minor team for three year, '59,'60 and '61. In 1959 they were beaten in the Connacht final by a very strong Galway team on a scoreline of 3-9 to 1-8. The following year they were beaten in the first round of the Connacht Championship by the Galway side which went on to beat Cork in the All-Ireland final. Things fell into place for the Mayo Minors in 1961, however. They met Sligo in the Connacht final and hammered them by 5-8 to 0-5. Mayo marched all the way to the All-Ireland final only to be denied at the last hurdle by a stubborn Cork outfit in the curtain raiser to the Down-Offaly. All-Ireland Senior decider. That was the year of the record attendance for an All-Ireland final - not too many can claim to have played gaelic football before a crowd of 90,556 people!!!! Vincent, who captained the Mayo Under 21 team in 1962, played centrefield in his earlier years for Mayo but is remembered for his performances in the full back berth in the latter years of his career. Perhaps the highlight of Nally's career came in 1967 when he collected a Connacht Senior Championship medal, Mayo beating Galway in Peares Stadium in Salthill in the provincial decider. They didn't make it to the All-Ireland final however, as they were beaten narrowly by Meath in the semi-final. So one of Mayo's finest players was denied the opportunity to perform on centre-stage. He was later on the Mayo team which was defeated by Cork in the 1969 All-Ireland Junior semi-final. It was in a National Football League game in 1961 against Cavan in Breffni Park that Vincent Nally made his Senior inter-county debut for Mayo. At that time, Mayo didn't have any manager as such - the team was basically run by a team of six selectors. Over the next eight years the wing back/full back gave his county selfless service of the highest quality. Vincent's native rural club of Garrymore have become one of the most successful club teams in County Mayo -enjoying a particularly purple patch during the seventies. They won four Senior County Championships again in '81 and '82 reaching that year's All-Ireland Club final where they were defeated by a prolific Nemo Rangers side. Whether lining out at centrefield or full back, Nally wasn't one to be pushed around, but always gave the opposition a lot to think about. When he made his inter-county debut, the six footer weighed in at 2 lbs above the 13 stone mark and there was never going to be any question of anybody knocking him around! Educated at the Christian Brothers School in Ballinrobe, Vincent won a Mayo Colleges Championship medal and also played in a Connacht Colleges decider against St. Jarlaths of Tuam in 1958 - Jarlath's going on to win the All-Ireland title that year and four more times in the next eight years. Married to Margaret with six children (three girls and three boys) the former Mayo star will tell you that his mother and father were the two most influential figures on his career - a career which was honoured with one of the highest possible accolades in 1963 when he was selected to represent his province in Railway Cup fare. Vincent lined out at full back for Connacht and was assigned the unenviable task of marking Down and Ulster's great forward James McCartan. The former Mayo star agrees with suggestions that there is an almost entirely different game of gaelic football on show these days compared to that which was played in the sixties. "There is a different type of football being played these days. The style of the game has changed and it is difficult to compare but I would feel that the catch and kick game of the sixties was probably better. Both games are equally entertaining but I would be of the traditional catch and kick school of the Galway three-in-a-row team," he reports. During his playing days, Vincent had the pleasure of playing alongside some great players and he also came up against some accomplished opponents. He rates Cavan's Charlie Gallagher and Galway's Sean Cleary as two of the tougher players he ever played against, while citing Mayo pair John Morley and Joe Corcoran as two of the best he had the privilege of playing alongside. Not only did Nally share the pitch with some terrific players. The most memorable game he ever played in, he says, was the 1961 All-Ireland Minor semi-final against Dublin - a game which Mayo won by two points and subsequently the Garrymore man qualified for his first, and only, All-Ireland final appearance. The 1993 All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final clash of Mayo and Cork turned out to be one of most talked about games of the year - for all the wrong reasons from a Mayo point of view. The result was that Connacht football got a flogging in the national media and it has now been written off as the undisputed poor relation in the gaelic football family. A lot of people in Mayo would disagree with these allegations - but does Vincent Nally feel that there is enough talent in the county at present to silence the knockers? "With the big number of changes which Jacko has brought in for the League it's difficult to say. I believe we must build with youth in order to achieve another Connacht title within the next two years, and hopefully an All-Ireland within three years," offers the present day Managing Director with Brooks Hanley, a Sligo based company which employs 46 people. What does Vincent think went wrong this year? "I know a lot of people would dearly love to know the answer to that one! There's obviously not enough pride involved when the players pull on the red and green jersey, and the will to win mustn't be there." Despite the criticisms being levelled in that general direction, the former player feels that the standard of football being played within the province mightn't be as bad as generally perceived. "It's probably not quite as bad," he says. "But if we are to achieve success at All-Ireland level we must aspire to reach a standard of football which is only currently being reached in Ulster." If Mayo are to have a successful future two young players Vincent predicts to play a big part in it are Kevin O'Neill and Kevin Cahill. The talented O'Neill was on of Mayo's top performers in the Championship gone by and he certainly boasts great potential for many more campaigns to come. Vincent Nally's playing days are over, but he is still actively involved with things G.A.A., working with the Underage and Intermediate teams at Calry G.A.A. club in Sligo. Looking ahead to the '94 Championship, he has already decided on his tips for the various honours. Roscommon, he feels, being the more settled side, should steal the honours in Connacht, while he fancies Derry ("a young team with the will to win") to defend their All-Ireland crown successfully, mentioning both Donegal and Dublin as possible outside bets. The immediate future could be bleak for Mayo though. "I would expect that they'll find it tough to stay in Division One this year because of the fact that they're experimenting with youthful players. Jacko has to experiment and he must persevere with that team," he points out. During his playing days Nally didn't confine himself to gaelic football - he also hurled with Claremorris. As a hurler he picked up two county Championship medals and he also lined out for the county Minor and Junior sides. Since giving up football, the company M.D. plays a lot of golf and is also quite useful with a squash racket in his hand. The Garrymore man was obviously born with great sporting ability in his blood -and at this moment in time Mayo could be doing with a few more like him! Written by the Hogan Stand Magazine. 22nd Oct. 1993 Tweet

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