1949

Having lost the inaugural Ulster Junior final to Donegal in 1947, the Orchard county made amends two years later to claim their first major hurling honour.

The July final was held at Corrigan Park and goals proved important for Armagh as they defeated Down 4-7 to 3-3.

It was a big year for Armagh with the county’s minors winning the All-Ireland title, but the hurlers were unable to build on their provincial success.

They were beaten in the semi-final by Clare who eventually went down to a surprise defeat against London in the All-Ireland final in Ennis.

The Ulster champions showed well though against the Banner, losing out 4-6 to 2-3.

Midfielders Walter Lambert and Gerry Lenagh impressed but the Orchard attack couldn’t make the most of their possession.

Interestingly, this was the first game in Ulster that used the new white sliothar with balls up to then usually consisting of a mix of materials.

1965

JUST like for their maiden success, Armagh lost a final two years before claiming the Ulster title.

In 1963 they lost heavily to Antrim, but two years later they defeated Down 3-7 to 4-2 in a good game in Belfast with the late Jimmy Carlisle captaining the side.

That secured an All-Ireland semi-final with Wicklow in August at the Athletic Grounds.

A huge crowd was in attendance and they were treated to a thriller as Armagh prevailed on a 1-14 to 3-8 scoreline.

“The star of the game was pint sized Jim Carlisle, who hurled his heart out at centre half-forward,” the Irish Examiner reported.

Two weeks later they met Roscommon at Croke Park in the ‘home’ All-Ireland final and the Connacht side were easy 6-8 to 1-3 victors. Rossies’ football legend Gerry O’Malley was one of their players on show.

Roscommon would go on to defeat Warwickshire by a point in the All-Ireland final.

1973

ULSTER title number three arrived in 1973 and for the third time it was Down who were the victims in the final. This was a dramatic season. Armagh lost to Down, but then they beat Donegal 6-7 to 3-12 to force a play-off.

Two-time football All-Star Paddy Moriarty helped himself to 1-3 against the Tir Chonaill men while Gerard Devlin and Joe Carlisle excelled in the centre of the pitch. Kevin More helped himself to 2-1.

Armagh got revenge over neighbours Down in the final to lift the trophy, and that set up an All-Ireland semi-final with Kerry in August 1973. The Munster side were too strong though as they ran out 2-9 to 1-7 winners.

1978

THE Ulster Championship may have been suspended in 1978, but it didn’t stop silverware arriving in Armagh as they claimed their first-ever All-Ireland Junior title.

It was a day of double celebration for Jimmy Carlisle’s side as the match also acted as the National Hurling League Division Three final.

The final had been scheduled for September but was pushed back to October at Croke Park. Mayo had prevailed when the sides last met in the Division Three final, but the Ulster men were far too strong as they claimed a 5-15 to 2-6 win.

They had actually trailed 1-4 to 0-2 but Brian McNally and Con Casey helped them regain control and Jim McCormack, Joe Short and John Corvan were ruthless at the other end. Conor McKeown and Frank Mallon also grabbed goals.

1979

ARMAGH made it back-to-back All-Ireland titles with a 2-13 to 2-1 win over Derry.

The Ulster series was again postponed and Derry defeated Louth to reach the final while the Orchard county were handed a walkover.

Omagh rather than Croke Park was the venue for the October 1979 decider and Jimmy Carlise’s side were far too strong.

Strangely, 2-12 of their 2-13 tally came in the first half with Jim McCormack and Con Casey scoring their goals, but they were home and hosed by that stage anyway as they led by 17 points at the interval.

1990

AFTER a period of suspension, the Ulster Championship returned in the early 1980s and Armagh got back into the winners’ enclosure in 1990.

Their final opponents were a Fermanagh side yet to taste provincial success and a big Erne support made its way to Scotstown full of confidence. It was a low-scoring but entertaining affair, and Man of the Match Paul Lappin swung a score over late on to force a replay after both sides managed just nine points.

Armagh had racked up the wides in the drawn encounter, but their eye was in during the replay as they won 3-7 to 1-10 after a strong second half.

The Erne county lost Brendan McKeough to a red card and goals from Michael Donnelly (2) and Frankie Breen secured the title.

The Orchard county couldn’t make the All-Ireland final though as Kilkenny eased to a 3-20 to 1-2 win.

1991

ARMAGH retained the Ulster title with another win over Fermanagh – 2-7 to 1-4.

Scotstown again hosted the final, and the Orchard county produced a fine second-half performance.

With the wind at their back, they raced into a 1-5 to 0-2 lead but their advantage was just three points at the break. Any worries were quelled by Noel Murtagh’s goal with Padraig O’Connor, Sean Hughes, Paul Lappin, Aidan Jordan and Damien Shortt also catching the eye.

Munster champions Tipperary awaited in the semi-final but the Munster men blew them away in Birr to qualify for their fourth consecutive final. Shortt top-scored with two points in the 3-19 to 0-4 loss.

2000

ARMAGH’S last junior silverware came in 2000 – and it was also the only occasion when they converted Ulster success into an All-Ireland title.

Not for the first time, they got the better of Down in the provincial final. Armagh defeated Fermanagh in the semi-final and Down bettered Tyrone, but in the decider the Orchard county prevailed 1-15 to 3-7.

The All-Ireland final against Meath was due to be played on a Tuesday evening in August, but the Orchard county did not want to play the fixture. It was eventually played in mid-September and Armagh were excellent in Clones as they won 1-11 to 1-4.

When they had met in Division Two earlier in the season, Meath had won by 24 points. The Armagh panel had changed a lot by their second meeting but Mattie Lennon was still there and he was Man of the Match.

Paul McCormack’s second half goal killed off a Meath revival as the Orchard county claimed their third All-Ireland title.