An unusual scene was witnessed in Co Tyrone last month as two parishes united to mourn the death of Declan Quinn, a noted Carrickmore footballer, who reared his family in Ballygawley following his marriage to Errigal Ciaran native Margaret Farrell in 1979.
The sight of a Carrickmore jersey on top of Declan’s coffin as it was carried down Ballygawley’s main street might have seemed incongruous given the great rivalry between the clubs. However, a closer look revealed that it all made perfect sense.
Declan, or ‘Molloy’ as he was known to many, was born into a family with Carrickmore football in its DNA.
His father Mickey was a star of his era, winning senior championships in 1949 and 1961. He was a member of the celebrated Tyrone team of 1956 and possessed a gifted left foot.
Declan’s uncle Jack Kettle, brother of his mother Evelyn, was also a colossus at midfield in the 1940s and ‘50s and a championship winner in 1949. Then there was his uncle Harry Kelly, a ‘49 winner too. The names have echoed through the ages of Carmen footballing folklore.
It was no surprise, therefore, that Declan would write his own unique chapter as he became part of the historic Carrickmore ‘three-in-a-row’ team of 1977-79.
Despite being one of the youngest members of the squad, he set numerous games alight – most notably an Ulster clash with Ballybofey in Pomeroy in 1977, and a man of the match performance in the Tyrone final the following year. He recalled those days with fondness last November when he and teammates enjoyed a night of celebration of their triple success.
In his last couple of seasons with Carrickmore, Declan would bring his young sons Stephen and Paul to training and matches. They would be handed a ball to kick about by the club groundsman and their great uncle, Harry Kelly, and at home they played in the kitchen under a photo of their father’s team. But along with their younger sisters, Cara and Nuala, they would make their own history as players with Errigal Ciaran and experience the white heat of the two clubs’ rivalry of the 1990s and 2000s.
The lifeblood of the GAA remains parish rivalry. It is tribal and at times warlike but there is no other way. It is only painful defeat to neighbours that allows us to truly experience the joy of success.
With a wife and four children in the other camp, Declan remained steadfast to his own club when it was perhaps easier to defer. He was always able to walk a steady path.
And it was no doubt similar qualities of steadfastness that he brought to family life following the death of his beloved wife in October 2000. He was somehow able to find equilibrium between past and present.
As Declan’s own remains left his home for the last time on April 12, former teammates fell into ranks at each side of the coffin adorned in the green of Carrickmore. As they had stood together on the fields of Tyrone in the 1970s and 80s, they stood together again. Approaching the chapel, it was then the turn of Errigal Ciaran players, past and present. The clubs choreographed proceedings, in conjunction with Paudge Quinn, to the last detail.
Following the funeral Mass mourners mixed freely, united by the passing of a relatively young man who had suffered enough in the past and had so much more to live for. On a human level we can learn much from the scenes we witnessed that day.
Declan will be remembered as a talented footballer, a loving husband, a caring father and grandfather, a dedicated psychiatric nurse, as well as a man who triumphed against adversity on and off the field of play.