'One of the greatest points ever scored.'
Footage re-surfaced recently of the iconic volley scored by Wexford's Redmond Barry in the 2008 National League against Limerick.
The audacity, the nonchalance, the skill...there's no denying that Barry's effort is one of the most bewilderingly brilliant scores we’ve ever seen.
It was his former Wexford team-mate Adrian Flynn who posted the video and for Barry, the point always brings back great memories.
“It was just slagging in the dressing room afterwards," he said.
"We drew that game with Limerick and I remember Matty Forde giving out to me after saying I should have caught it and scored a goal! You’d do well to get credit off those boys,” he laughs.
Tough crowd.
Watch the score in all its glory here.
One of the greatest points ever scored….@ReddBarry pic.twitter.com/qWVB5EDjUI
— Adrian Flynn (@Panthero84) October 2, 2024
That Wexford team of the 2000s was a memorable one and it’s fitting that three of their most memorable players were involved in the build-up to Barry’s strike.
Adrian Flynn was no stranger to a moment of wizardry and his ball into Ciaran Lyng was perfect.
Lyng, who played underage soccer for Ireland and senior soccer down the leagues in England, dropped the ball in, and then Barry did the rest.
His non-plussed reaction stands out and as the years passed by, Barry still remembers why, despite having scored an absolute beauty, he didn't celebrate at all.
“I remember at the time going ‘f*ck it anyway, Jesus I should have got that on target, I should have got a goal there," says Barry, the St Anne's club-man who played dual for the county in 2005.
“When you’re running, it’s hard to judge where it’s going.
"I don’t know why I didn’t catch it, I don’t know why I swung my leg on it but at the time, it never dawned on me to catch it.
"I suppose Ciaran’s shot had been blocked down and it kind of dropped down perfectly for me to take a volley at it.
“I just jogged out then like nothing had happened because I suppose I was thinking maybe I should have got a goal there.
A few other lads were looking around them alright like what just happened there kind of thing.”
Wexford had a brilliant team and 2008 was arguably their peak, winning Division Three of the National League before reaching that year's Leinster final. Dublin beat them well in the provincial decider but they bounced back, overcoming Down and Armagh to make the All-Ireland semi-final.
A Sean Cavanagh inspired Tyrone had their measure, winning out by 0-23 to 1-14 in the last four but those were heady days for the county's footballers.
“Ciaran, Matty, there were some very talented flair players in that team," says Barry.
"We were maybe just a player or two off of getting over the line.
"We competed and all the rest but we had a great bond between us, great friendships made, no medals to show for it – you’d wonder sometimes whether it’d be better to have all the medals and a quiet dressing room or a dressing room like we had and no medals.
“But we certainly enjoyed it anyway. A lot of us are still in contact, we’d meet up, go out for a few pints and it’s just like it was all those years ago when we were back in the dressing room.
"Still ripping into each other."
No matter what happens, Barry can always pull out that video as the trump card!
