It's just 10 short months since Glen, St Brigid’s, St Thomas’ and O’Loughlin Gaels rolled into Croke Park and delivered two classic All-Ireland club finals capped off by a couple of one-point wins.
Some of the quality was exquisite, the excitement palpable, even if mistakes were plentiful, but now, as October prepares to make way for November, not a single one of that quartet has managed to retain their county championship let alone look forward to a provincial defence and possible All-Ireland glory.
A series of shockwave results, none more so than the final of those on Sunday as football champions Glen were knocked out in Derry by massive underdogs Newbridge, saw them fall one by one over in what seemed to be the pretty unique event of the four club finalists all failing to make it to the provincial stage.
However, the since the football and hurling tournaments became part of the official GAA calendar for the 1970/71 season, it is actually the fifth occasion it has occurred.
The first of those came in 1991 and again involved All-Ireland football champions from Derry.
Earlier that year, Ulster champions Lavey lifted the Andy Merrigan Cup with victory over Galway’s Salthill-Knocknacarra while in the hurling final, Glenmore took the hurling title back to Kilkenny with a four-point win over Limerick’s Patrickswell.
A few months later, all four had been granted an unexpected – and unwanted – extended winter break.
Well not for all the Lavey squad with their dual players heading into the Ulster series after a third straight Oakleaf hurling title, but their footballers were knocked out in the first round by eventual champions Dungiven in a tense affair in Glen.
Salthill-Knocknacarra fared better, reaching the final and only losing after a replay to a Corofin side that was claiming just their fourth Galway title. They have added 19 since.
Corofin had shocked Tuam Stars in the semi-final but looked up against it having lost the final by 14 points to Salthill-Knocknacarra the year before.
The crowds stayed away the first day in anticipation of a one-sided affair, but it was Corofin who threw it away as they led a late four-point lead slip, Mark Butler landing three frees and Declan Croucher punching over in the final seconds for the seaside club.
The holders were expected to get back to their best in the replay, but Corofin, powered by the Burke brothers Gerry and Oliver, swatted them aside.
Hurling champions Glenmore came through the '91 group stages in Kilkenny with four wins and a draw, but they were nabbed in the semi-final by a St Martin’s amalgamation (Ballyfole/Coon/Muckalee) with Dermot Lawlor’s early goal proving decisive.
Beaten All-Ireland finalists Patrickswell, meanwhile, were shocked by neighbours Ballybrown in the quarter-final just two weeks after their manager Phil Bennis has landed the Limerick job.
Amazingly, the same thing happened the very next season as all four finalists fell again.
Kerry’s Dr Crokes had won the All-Ireland football title for the first time in 1992 but they stumbled their way back to the Kerry semi-final before eventually coming unstuck against St Brendan’s with the underdogs hitting 1-02 at the death to steal it – Christy Walsh with the vital goal on a day when traffic in Tralee was heavy as yet-to-be disgraced entertainer Rolf Harris was in town.
All-Ireland hurling holders Kiltormer had a fairly meek defence in Galway. They struggled out of the group stages, just edged Gort to avoid the shock of the year and gave up their titles when Sarsfields’ Aidan Donoghue, with eight points, out-scored their entire team in the semi-final.
Beaten football finalists Thomas Davis also felt the force of a Donoghue as Padraig’s free-taking was critical as the Crokes won a semi-final replay to end Thomas Davis’ four-in-a-row hopes.
Offaly outfit Birr had made it to the hurling final in early ‘92, but they ran into the full force of two-time All-Star Joachim Kelly in the county semi-final a few months later as Lusmagh dumped them out.
It occurred again in 2004.
That year’s hurling final had witnessed a comprehensive All-Ireland win for Cork’s Newtownshandrum over Antrim outfit Dunloy.
Newtown were back in action just six weeks later in Mallow and without the insipriation Pat Mulcahy, and perhaps having celebrated too hard, they were shocked by the students of Cork IT.
The backdoor afforded them a route back into things and they went through it until they met Cloyne in the semi-final and lost by a goal in front of nearly 16,000 spectators.
Dunloy too fell at the semi-final stage in the Saffron County with Joe O’Neill posting a late winner for Belfast side O’Donovan Rossa.
Caltra went into the 2004 Galway SFC as All-Ireland champions but it was a Mayo man who broke their hearts as Maurice Sheridan, then with Salthill-Knocknacarra, knocked over a winning free in their quarter-final clash.
Michael Meehan, who had returned from Canada 24 hours earlier, missed a chance to equalise from a free seven minutes into additional time – the delay coming after referee Tom Nally was forced off with an Achilles’ injury to be replaced by linesman Michael Byrne.
Kerry’s An Ghaeltacht had lost the All-Ireland final and after being pushed hard by both Kerins O'Rahilly's, who forced a replay, and Listowel, they were comfortably defeated by Laune Rangers in the semi-final – much of the crowd streaming out early to catch the famed ‘Pizzagate’ Premier League clash when Man United brought Arsenal’s 49-game unbeaten run to an end.
The final time it happened was in 2006 and once again Galway’s Salthill-Knocknacarra were involved and once again it was Corofin who dumped them out.
They had lifted the Andy Merrigan Cup with a low-scoring 0-07 to 0-06 win over St Gall’s but their next outing saw them give up their titles as Corofin won in the opening round.
St Galls’ loss in Antrim – to Cargin – was the only blemish on a run of 13 county titles in 14 seasons.
Hurling champions Portumna gave a good account of themselves when trying to defend their titles, but they lost the Galway final to eventual All-Ireland finalists Loughrea by a single point. However, there was still some shock as they let an eight-point half-time lead slip in a fiery encounter at Pearse Stadium.
Cork’s Newtownshandrum had been the losing finalists at Croke Park, and their Cork semi-final exit a few months later was an unusual one.
That’s because their clash with Cloyne was abandoned after just 11 minutes due to rain with Newtown losing the refixture having found Cloyne goalkeeper Dónal Óg Cusack in inspired form.
Which brings us to this year’s fault lines.
Football finalists St Brigid’s were first to go as Pádraig Pearses beat them in extra-time in the Roscommon quarter-final before the other three finalists fell at the weekend.
On Saturday, Cappataggle reached their first Galway final as they knocked out All-Ireland champions St Thomas’ before Croke Park finalists O’Loughlin Gaels were hammered by Thomastown in the Kilkenny decider.
Then came the sting in the tail up in Derry and a reminder of just how unpredictable club championship action can be.
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