It is sixty years since Armagh and Donegal first met in the National Hurling League, as the sides prepare to face-off today in the latest instalment of their rivalry.
Their initial meeting took place at the Box-It Athletic Grounds and proved a hugely exciting encounter, described at the time as the most exciting game in Ulster soil for many a year.
Donegal were first out of the traps leading by five points during the first quarter in a game where the lead exchanged hands on no less than five occasions.
Mick Finn was impressive for the Orchard County dominating the middle and scoring 1-1. He was ably supported by top scorer Jimmy Carlisle (1-3) as a last minute Armagh goal saw them home, replying to a late Donegal goal that threatened to share the spoils. Armagh edged their opponents in this eight goal thriller by 5-5 to 3-8.
Goals were plentiful in the earliest meetings between the counties in the league, as nine goals were recorded in each of the games played in 1972 and 1973 respectively.
After a 5-12 to 4-3 victory in the cathedral city in May 1972, their meeting fourteen months later in Ballybofey proved much closer.
The wizardry of Jimmy Carlisle and Gerard Devlin proved decisive for the visitors aided by the sharpness of the Armagh forwards with Kevin Mone (2-1) and Paddy Moriarty (1-3) prominent in a 6-7 to 3-12 victory.
In the 1970’s, Division 3 of the NHL doubled as the Ulster Junior Hurling Championship and this Armagh success denied victory to Donegal, forcing a three-way play-off.
The sides meet in Letterkenny tomorrow and twice have met at the venue in past league meetings. Their first tussle at O’Donnell Park occurred in 2002 when there was plenty of drama. Two Leon Reynolds goals kept Armagh in touch after both counties were reduced to fourteen men. But it was a late free from Donegal’s Michael McCann that caused most upheaval. Tied at 1-8 to 3-2, one umpire signalled a score whilst the other differed in his view, doing enough to dissuade the referee from giving Donegal a first league success over Armagh.
When the counties were down to face each other for the 13th occasion on League duty, Donegal recorded their first success in 2018, showing the home court the drop door from Division 2B.
Whilst Armagh recorded a win in their most recent Letterkenny league clash in 2020, the Tir Chonaill men had the last laugh when an early Gerry Gilmore goal laid the foundation for Donegal to capture the Division 3a title in their most recent league meeting, the divisional final of that year.
A brace of league points will be important to each county today and we wish our hurlers well in their quest for a first league success this term.