Liam Duggan

Originally published: Town Tattler Vol 1 Issue 4

This month we catch up with Liam Duggan, a Portlaoise man through and through. He won 6 senior football championships with the town and was captain of the successful 1991 team. He also won Leinster Championships in 1985 and 1987. Shortly after he transferred to Dunboyne he played an integral role in helping his new club to win their first ever Meath senior title in 1998. Liam sat down with the Tattler and shared some memories.

What are your earliest memories of GAA?

It all kicked off really in the schools back then. They were a great link to the Club. The John Cole Street Leagues pulled kids out of every corner of the town and when you think about it what a way to create participation and develop talent.

Who were your early influences?

Mum and Dad were still great supporters of all things GAA. Can’t think of many matches they missed and as we were all involved to a large extent, they were on the road the whole time. Our very early memories of GAA were with Dad in particular. We never missed an All-Ireland from about 1975 onwards.

Bill Phelan RIP, Peter Carroll and Ollie Byrne were my mentors when I was growing up ensuring that both football and hurling thrived. Great coaches and great people.

One of my earliest memories is Bill, Ollie and Peter managing the club to a Division 2 Hurling Feile final victory in 1980 in Galway. That same team won the minor and football championship double in 1984.

Brother Guing was also a great influence around that time and was a strong link between School and Club.

Who were your heroes growing up?

One of my earliest memories is Portlaoise defeating a star studded Vincent’s in the Leinster club championship in 1976. There were Portlaoise heroes all over the pitch on that team, a mixture as I remember of very experienced guys like Mick Mulhall, Sean Mullins RIP, Mick Dooley, John Joe Ging, Atch, Jimmy Bergin, the Scullys with a lot of young lads coming through such as Colm Browne, Bernie Conroy and Tom Prendergast.

Of course we were all in Cloughjordan for the All-Ireland victory against Clan na Gael in 1983. Magic moments for the Town with special players all over the park.

You won 6 county senior titles, which stands out and why?

1984 was memorable in that it was my first and it came after a draw with a great Ballyroan team. We had some very close battles with the same Ballyroan team around that time.

The win against an excellent up and coming Portarlington team in 1991 was also very memorable. On a blustery day with scores very hard to come by, it was a bit of a rear-guard action with the game finishing 7 points to 5.

I had the honour of being captain on the day. That game was memorable also for the fact that we were plugging so many holes at the back, particularly in the full back line where we always felt the younger brother, playing as a very loose marking full-back, got a handy one that year.

What are your best memories of Leinster campaigns?

The victories of course against Parnells of Dublin after a replay and Baltinglass of Wicklow were two stand-out memories for me. Not so nice was a one point defeat to Ferbane in another Leinster final in Tullamore.

Two other memories during those years were of playing some earlier rounds. Against a Joe Cassells, David Beggy led Navan O’Mahony’s we came from 7 or 8 points down at half-time to win by two with a punched goal in the last minute by Georgie Phelan.

Another memorable team-talk, dressing-down, by Colm Browne, player manager at half-time encouraged an improved performance in the second half.

The hairdryer was invented long before Alex Ferguson came along. We faced a Mick Lyons led Summerhill of Meath in 1986, I think. We drew the first game in Summerhill with a last-minute distance free from James Skinny Fahey securing the draw.

We beat them comfortably in the replay on the bigger O’Moore Park pitch. I found out years later from Mattie Kerrigan that owing to concerns about Summerhill’s fitness levels, they had exited their own championship early and were nominated to represent Meath. They had shortened and narrowed the pitch by 5 yards to try and contain us.

It nearly worked for them, but that team always found a way to get over the line.

Best Portlaoise players you played with and why?

It’s very tough to single out players from my time playing with Portlaoise. I played most of my ball in the half back line so to get to play alongside Colm Browne, Mick Lillis and John Taylor was an education.

The more seasoned, older lads around that time, Mick Mulhall and Mick Dooley, always made sure the young lads were looked after.

And the forward line with Noel and Tom Prendergast, Liam Scully, Atch, he asked me to plug him, and Pat Critchley were unplayable on their day.

Toughest opponent

Trust me they are all tough when you are bang average! Memorable match ups at local club level were with Liam Irwin from Ballyroan and Hughie Emerson of Portarlington.

In a couple of All-Ireland semis, I had a good run-out against Paddy O’Rourke of The Burren, Down, who were an exceptional outfit in the late 80s.

I also remember getting a bit of a chasing from Tony McManus of Clan na Gael, Roscommon, one of the unluckiest club teams around that time, losing a host of All-Ireland Club finals.

What brought you to Dunboyne?

Dunboyne is a small village on the border of Meath and Dublin. I had been studying and working in the greater Dublin area since 1984, so it felt like a manageable commute.

I also had a few friends living in that area. It was a small village then and was as good as anywhere else to pitch up to.

Was it tough leaving Portlaoise?

Of course. I played my last championship match for Portlaoise in 1993. I was 27 at the time and when I reflect on it now, had a bit more to contribute. Others mightn’t agree!

It’s your home club. You are leaving the people who coached and mentored you and gave you a great start in life. You know when you are leaving it’s never going to be better anywhere else.

However, I had been travelling up and down for a few years at that stage and the enjoyment was going out of it a bit.

Do you keep in touch with whats going on at home?

For sure, still dialled in to what’s happening. What the club have achieved over the last 20 years is unbelievable. All my family are still back in the Town and I am up and down quite regularly.

What’s life in Meath like these days?

Dunboyne is a great sporty town. GAA I would say is No. 1 but there are strong traditions around athletics, soccer and cycling. St Peter’s is very much a dual GAA Club. All four adult teams, Senior Hurling and Football, Ladies Football and Camogie, compete at Senior level.

The ladies have been flying the flag recently, winning the All-Ireland junior and Intermediate Club championships in 2015 and 2017 and winning their first Senior Meath title in 2020.

I am still very much involved in GAA activity around the place. Most of my involvement is in helping out with juvenile coaching. I have been part of the Senior Management Team for the last two years.

All of the family are involved in the local club, have all played or are still playing. One of the girls currently plays with Meath ladies, so we have no choice but to shout for her quietly.

Favourite memories of your time with the town

It’s everyone’s dream to win a Senior Club championship and a few of us young lads were lucky to arrive on the scene in the mid 80s and play a small part in a great team.

As you know, Colm was player manager for most if not all of those county final victories in the 80s and early 90s, very much a player and coach ahead of his time.

Other great memories already mentioned earlier were the minor double in 1984 and the trip to Galway for the Hurling Feile in 1980.

You won a Meath Championship in 1998, what was that like?

That final against Oldcastle was a bit of a dogfight, somewhat like that day in 1991 against Portarlington. Nothing beats winning with your own home club.

However, that was a first Senior title for Dunboyne and came just two or three years after they had won the Intermediate title, so huge excitement around the place that year.

Portlaoise V Dunboyne in Leinster SFC 2022, how ya feeling Liam?

I’m feeling like there is another Leinster Club title to be won! You know if you beat Portlaoise in Leinster you are in with a great chance to win something. You know if you lose, the Town is on the move again so win win.