Taking Dublin out of Croke Park was pitched as part of the solution, a way of levelling the playing field – but while the locations might have changed, the outcomes have not.
The paltry crowds turning out for Dublin matches over recent weeks has moved the conversation from hollow games devoid of competitiveness to empty stands devoid of supporters – though one inevitably leads to the other.
Still, on Saturday there should at least be a decent crowd at Breffni Park when Cavan host the Dubs in the All-Ireland SFC group stages – though the home side are up against a touring party unbeaten on the road in championship football since the euro became legal tender in Ireland.
Dublin are on a run of 17 consecutive championship victories outside of the capital, stretching all the way back to their All-Ireland quarter-final replay defeat to Kerry in 2001.
It is 18 championship matches unbeaten outside of Croke Park, when you include the 2004 qualifier win over London at Parnell Park – which remains Dublin’s last championship match at their official home ground.
Indeed, on Saturday London face Limerick in a Tailteann Cup match at Parnell Park. The Exiles also played Laois at the Donnycarney venue last year, which means (if we are recognising the Tailteann Cup as championship fare) London have played more championship matches at Parnell Park than Dublin in the past 20 years.
Dublin spent a decade playing all their championship matches – Leinster and All-Ireland fixtures – at GAA headquarters.
In June 2006, Paul Caffrey’s Dublin beat Longford in a Leinster quarter-final at Pearse Park and it wasn’t until 2016 before the Dubs, then under Jim Gavin, had a championship day outside of the capital again – a provincial quarter-final win over Laois at Nowlan Park.
But taking them beyond the Pale again hasn’t made any difference in terms of results. Since 2016 Dublin have played a dozen championship games outside of Croke Park – and won all 12.
However, most of the away matches have been played at neutral venues – it wasn’t until 2021 that Leinster Council fixed Dublin to play a provincial championship match in the home ground of their opponent, namely Wexford in 2021.
Shane Roche was the Wexford manager that July – a match which remains one of the most difficult Dublin have faced on the road in Leinster.
Dublin arrived as six-in-a-row All-Ireland champions while Wexford had struggled in Division Four that season. The match handicap was 25 points.
But Wexford brought a level of controlled aggression to the encounter that seemed to unsettle Dublin. The home side had a gameplan but the narrative of the fixture for Wexford was built around refusing to yield on their home patch.
“We had one kickout strategy of our own, we had one kickout press on them, it was very clear and there was 100 per cent buy-in, ‘this is what we are doing and we are not deviating from this plan no matter what Dublin do,’” recalls Roche.
“There was very little structural, strategic, tactical and system work that week. It was basically, we are going to welcome these lads to hell.”
The plan started as soon as Wexford had beaten Wicklow in the first round. When the players sat down to their post-match dinner, at each setting was a detailed stats report on Dublin.
A video was compiled depicting some of the biggest upsets in the history of sport – from Leicester City winning the Premier League to Japan beating South Africa at the Rugby World Cup, and from Andy Ruiz beating Anthony Joshua to the Miracle on Ice.
“I often reflect, would I have felt as passionate about it or as confident of creating a siege mentality if I was going to Croke Park? And the answer is no,” adds Roche, who also played against Dublin in Leinster finals in 2008 and 2011.
“They were coming to our house and we were going to give them a battle. I felt this was the time we could beat them, and it was probably because the game was in Wexford Park.”
Roche approached the Wexford County Board to ask if the pitch could be narrowed. He already felt the ever-present wind at the venue might cause the visitors some issues, so no harm shortening the pitch a few more inches too.
And he also showed his players a clip from a documentary on Alex Ferguson.
“He was going to give up playing soccer, but his father made him go to the next game and he scored a hat-trick for St Johnstone against Rangers. That one game changed his life.
“I had the boys in the tunnel underneath the stand watching that, even I could feel it. That was a whole narrative all week for us: one game can change your life.”
Wexford set the terms of engagement from the off and all over the pitch the aggression and energy was coming from those in purple and gold. At one stage there was a heavy collision between Wexford’s Martin O’Connor and Dublin’s Paddy Small.
“Paddy got up gingerly and he looked over to the sideline for water and I turned around and said something along the lines of, ‘Now Paddy, welcome to hell.’
“There might have been a few expletives added in too, but I could sense the Dublin lads were like, ‘the sooner we get back on the bus and out of here, the better.’”
Members of the Dublin management team were clearly agitated on the sideline too and as Wexford grew in belief, after 15 minutes the visitors were urging the referee to halt play for the water break. Wexford led at that first water break but by half-time Dublin had edged 0-6 to 0-3 ahead.
“It gave them two minutes to reset and recalibrate, they were able to address some things. That water break probably broke our momentum” says Roche.
Dublin ran out 0-15 to 0-7 winners. Despite the defeat, Wexford – who had made a mockery of the betting handicap – received a massive ovation from the 500 (Covid restrictions) in attendance at the final whistle.
The following summer the Dubs returned to Wexford Park and were comfortable 1-24 to 0-4 victors.
“They had taken a bit of criticism from the previous year,” says Roche. “So when they came down again, from minute one they were the ones bringing the heat, bringing the intensity, bringing the energy.”
Cavan will need to bring all of that and more on Saturday if they are to end Dublin’s winning streak outside the capital.
Dublin SFC games outside of the capital since losing to Kerry at Semple Stadium in 2001
Played 17; Won 17
2002: Dublin 0-15 Wexford 1-10; Dr Cullen Park, Carlow (Leinster quarter-final)
2003: Dublin 3-9 Derry 1-9; St Tiernach’s Park, Clones (All-Ireland qualifier)
2004: Dublin 0-13 Leitrim 1-4; Páirc Seán MacDiarmada, Carrick-on-Shannon (All-Ireland qualifier)
2004: Dublin 1-17 Longford 0-11; O’Moore Park, Portlaoise (All-Ireland qualifier)
2006: Dublin 1-12 Longford 0-13; Pearse Park, Longford (Leinster quarter-final)
2016: Dublin 2-21 Laois 2-10; Nowlan Park, Kilkenny (Leinster quarter-final)
2017: Dublin 0-19 Carlow 0-7; O’Moore Park, Portlaoise (Leinster quarter-final)
2018: Dublin 4-25 Wicklow 1-11; O’Moore Park, Portlaoise (Leinster quarter-final)
2018: Dublin 1-14 Tyrone 0-14; Healy Park, Omagh (All-Ireland Super Eights)
2019: Dublin 5-21 Louth 0-10; O’Moore Park, Portlaoise (Leinster quarter-final)
2019: Dublin 1-16 Tyrone 0-13; Healy Park, Omagh (All-Ireland Super Eights)
2020: Dublin 0-22 Westmeath 0-11; O’Moore Park, Portlaoise (Leinster quarter-final)
2021: Dublin 0-15 Wexford 0-7; Wexford Park (Leinster quarter-final)
2022: Dublin 1-24 Wexford 0-4; Wexford Park (Leinster quarter-final)
2023: Dublin 4-30 Laois 2-9; O’Moore Park, Portlaoise (Leinster quarter-final)
2023: Dublin 0-22 Kildare 0-13; Nowlan Park, Kilkenny (All-Ireland group stages)
2023: Dublin 3-21 Sligo 0-8; Breffni Park, Cavan (All-Ireland group stages)
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