Liam McHale Feature: 'Getting sent off in '96 took a big toll on me'

Ballina's Liam McHale has been one of Mayo GAA's most iconic individuals for the past four decades. Here he sits with Michael Gallagher and speaks about the past, the future and everything in between.

'Getting sent off in '96 took a big toll on me'

Almost three decades have passed and a lot of football has been played but former Mayo midfielder Liam McHale still has nightmares about being sent off in the 1996 All-Ireland Final replay against Meath.

McHale, who won eight Connacht titles, one All-Star award and six county championships on the football pitch as well as two National Cups and a Super League title on the basketball court, has just finished a stint in charge of the Mayo Ladies team, is coach of an exciting Ardnaree club side and the man on the line for Gortnor Abbey senior basketball team.

McHale has been coach to the Mayo senior footballers on two occasions, involved with the Roscommon senior squad and team coach when St Brigid's won the All Ireland club title in 2013.

Great friendships have been forged along the way and a lot of fun has been enjoyed, but the niggling memory of the 1996 dismissal never goes away.

"To tell you the truth it pops into the head at least once a week," he explains. McHale was sent to the line along with Meath's Colm Coyle in the early stages of the replayed final after a mass-brawl in front of Hill 16. The Ballina man had been man-of-the-match in the drawn final two weeks earlier and his sending off had a massive impact on the second match which Meath won by a point, 2-9 to 1-11.

“Getting sent off in '96 took a big toll on me and it took me a long time to get over it. How he (referee, Pat McEnaney) picked two players out of 20, I'll never understand.

“The difference between me and Colm Coyle was that Meath won the All-Ireland. If we're in The Burlington after the game and we're champions it's a totally different mindset. Obviously I'd have been a bit disappointed not to have been on the field at the end, but we'd have won, we'd have achieved what we set out to achieve and it would have been a totally different thing.
“It's still in my head. I've walked by McEnaney a few times since and I wouldn't even look at him – I couldn't – and that's not my style. I love people, I love talking, I love getting on with people, but I couldn't even look at him. The frustration of that has never eased.”

Forget 'string-quartet' style football

Mayo must go back to playing heavy metal football and stop trying to be a string quartet according to Liam McHale, who played in four All-Ireland finals and spent two stints coaching the Green and Red.

“In the last few years we've lost the chaos out of our game and that doesn't suit us. We're definitely heavy metal, we don't do the string quartet thing well. We just throw the ball up and get on with it. That's the thing I admired most about James Horan's teams. When everyone in the country was afraid of Dublin, Aidan (O'Shea), Lee (Keegan), Colm Boyle and the boys rolled up the sleeves, gritted the teeth and said 'throw up the ball.' We need to play the way that suits us and forget about other stuff. Don't coach the aggression out of them; don't coach the flair out of them,” the former All-Star states.

The Ballina man says he's excited about Mayo's prospects this year and a new, more adventurous style can reap rewards urges Andy Moran to be brave and says the new manager now has the opportunity to develop a 'Bomb Squad' capable of being unleashed in the closing stages of big games.

“It will take nerve, but I think Andy needs to hold back three really good players on the bench and send them on with 15 minutes to go to finish the game for us. This new game is ideally suited to that. Send out the really athletic guys first to be hugely competitive and keep us in the game and then send in these guys to finish the job.

“Andy and the boys know we've lost so many tight games in the last ten minutes and I think they'll have a real look at doing this. It will take nerve, but they're big enough to do it,” he adds.

Kobe can light up the summer

They've been together on the basketball court with Gortnor Abbey for the past five seasons, so Liam McHale and Kobe McDonald know one another quite well. McHale is impressed with the young man from Crossmolina and believes he can have a big impact on Mayo's summer adventures.

“I've been coaching Kobe for the past five years and I can't say enough good about him. We were training this morning before school and there was nothing spared. He hates losing, even in practise. He lost a scrimmage game this morning and wasn't happy with himself. He has a Roy Keane type temperament, that savagery to get the best of himself and I like that. I like to see how much it means to lads and you need that, but away from the pitch or the court he's the nicest lad you could meet.

“He's not going to Australia 'til the summer, so he'll play with Mayo I'm sure. St Kilda will want him to play and Andy will want him to play – and he'll want to play himself. It's a busy year for him with the Leaving Cert and everything so it's important that there's a lot of enthusiasm and energy, but it's tiring too and Andy will be well aware of that.

“Kobe will be a big addition to Mayo this year. If Andy gets the lads sparking and Kobe then comes into that, anything can happen. The whole thing is wide open this year and I'm really looking forward to seeing how far we can go.”

Robbie's back for a reason

Another talking point addressed by McHale was the return of goalkeeper Robbie Hennelly to the Mayo squad after a year out. The former Mayo coach is delighted to see the Breaffy native back in the Green and Red.

“It's a big addition. I know he has his critics - every footballer has critics - but Andy is no fool and Robbie is there for a reason. He's an excellent long-range kicker.

“If Robbie has six two-point frees from the middle of the field in a game and three of them go over, that's plus six. Three of them might go wide, but Robbie is experienced enough to not let that bother him. Any chance we get around the middle of the field he'll put it down and have a go.

“Kick-outs are almost a lottery at this stage and can go anywhere because there are huge men around the middle of the field now. So Robbie is kicking it out to six-foot four-inch fellas and they have to fight for it. Then, you bring in Kobe and he'll jump up on top of your head to catch a ball.”

FEATURE: The Dome, demographics, integration and Kobe