David McAlister has provided a huge amount of new information on the Branagan Cup page, and we’re now down to just seven seasons where we’re not sure of the winners. There are also many more details of winning teams and matches.
One discrepancy that showed up concerns the 1977 final between Dundrum and Dublin, previously covered here (DisinformatorTM, Dec 24, 2011) based on Seán Terry’s stirring account of the deciding game. That account had Dundrum winning on board count. But David found reports in the Irish Times and Irish Press indicating that Dundrum actually won 3½-2½ and that the deciding Terry-Frain game was played on board 4 rather than board 6 (though they differ slightly on board order).
Further corroborating information comes from J.J. Walsh’s scorebook, which gives the scorecard along with his game against Eugene Curtin (a short draw).
The full scorecard therefore seems most likely to be (as David gave):
| Dundrum | Dublin | |
| T. Harding | ½ – ½ | A. Spillane |
| E. Curtin | ½ – ½ | J. J. Walsh |
| J. Griffin | 0 – 1 | J. Brennan |
| J. Frain | ½ – ½ | S. Terry |
| J. Prendiville | 1 – 0 | G. Gaden |
| G. McDonagh | 1 – 0 | J. W. Hackett |
| 3½ – 2½ |
So Terry-Frain was indeed the crucial game: had Seán won, Dublin would have won on board count.
There are similarities with this year’s final: the winners achieved their victory by sweeping the lower boards.
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