Football

Jim McCorry puts cancer scare and Down disappointment behind him and looks forward to role in Armagh management team

Former Kilcoo manager Jim McCorry says he hopes to add some value to the Armagh backroom team
Former Kilcoo manager Jim McCorry says he hopes to add some value to the Armagh backroom team Former Kilcoo manager Jim McCorry says he hopes to add some value to the Armagh backroom team

KIERAN McGeeney first invited Jim McCorry to join his Armagh management team last year.

‘Geezer’ had played under McCorry in the 1990s and had seen the Lurgan native go on to success with Down clubs Mayobridge and Kilcoo, so he knew well that his former mentor would be a valuable asset to the Orchard county.

What McGeeney didn’t know, very few people did, was that McCorry had been diagnosed with cancer and was preparing for an operation the following week. The invitation was put on hold until McCorry recovered and, when that happened, McGeeney asked again and this time his offer was gratefully accepted.

“Geezer met me last year when the cancer came through and I was going in for an operation which he obviously wasn’t aware of,” McCorry explained.

“We were talking about football and he asked me to come in. I told him what was happening and in fairness to Geezer he said: ‘Your health is the most important thing, get that sorted out and maybe next year, if you’re interested in coming in, we would love to have you in’.

“True to his word, Geezer contacted me and asked me to come in and I was happy to do that.”

After six seasons with Kildare, former Armagh star McGeeney was snapped up as assistant to then Orchard county manager Paul Grimley in 2014. ‘Geezer’ used that season to bed in and took control when Grimley stepped down, but McCorry explains that there will be no baton-change this time.

“I’m coming in to work with Kieran McGeeney, I’m not coming in with any aspirations to be Armagh manager or to take on any other county,” he said.

“My role is to work with Kieran, the rest of the management team and the players that are there for whatever period of time Kieran wants me to be there.”

McCorry says he is “buzzing with excitement” ahead of next season. His most recent foray into inter-county management – a season with Down – ended controversially in 2015 despite his team securing promotion to Division One.

He had the clubs’ support, but the Down County Board’s executive committee passed a vote of no-confidence in him, so McCorry walked away saying his position was “untenable”. Like the cancer, all that is behind him now.

“When you have something as serious as cancer you are always reluctant to say ‘I’m all clear’,” he explains.

“My scans are clear, I’m healthy at the minute and I feel great and I’m buzzing with excitement about getting back in and coaching at inter-county level again with Armagh.

“My cancer experience is the same as the whole Down experience. You forget it, it's all history, they’re all things I can do nothing about and I just look forward.

“That’s the attitude I’ve always had in football. When you lose games or you lose championships you learn and you move forward. With health and with football that’s what I intend to do – move forward.”

He feels that Armagh football is moving forward too. After years of Crossmaglen dominance on the club scene, the county’s senior championship title has changed hands over the last three seasons and McCorry says: “It’s nice to see a powerbase change and other teams coming through.”

He added: “We saw that with Armagh Harps this year and Maghery last year, other teams are taking championships and it’s great from a supporters’ point of view.

“It’s giving clubs a bit of confidence to develop players who are going to benefit the senior team. “We’d like to see the balance of power change in Ulster and also further afield and it’s up to teams to try and shift the dominant teams. You have to try and make the difference yourself and that’s what I intend to help achieve with Armagh.”