Steve Duggan was one of a kind

Cavanman's Diary

I first met Steve Duggan 12 years ago, in his bar off 2nd Avenue in Manhattan. It was a mid-week morning; I was in the city researching a book about the 1947 All-Ireland final in the Polo Grounds, the site of which was about eight miles away, along the Harlem River.

It was a typical mid-week morning in a late-night pub; the smell of alcohol in the air, staff tidying up, the usual calm before the storm.

On the walls were photos of famous people who had visited; members of U2, Naomi Campbell, Jimmy Fallon et al.

And beside them, a few old images of Cavan teams, some of which I had never seen before.

I looked at one and recognising some faces, tried to put a year on it. “Is that the 1976 Ulster final?” I asked.

“Would ya shut up!” protested Duggan, hushing me, “I tell them all here that it was ’86!”

He then went to some trouble to gather up all the photos he had in his collection and get them scanned for me in high resolution.

I liked that story and always felt it summed up the Steve Duggan I got to know reasonably well – bon viveur, character, rogue, warm-hearted and a successful athlete in his day. He grew up on the banks of another river of renown, the Annalee, in Ballyhaise.

He modestly told me that he was selected on the Cavan team almost by default – but from what I have heard and read, he was a really special talent. Speaking at an Up For The Match event in Lavey a couple of weeks ago, Duggan’s former teammate Paddy McNamee described him as “one of the best players in the country” in his prime.

“I was coming from Mass on a Sunday morning in Ballyhaise and my brother Mike was selected to play on the Cavan team in Ballinascreen in a Dr McKenna Cup match,” remembered Steve, “and Gabriel Kelly was coming out to pick up Mike, but Mike was gone back to England.

“So Kelly pulls up, he had Tony Morris with him, and says he ‘come on to Ballinascreen, bring your stuff’. I was only about 17 at the time.

“So I hopped in and either Cavan hadn’t a full team or someone got injured, I can’t remember, but I got on anyway. That was my first introduction.

“I think it was a draw that day and I came on in the replay in Breffni Park and I scored two points or something, and that’s how I got on the Cavan team.”

Duggan, though, would more than prove his worth in the blue jersey; he would go on to win Ulster medals in 1967 and 1969 and would play for the county right up until 1979. He made his name as an earth-scorching wing-forward and would go on to win a Railway Cup medal with Ulster in 1970 and make a name as one of the most electrifying attackers in the game.

In ’67, Duggan and Micheál Greenan were the speedsters in the Cavan attack as the Blues stormed through Ulster – and, it’s often said, left an All-Ireland behind them. Duggan and Greenan would swap wings, an innovation at the time, and defences struggled to contain them.

It had been well flagged; after Cavan beat Down in a challenge game in February of that year, the report on these pages stated: “The Down defenders were leaden-footed in comparison to the speedy running of the Cavan wingers, Micheál Greenan and Steve Duggan.”

Duggan was box office, a darling of the crowd and something of an enfant terrible. He started travelling to the Big Apple in the early '70s to play for Cavan (“I don’t think we got any money but they’d pay your airfare, you’d get a couple of dollars maybe but it was great at the time, to get a trip like that”) and would relocate fully when his playing days ended.

Back in the late '60s, though, it was all new.

“I remember when I was playing for Cavan in the beginning, on Saturday night in the house in Ballyhaise, I’d be putting on my football boots and togs to make sure everything was right. I’d be running up and down the hall of the house, my mother and father thought I was mad! I wanted to make sure everything was spot on.

“Then if Cavan were playing a league match in Breffni Park, we’d go down to the Farnham Hotel or the Ulster Arms at the time for a meal afterwards and then I’d put on my running gear and run around the field behind the house. I was probably doing myself more harm then good but I just couldn’t wait.

“I suppose we didn’t know how to train right at the time. If anyone saw you stretching back in ‘67 or ‘68 they’d think you were mad in the head.”

Winning Ulster Championships in ’67 and ’69 and medals in Wembley in ’66 - a few weeks after England had togged out in the same dressing-rooms before their World Cup final win over West Germany - and ’67 were highlights, but football also helped Duggan forge a career in music and entertainment.

I always got the impression that he still retained a child-like verve and enthusiasm. An odd time, I spoke to him on the phone or in person and he was full of fun and devilment.

At one time, he had the idea of holding a reunion of the Cavan team of the 1960s at Wembley Stadium, where they had enjoyed some famous victories. It didn’t come to pass – maybe it was too ambitious or, most likely, Steve just didn’t follow through with it – but it was indicative of the passion he still retained for Cavan and the way he was wired, always looking to sprinkle some stardust.

While he never forgot his roots (even his email address was stevefromcavan@gmail.com), he was comfortable in celebrity circles; his partner for many years right up until his sudden passing was Tina Moore, who was married to England’s World Cup-winning captain Bobby and is a high-profile figure in her own right.

Twenty years ago, Steve ran the Dublin marathon while soloing a football in order to fundraise for charity. To raise awareness, he completed a lap of the pitch during half-time in the All-Ireland semi-final between Fermanagh and Mayo, waving to the crowd, ever the showman.

During that marathon, a couple of friends of mine were taking part and really struggling when they saw Steve, 35 years their senior, gliding along, the O’Neill’s Size 5 in his hands, about to pass them out. Embarrassed, they found another gear and managed to get over the line. I told Steve that one and he hooted with laughter.

Steve passed away a fortnight ago and the news was greeted with real sadness in his native Cavan. He was one of a kind and will be sorely missed; may he rest in peace.