Remember the Team (4) ...

Mullingar Shamrocks: Dermot Ryan; Ned Moore [Ray Flynn], Michael Conlon, John Conlon; Pearse Corroon, Michael Fagan (Paul Aherne), Peter Smith; Tom Ormsby and Peter Faulkner (1-0); Sean Hynes (0-1), Eddie Casey (0-3), Denis Corroon; Michael O’Reilly (0-1), Mark Kelly (0-2), John Corroon (Ivan O’Connor).

The Occasion: Leinster Senior Club semi-final played in Newbridge on 9 December 1990. The day of the daylight robbery.

The Result: Baltinglass 0-11 Mullingar Shamrocks 1-7

The Context: Mullingar Shamrocks record in the Leinster Club Championship was less than impressive as after the 1986 and 1987 championship successes we failed to win our first round Leinster Club Championship games against Duffry Rovers and Ferbane respectively. All this changed in 1990 with great victories against Longford Slashers (2-11 to 2-9) and Navan O'Mahoney's (1-8 to 1-5). The reward was a Leinster semi-final tie against the reigning All-Ireland champions Baltinglass.

The Controversy: Shamrocks have hardly ever played a game that produced a more controversial ending and in one where there was near unanimous agreement that Shamrocks were so blatantly the victims of an atrocious refereeing call. The controversy was inspired by a last minute incident that left Shamrocks seething. Michael O’Reilly won possession about twenty yards from the Baltinglass goal and towards the left sideline. In typical O'Reilly fashion he jinked his way past a number of Baltinglass defenders and was about to pop the ball over the bar for what would have surely been the winning point when Thomas Donohue flattened him. The referee saw nothing wrong with the tackle, the ball was transferred quickly down-field to newly honoured Wicklow All-Star, Kevin O’Brien who soloed over thirty-five yards and kicked what proved to be the winning point.

It said it in the Papers: Local and national press were unanimous in their verdict: Shamrocks had been robbed. ‘It’s daylight robbery’ was the Irish Independent’s headline; Paddy Hickey writing in the Evening Herald, under a headline that read ‘Shamrocks have good reason to be annoyed at referee’ pointed out that the

The decision of referee Moran to wave play on was inexplicable, as there was no question but that Reilly was fouled by Donohoe. The referee’s refusal to award a free would have been understandable if he had been unsighted by other players, or if he was distant from play. But Moran was only about 20 yards removed from the action, and so he was perfectly positioned to see exactly what happened.

Under a heading that read ‘Bad decision saves Baltinglass’s title’ Tom Humphries explained that the ‘the responsibility for Mullingar Shamrocks’ narrow failure to clinch a Leinster final spot rests with two men – Kevin O’Brien of Wicklow and Pat Moran of Laois’. For Humphries the decision to ignore ‘what looked like a book-able offence’ was an ‘appalling’ one.

Martin Breheny in the Irish Press was equally scathing: 'In a season of strange decisions by referees this certainly ranks alongside the strangest of all. In my book, there really was no question but that Reilly was fouled, but sadly for Mullingar the referee saw it differently ... although quite how the referee saw fit to ignore the foul on Mick Reilly in that injury time drama will long remain a sorrowful mystery around Mullingar '.

A week later the contribution of the Midland Topic reporter to the condemnatory mix was equally damning. Under a headline that read ‘Cruel end to Mullingar’s courageous upset bid’ he stated that ‘it was bitter act of piracy that will not be forgotten in Mullingar for a very long time!’

And 30 years later ('Funny How Time Slips Away') it is still remembered by all those involved.

Fógra Eile: Shamrocks lost their outstanding player at half-time as Michael 'Spike' Fagan was forced to retire and was replaced by Ray Flynn. Spike was hospitalised in Perth with a thigh injury he got in the final test when the rest of the Irish international party left for Ireland and had not fully recovered. The semi-final was delayed until Spike returned from international duty and he was a doubtful starter in Newbridge. Spike had been omitted from the original party that departed for Australia in late October but answered an emergency call to fly out on the second week of the tour and was outstanding in two test matches.