The sight of the 1983 All Ireland football "nal on TG4 lately prompted Sideline Cuts to wonder if that Galway team were the worst beaten "nalists of modern times. Backed by a second-half gale and facing a Dublin team with two players fewer, they missed a succession of easy chances, ended up scoring 1-8 and lost by two points.

Then we checked the record books and were reminded the Dubs themselves managed an underwhelming 1-6 against Kerry 12 months later. Of course, the faults and failings of both Galway '83 and Dublin '84 pale into insigni"cance when compared with those of another, more recent teamf TOUCHING TRIBUTE FROM A CORK MAN?

There are a lot of nice touches and memories in Finbarr McCarthy's 'Great GAA Moments of 2006', published by Mentor Books, but possibly the nicest is his tribute to DJ Carey. "DJ was the GAA's first gilt-edged superstar, as he played the game in a media-driven era;

Ring, Mackey and Rackard did not have to contend with the countless previews and reviews, quotes and misquotes; they played the game almost without intrusion". That's big, coming from a proud Cork man, and a proud Glen Rovers man.

EITHER LOOKALIKES OR LACK OF A SOCIAL LIFE Maybe it's because we don't get out except for GAA matches, but when we saw The Wind That Shakes The Barley, some of its characters reminded us of those in Gah-land.

Doesn't that little Chris Reilly look "erce like Gooch? Doesn't the conviction of Cillian Murphy's character remind you of Donal Og Cusack? Doesn't that Teddy Donovan look a lot like Derek Kavanagh?

And that girlfriend of Cillian's; did she ever stop moaning ? We were waiting for her to go, "It's a disgrace, that Donal Og didn't get an All Star" at any moment.

GREAT GAA HEADLINES YOU'VE NEVER SEEN "Announcement of All Star selections greeted with indifference."

Compiled by Kieran Shannon and Enda McEvoy