DERRY has dominated the Ulster club football scene, with 17 titles won by eight different clubs, but translating that success into Andy Merrigan Cups has proved much tougher.
Although they’ve effectively had a contender every three seasons over more than half a century, only three of those Oak Leaf outfits have lifted the trophy.
It’s actually almost 33 years since a Derry club triumphed in Croke Park, in the 1991 senior final, when Lavey defeated Salthill-Knocknacarra of Galway. Due to redevelopment work at headquarters the 2002 decider took place in Semple Stadium, where Ballinderry saw off Nemo Rangers in style.
Seamus Downey and Colm McGurk remember a special day
Glory Days: Ballinderry Shamrocks rule supreme
Glory Days for the ‘Wee Blues’. Bellaghy Wolfe Tone’s march to the All-Ireland club title in 1972
That last Derry win, an eye-opening 22 years ago, came fully half a century after the first, when Bellaghy pipped UCC by a point.
In some ways, Derry clubs have performed only slightly below expectations: the previous 16 contenders produced eight finalists.
The surprise has been that there were relatively few of those until recent times, just two less than a decade ago.
Glen became the fifth Derry side to lose an All-Ireland Club SFC Final, in those hugely controversial circumstances last year against Kilmacud Croke’s.
They followed on from their neighbours Slaughtneil, two-time losers, defeated by Dr Croke’s of Kerry in 2017 after a loss to Galway’s outstanding Corofin in 2015.
Before them, though, there were only two others: Ballerin in 1977, beaten by a star-studded Austin Stack’s side from Kerry, and Bellaghy in 1995, who lost out to Kilmacud in a low-scoring contest.
Derry’s winners:
1972: Bellaghy 0-15 UCC 1-11
This was a Friday night thriller, played on May 12, a tight tussle throughout, with the sides level five times in the second half. The last of those came after the Cork outfit had gone ahead for only the second time, with wing-forward Frankie O’Loane converting a free for his seventh score of the match.
Centre half-back Hugh McGoldrick turned over a UCC attack and found diminutive centre half-forward Brendan Cassidy, who struck the winning point from around 40 yards out.
Bellaghy had beaten Clan na Gael of Armagh well in the Ulster final before edging past Portlaoise in the All-Ireland semi-final.
1991: Lavey 2-9 Salthill-Knocknacarra 0-10
The men in orange performed superbly on St Patrick’s Day, with Brian McCormick scoring 1-6 and Don Mulholland netting their other goal as they saw off Salthill-Knocknacarra. To complete their joy Anthony McGurk became the fifth brother to play his part, coming on for Colm, and joining captain Johnny, Kieran, and Hugh Martin on the pitch.
The veteran Anthony had been the hero of their toughest test, an All-Ireland quarter-final against London side Tir Chonaill Gaels, who included James McCartan and Mattie McGleenan in their ranks.
2002: Ballinderry 2-10 Nemo Rangers 0-9
The Shamrocks won by an even more convincing margin in the end but this was a closer contest than the score-line suggests. Declan Bateson took advantage of a defensive error to net a first half goal but there was only a point in it at half-time, 1-3 to 0-5. Ballinderry seemed to pull away but Nemo battled back to leave the minimum margin again before Adrian McGuckin set up Gerard Cassidy to goal to an empty net. The Shamrocks then pulled clear, sparking serious celebrations in Thurles.
Having defeated Mayobridge in the provincial final, Ballinderry also came up against Tir Chonaill Gaels, but won comfortably, before beating Wicklow’s Rathnew in the All-Ireland semi-finals.
Derry’s losing finalists:
1977: Austin Stack’s (Kerry) 1-13 Ballerin 2-7
1995: Kilmacud Croke’s (Dublin) 0-8 Bellaghy 0-5
2015: Corofin (Galway) 1-14 Slaughtneil 0-7
2017 Dr Croke’s (Kerry) 1-9 Slaughtneil 1-7
2023: Kilmacud Croke’s (Dublin) 1-11 Glen 1-9
