Battle of Omagh
Event | 2006 National Football League | ||||||
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Date | 5 February 2006 | ||||||
Venue | Healy Park, Omagh | ||||||
Referee | Paddy Russell (Tipperary) | ||||||
Attendance | 12,000[1] |
The "Battle of Omagh"
The highlights of the match included the
The name "Battle of Omagh" was later applied to the same fixture in 2020.
Background
Dublin and Tyrone were meeting for the first time since the quarter-final of the 2005 All-Ireland SFC, played at Croke Park the previous August.[5] That game had gone to a replay,[6] which Tyrone won by a scoreline of 2–18 to 1–14.[7][8]
The 2006 National Football League game between Dublin and Tyrone was a Division 1A Round 1 fixture, the opening game of league's top division campaign.[7] The game was broadcast live to a national television audience on TG4.[4]
Tyrone named ten members of the team that had played in the
Match
Summary
In the fourth minute of the game the first of several mass brawls occurred and involved as many as eighteen players.[5] Referee Paddy Russell restricted himself to two yellow cards, issued to Dublin player Alan Brogan and to Tyrone player Brian Meenan.[1]
The game's first quarter featured four scores, among them
The second half featured two brawls.[11] One of the brawls spread off the pitch, and Dublin manager Paul Caffrey beckoned his substitutes down from the stand.[11]
Within nine minutes of the restart, Dublin had drawn level.[1] Tyrone conceded a penalty kick, which Quinn converted.[1] However, a further brawl led to Dublin's Alan Brogan and Tyrone's Colin Holmes being issued with red cards and they both had to leave the field of play.[1]
Within twenty-three minutes of the restart, Tyrone player O'Neill had received a second yellow card, meaning he too had to leave the field of play.[1] Tyrone player Gerard Cavlan sustained an injury, necessitating his departure from the game.[1] It was Bryan Cullen who put Dublin ahead for the first time in the game.[1] Quinn converted two more frees, giving his team a three-point lead.[1] Tyrone made a substitution, sending Peter Donnelly onto the field. Donnelly would score his team's only point of the second half.[1] Dublin player David Henry scored the ultimate point for his team.[1] Quinn's contribution of 1–7 helped Dublin to victory, though he also missed on numerous occasions.[1]
Dublin's Denis Bastick and Tyrone's Stephen O'Neill both received second yellow cards.[5] Bastick was in his second year on the Dublin panel.[7]
Referee Paddy Russell also issued fourteen yellow cards (eight of which were given to Dublin players and six of which were given to Tyrone players).[5] Stewarts had to lead Russell from the field of play after the game had concluded, owing to the vituperation of spectators who were attending the game.[5] The referee called it a "frightening" experience.[11] He thought about abandoning the game, though ultimately he did not.[11] He also thought about ending his career as a referee.[11]
Tyrone manager
Details
5 February 2006 Round 1 |
Tyrone | 1–06 (9) – (12) 1–09 | Dublin | Healy Park, Omagh Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Paddy Russell (Tipperary) |
Aftermath
RTÉ broadcast highlights of the game.[4] The events featured on the front pages of the newspapers, as well as the back pages.[12] GAA president Seán Kelly called upon the Central Disciplinary Committee (CDC) to review the game as "a matter of urgency".[4][14]
The following day, 6 February, the referee Russell submitted his match report.[4] It had an addendum stating that Dublin player Alan Brogan had been issued with a second yellow card and not a straight red card, as had until then been thought.[4] The report said that "the sideline [official]" reported Holmes as having committed a "striking with the fist", that this was why he had been sent from the field of play and that he had received the only straight red card of the match.[4]
The CDC met on 8 February.[4] The following day, the CDC banned Holmes for four weeks but confirmed it was continuing to examine footage of the game.[4] The referee was contacted and enquiries were made about nine players.[4] On 11 February, the referee responded by sending a letter, while the CDC also met again.[4] One week on from the Battle of Omagh, and a Dublin team featuring Alan Brogan lost unexpectedly to Monaghan in their next NFL game at home in Parnell Park, while Tyrone (minus the suspended Holmes) also lost their next game, against Fermanagh.[4][7]
On 14 February, the CDC called nine players, five of whom were Dubliners, before it, for the following Saturday, 18 February.
Dublin's full-back Barry Cahill later said: "We wanted to win the game but we wanted to mix it up as well where possible, so we were probably happy enough coming home on the bus… There was definitely a different feel to it… When we got back training, say in December time, we had that fixture ingrained into us… and even the week of training leading into that game. We knew that we were going up to try and lay down a marker… Maybe we were the ones that instigated it and brought that edge and helped create that bit of tension around the place".[12] Cahill also blamed the layout of the stadium for creating the conditions for what had occurred during the game.[12]
Years later, Dublin's so-called "Blue Book"[14] had details from it leaked, including that the team intended the game in Omagh to be "a day when we crossed the line together like a Dublin squad hasn't done in years". Dublin "wanted to get one over on Tyrone, which they did that day and that was their target to win the game and they did that and maybe by whatever means possible".[11]
Legacy
Before the
The name was later applied to the same National Football League fixture
In 2022,
Gallery
-
Denis Bastick was sent off for Dublin.
-
Stephen O'Neill was sent off for Tyrone.
See also
- Other 21st-century games with a "Battle" title
- Battle of Bramall Lane, a 2002 (English) First Division soccer match
- Battle of Old Trafford, a 2003 (English) Premier League soccer match
- Battle of the Buffet, a 2004 (English) Premier League soccer match
- Battle of Nuremberg, a 2006 FIFA World Cup soccer match
- Battle of Brookvale, a 2011 (Australian) National Rugby League match
- Battle at Bristol, a 2016 (American) college football game
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Dublin versus Tyrone descends into riot". RTÉ. 5 February 2006.
- ^ Roche, Frank (12 March 2022). "Battle of Omagh with a modern twist: Blues crave another statement of defiance in home of the champions". Irish Independent.
- ^ Reid, Philip (11 February 2017). "Dublin v Tyrone – five blasts from the past". The Irish Times.
An infamous affair which became known as the 'Battle of Omagh', the bad blood from the previous autumn was carried into the following year's spring encounter at Healy Park for the start of the National League.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Battle of Omagh: How the Tyrone-Dublin saga unfolded". Irish Independent. 16 February 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g "On this day: 'Battle of Omagh'". RTÉ. 5 February 2021.
- ^ "Croker Park thriller ends in stalemate". RTÉ. 13 August 2005. Archived from the original on 15 August 2005.
- ^ a b c d "Roles reversed in the battle of Omagh". 20 July 2018.
- ^ Conlon, Tommy (28 August 2005). "Tyrone on revenge mission". Sunday Independent.
- ^ "Tyrone name strong side for Dublin clash". RTÉ. 2 February 2006.
- ^ "Tyrone name experimental League panel". RTÉ. 2 February 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Nolan, Pat (19 July 2018). "Tyrone's Conor Gormley remembers being first-hand at the Battle of Omagh".
- ^ a b c d "Battle of Omagh with a modern twist: Blues crave another statement of defiance in home of the champions". 12 March 2022.
Never has one post-match quote — Mickey Harte's famous 'If Paddy Russell had been God Almighty, he couldn't have refereed the game today' — been recycled so often.
- ^ Cummiskey, Gavin (18 July 2018). "Tyrone prepare Healy Park defences to repel Dublin attack". The Irish Times.
- ^ a b c d e "The 10 Greatest Sagas In GAA History". Balls.ie. 14 October 2021.
- ^ a b O'Connor, Colm (20 February 2006). "Counties consider appealing 'Battle of Omagh' penalties". Irish Examiner.
- ^ "The Battle of Omagh — "It was only handbags… we got the green light to do whatever we wanted". Up for the Match. 1 September 2018.
- The42.ie.
- ^ Corry, Michael (2 March 2020). "Divisional Talking Points: Battle Of Omagh Part II Overshadows Tyrone Win". Pundit Arena.
- ^ Whelan, Nathan (2 March 2020). "Owen Mulligan recalls famous 'battle of Omagh' & questions Dublin discipline".
- ^ Healy, Martin (2 March 2020). "Dessie Farrell is certain that Dublin's defeat to Tyrone should've been called off".
- ^ "This is incredible… Storm Jorge is causing absolute havoc!". eir Sport. 29 February 2020.
- ^ Whelan, Nathan (1 March 2020). "Dublin & Tyrone exchange haymakers in half-time tunnel brawl".
- ^ Roche, Frank (22 July 2022). "'Battle of Omagh was handbags — Meath v Mayo was a proper row' — How Pat McEnaney became the man in the middle for Kerry v Galway in 2000". Irish Independent.