Kilcoo by the grace of God:
One of the most enjoyable sit-down interviews in 2020 was with Kilcoo and Down’s Paul Devlin prior to his club’s All-Ireland final with Corofin – and pre-Covid. Paul painted a vivid picture of exactly what it means to hail from Kilcoo.
“The club itself and the people around it, you’ve so much time for them and they’ve so much time for you,” Paul said. “To win things and to give them days out in different places and to celebrate, it unites us. It gives a lot of memories to the people of Kilcoo that will be with them forever.”
Not so much as a clock for Joe:
“I was very annoyed about it. Like, I’m a big boy. You know, 20 years, being such a strong part of the public conversation. I didn’t even get a f***king clock!” – Joe Brolly reflects on his lack of going-away present from RTÉ after being unveiled as one of eir Sport’s new pundits earlier in the year.
Best inter-county retirement interview:
Retirement interviews certainly have a candidness they don’t have when a player is still playing at the top level. Cavan’s Cian Mackey, one of the brightest players of his generation, felt the focus in the modern game was all wrong.
“I think a big problem in the GAA is they go by GPS stats,” said Mackey.
“You can lose a game in 30 minutes because something’s not working and you can’t wait until half-time for Mickey Graham to tell you what to do… If you don’t give the ball away, you’ll be fine.”
Build Casement:
WHEN there was a growing number of people arguing that rebuilding Casement Park wasn’t worth the hassle, Declan Lynch launched an impassioned appeal.
“We are way over a 1,000 days since planning has been lodged,” said the Antrim senior football captain.
“During that time we’ve already lost a generation of kids that should have had the chance to play at Casement Park.
“But we’ve come this far and to turn back now and downsize would be wrong and would be giving way to the negative publicity Casement has received.”
In October, the west Belfast venue finally got the green light from the Stormont Executive.
Stars forever:
ALTHOUGH they didn’t get to play the last round of the Super League because of Covid, basketballers Star of the Sea claimed their first national league title in 21 years in dramatic circumstances. Before the pandemic intervened, Conor Quinn’s miraculous half-court basket against Neptune right on the buzzer was an incredible moment in Irish basketball history.
But their fate still wasn’t known after the win due to an off-court player eligibility dispute involving Tralee Warriors. A couple of weeks later and with Covid closing in, it was announced by Basketball Ireland that the Belfast side were champions. Take a bow coach Adrian Fulton.
WhatsApp and Netflix:
AS the first lockdown back in March came in with full force, Terence McNaughton struck the right chord in dealing with social media and how to stay safe in uncertain times.
The inimitable Cushendall man said: “What I need to do is start deleting the WhatsApp groups. I’m serious. Social media is bad for your health…
“Our parents’ generation, they were being shot at during the Troubles – whereas we’re sent to the sofa to watch Netflix. What’s required of people is very, very little – self-isolate, wash your hands, social distance, don’t be going to the shop every five minutes. Is that too much to ask to protect each other?”
Worst journey ever:
LOCAL footballer Bobby Burns managed to get the last flight out of Australia back in March. Forty hours later he was back in his family home in Crumlin, self-isolating in his bedroom and reflecting on his hugely enjoyable but short-lived time with A League outfit Newcastle Jets. Bobby later signed for Glentoran only to suffer a horrific leg break in November. A year to forget for the affable defender. No better man to bounce back.
From the community, part of the community:
THE Antrim footballers and hurlers weren’t found wanting in the early days of the pandemic after donating £3,000 of their expenses to food banks around the county – a figure that was matched by the county board.
The £6,000 was evenly distributed among food shelters in west Belfast (Upper Andersonstown Community Forum), Randalstown (JAM food bank) and Ballycastle food bank.
A sunny Saturday afternoon with Patrick:
ONE of the great things about the year of the pandemic was uncovering another layer to some inter-county players. I didn’t spend many better Saturday afternoons on the phone than with Armagh defender Patrick Burns. Few summed up the life-affirming aspects of the pandemic better than the Forkhill native.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that this is nature getting back at us and telling us that we need to change our ways, although I would like to take it that way but I don’t necessarily think that’s the cause,” he said.
“I do think that it’s an opportunity to take stock of how we were all living and whether that’s sustainable. And I’m not even talking about the environment, just generally: family life, community life, those kind of things…
“[But] If we were losing sight of what was important in our pursuit of material goals, that’s not really going to get us anywhere – and it’s certainly not going to bring us happiness.”
Well said, Patrick.
A character of the road:
WELL-KNOWN handballer Alec Fitzpatrick was one of the first casualties of Covid19. The west Belfast man was one of life’s great characters. In later life, Alec suffered the ravaging effects of Alzheimer’s disease. He was 87 when he passed away in Our Lady’s Nursing Home in west Belfast.
Alec left a glowing impression on everyone he met. He was a local legend. A story-teller. An entertainer. A deeply intelligent man. Thanks to the Fitzpatrick family, Noel Ferran and Gerry Clarke for piecing together the life of Alec Fitzpatrick.
Biggest achievement:
DUNGANNON Clarkes winning their first Tyrone SFC title in 64 years. Scenes. Incredible.
Worst performance:
MONAGHAN’S disastrous second-half display against Cavan in the Ulster SFC preliminary round at Clones. Monaghan should have been out of sight at half-time but missed a bucket-load of chances. In the second half, they were absolutely dreadful and allowed Cavan to chip away at their seven-point lead. Armagh's performance against Donegal ran Monaghan's close.
Worst lockdown challenge:
Playing keepy-ups with toilet rolls in your front room.
Most active sports club during lockdown:
MUST’VE been Newry City. Take a bow Darren Mullen for keeping a community’s spirits up in hard times.
Best score of the Championship:
RAYMOND Galligan’s monster free that sailed between Monaghan’s posts in the dying embers of extra-time. A fairytale was born.
Ditch it:
THE attacking ‘mark’ in Gaelic football. It is cheating the game itself.
Weirdest journey:
MOST match-day car journeys in the Ulster Championship but particularly the trip to Clones for the Monaghan-Cavan game. The straight road into the old market town with not a sinner around was surreal.
Best documentary:
Mick Foley’s Bloody Sunday documentary screened on RTE. Majestically told and an education about the events of that fateful day in Dublin.
Biggest regret:
No cul camps in many northern counties.
Face of an angel:
Camille Murray, daughter of Antrim footballer Conor Murray. Baby Camille had to undergo heart surgery in Dublin at the height of the pandemic. Somehow, Conor and wife Laura gave Covid the slip and managed to usher Camille into the safe arms of the surgeons at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin, Dublin. Camille continues to thrive.
Shutting out the light:
GAA President John Horan delivering one of the bleakest assessments in the early throes of the pandemic, insisting that social distancing would wreck any notion of a Championship. Thankfully, he was wrong.
Best lockdown TV:
WITHOUT doubt, BBC’s World Cup rewind. For several afternoons, when there was no ‘live’ sport whatsoever, viewers were treated to archive highlights of Brazil v Italy (1982 World Cup) and Brazil v France (1986 World Cup).
Lockdown laughs:
OUR lockdown Q&As with some inter-county figures went down a treat. Finnian Moriarty’s dry wit on his lockdown routine was arguably the greatest hit. It went something like this: ‘Up. Read up on Donald Trump's latest exploits via the failing New York Times.
‘Watch the kids get home-schooled by their mother. Drink 4 cups of tea and 2 coffee. Train for a ridiculously long amount of time.
‘Check Strava to see what my split times were on my latest run, again. Look at social media and lament the amount of challenges that I have been tagged in.
‘Forget about challenges and remember that thing I read about social contagion and justify not doing the challenge in my own head. Catch up on WhatsApp messages and get into about six conversations at the one time and then set my phone down for some reason and leave everybody hanging.
‘Try to get the kids to play some form of sport with me, and then annoy them so much trying to correct their technique that they leave the garden and go and tell their mum on me. Eat dinner and then relax. And of course in between all this I am 'working from home' constantly.’
Best photograph:
FORMER Crossmaglen footballer Aaron Cunningham looking across Hudson River towards Freedom Tower and the Manhattan skyline. The image conveyed the silence of New York City due to Covid.
Best piece of writing:
SHANE McNaughton’s first-person piece on the positive impact of lockdown. From the heart and a work of art.
Voices of Solitude:
WITH the old Irish League ground’s turnstiles closed for months on end, several Cliftonville fans penned what Solitude meant to them. Each account was heartfelt, none more so than Chris Donnelly’s. Here’s an abbreviated version of Chris’s fine prose.
“Living without that familiar Saturday feeling and experience has only enhanced my own sense of appreciation for the precious role filled by sport in my own life.
“Solitude may be rough round the edges, but it is home. I miss the crumbling edifice that is the old stand, with its animated understand characters adding flavour and spice to the day’s proceedings on the big game occasions…There are no seat numbers in Solitude, yet tradition compels me to seek out the same row of seats alongside Cathal and Mickey (two fellow teachers) and their kids for each fixture…
“From our perched position in the McAlery Stand I observe the procession of familiar faces making their way through the solitary entrance point for all Reds fans to their seats… [the] raised voices, laughs and smiles from my childhood and later life experiences.
“The taste of victory is all the sweeter when following a team for whom success has always been a relative concept. I have been faithfully bringing my son to Reds matches since his first live football experience as a five-year old in January 2013 got him hooked on the Red Army. Those early heady years gave him a misleading impression of Cliftonville’s place in local football, and in the intervening period he has become more accustomed to disappointment, making him appreciate more fully the little victories when the whistle blows and the crowd erupts. A lesson for life.”
Best club championship:
Antrim SHC by a country mile. Honourable mentions to the Rossa hurlers and back-to-back champions Dunloy.
The pursuit of excellence:
Michael Armstong of O’Donovan Rossa hurlers. Each day Rossa played and enthralled the [restricted] crowd, at the heart of their play was the indomitable Armstrong. An utterly brilliant hurler.
A legend that would make Cú Chulainn jealous:
DOMHNALL Nugent’s one-armed show for the St John’s hurlers in their unforgettable Antrim SHC semi-final against Loughgiel Shamrocks. The Johnnies were pipped at the death, but the legend of Dunsilly will outlive us all.
Antrim's three in a row:
ERIN’S Own, Cargin managed to problem-solve their way to victory against Kickham’s Creggan in a titanic battle at a resplendent Portglenone. Take a bow Damian Cassidy.
Hurling country:
WATCHING the two instalments of the Down SHC final between Portaferry and Ballycran under a beautiful winter's sun in Ballygalget on the Ards peninsula. And just watching Portaferry manager Gary Smyth live every second of both games was a joy, especially having lost his dad a few days before the first game. Portaferry ended their six-year wait for the Jeremiah McVeagh Cup and denied 'Cran three-in-a-row. Two lions of the peninsula.
Worst miss:
CONOR Hourihane fluffing his lines from a few yards out in the Republic of Ireland's ill-fated Euro play-off semi-final against Slovakia. Aaaggghhhh.
Worst banner:
THE one that was erected at the gates of the Grove Playing Fields in north Belfast at the height of summer, insisting that Gaelic Games were not welcome. Watching political unionism engage in ‘whataboutery’ was as tragic as it was predictable.
The passing of a football God:
“Today even the ball, the most inclusive, shared of toys, feels alone, inconsolably weeping for the loss of its owner, its master. All of those who love football, real football, cry with it. And those of us who knew him will cry even more… Goodbye, great captain.” - There was no better tribute paid to the late Diego Maradona than his 1986 World Cup winning team-mate, Jorge Valdano.
I have a dream:
“To provide opportunities for different communities so they get to know each other. It would be great to see young kids from all backgrounds all mixing and making friends with each other and growing up playing sport together." - David McGreevy as East Belfast GAC was launched in the middle of the pandemic.
Worst lockdown restriction:
THE Irish Football Association insisting that kids couldn’t play with a football during training sessions.
The lost childhoods:
LOCAL solicitor Stephen Atherton standing up for children when others stayed silent. The father-of-five continues to challenge the Executive’s broad brushstrokes approach and the continued prohibition on children playing outdoor sport. With nobody able to provide compelling data to support the ban on grassroots sport, Stephen has argued the case forcefully and with plenty of passion to see kids return to play.
In his latest interview with The Irish News, he said: “If you’re taking away someone’s right to work, which they’re doing to small businesses, they’re being compensated. But you can’t give a child back part of their childhood.”
The sweetest sound:
CLOSING your eyes and listening to the screams and shouts of the St Malachy’s Girls team upon their all-too-brief return to playing football in 2020.
Too far north:
ANTRIM well and truly called the Waterford footballers’ bluff when they point-blank refused to travel to the ‘Wee Six’, citing Covid fears. The game went ahead at Geraldine’s GAA club in Dundalk, where Antrim put them to the sword. A popular victory up and down the country, it has to be said.
Best bedtime stories:
With Liam ‘Baker’ Bradley and Gerard O’Kane of Glenullin.
End of an era:
Mickey Harte steps aside as Tyrone manager after 18 years. Unsurprisingly, the offers came raining in, with the Glencull man opting to take the reins in Louth.
Team of the Year:
The outrageous will and skill of the Cavan footballers.
Best slow-mo celebration:
Darren Gleeson accosting Domhnall Nugent at the final whistle of the Joe McDonagh final at Croke Park.
Never forget:
AFTER clinching their first-ever Joe McDonagh title, the Antrim squad made the solemn walk to Hill 16 to remember those who lost their lives on Bloody Sunday 100 years ago. Conor McCann’s walk up the steps to lay a wreath was a special moment.
Man of the Year:
Marcus Rashford.
Hey Mr Dream-seller:
GIVEN what he gave to the Irish nation, Jack Charlton’s passing was well and truly marked here. RIP, Jack.
