MANY in the Cargin set-up would have been forgiven for breathing a sigh of relief when they learned they wouldn’t be lining up against Jamie Clarke on Sunday – but not Kevin O’Boyle.
If Erin’s Own are to beat Crossmaglen, they want to beat their best possible 15 insists O’Boyle. The school teacher is eager to learn at the feet of Gaelic football’s club masters.
“If you want to be the best, you have to put yourselves up against the best,” says O’Boyle.
“As a corner-back, I’d love to be going up against Jamie Clarke, but it’s not to be. But it’s not as if Cross are going to be short of talent who can step up – you’ve Kyle Carragher there and the Kernans, so whoever starts, it’ll be tough.”
O’Boyle’s Halloween mid-term break came just at the right time as far as football is concerned, giving him a free week to concentrate completely on the task at hand in the Ulster Club Senior Football Championship.
The former Antrim captain revealed Cargin manager John Brennan has been making sure his charges stay grounded in the aftermath of their Antrim final win over Lámh Dhearg.
“John brought us back to earth with a bump on Tuesday,” says O’Boyle.
“It was a euphoric week. We celebrated and rightly so. That’s what club championships are all about – you work hard all year and, if you’re successful, you have to enjoy it.”
Although O’Boyle’s celebrations were strictly limited in one sense, he still got into the party spirit: “I don’t drink, but I’d a couple of late nights alright.”
Then, it was back to porridge: “John had us out training on the Tuesday and he left us in no doubt about the job at hand. That was to blow the cobwebs away, if you like, and we were back into full-on training from Friday on.”
As far as Brennan’s impact on Cargin this year goes, O’Boyle is in little doubt how much the Derry man matters.
“John’s status in club championship is legendary. He’s won something like nine championships with different clubs now,” he says.
“He’s taught us that success doesn’t necessarily come to the best footballers – it comes to who wants it most. Talent doesn’t beat effort.”
Following the Antrim final win, Brennan had questioned whether his team were lacking leaders on the pitch, especially towards the end of the first half.
O’Boyle has a different take on it: “The good thing about the win over Lámh Dhearg was that, when we needed it, it was the younger players who stood up to be counted – it wasn’t the household names, if you like.
“We’ll need that leadership against Cross. It’s the whole panel that has to give leadership, not just the big names, or the starting 15.”
The minor wobble before half-time in the Antrim final aside, Cargin were in impressive form throughout their county campaign, defeating reigning champions St Gall’s, local rivals Creggan and a Lámh Dhearg side with plenty of potential on their march into Ulster.
They restricted the Belfast sides to eight points apiece, with a close-knit defensive framework that had O’Boyle had its heart. And it may be that win over St Gall’s that stands to them most when they come up against another giant of club football in the form of Crossmaglen.
“St Gall’s have a pedigree that isn’t far away from Crossmaglen’s,” says the Holy Trinity, Cookstown teacher.
“If we can bring what we brought to that game, we’ll have a decent chance.”
The challenges the south Armagh men faced in their county championship were perhaps less daunting. Manager Oisín McConville has bemoaned a lack of competiveness in club football in Armagh, increasing talk that Crossmaglen’s annual saunter through the Orchard county may leave them rusty when it comes to Ulster.
O’Boyle is having none of this: “Is Armagh that bad or are Crossmaglen that good? That’s the real question.
“Cross have been there and done that. They know what they’re doing. Even if they feel the competition in Armagh is lacking, they can organise challenge matches against some of the best teams in the country. Their panel is that strong that they can even have in-house matches that will leave them in good shape.
“Oisín McConville is an experienced man. If he sees something wrong, he’ll know how to fix it.”
O’Boyle, himself, knows what can give the south-west Antrim club a fighting chance against Cross: “There’s a greater hunger this year in Cargin because we’d lost those two finals before this year and hadn’t won one since 2006.
“There’s no pressure on Cargin. At the start of the year, we were looking no further than Antrim. Whatever happens from here on in is a bonus. We have to travel to the Athletic Grounds, which is new territory for some of the younger lads, but it’s grounds like these where you want to be playing.
“We’ll need that leadership across the pitch, from everyone on the panel. If we play as individuals, we’ll be snuffed out – like Antrim have been in the past.”
Like Antrim. O’Boyle’s other footballing true love. Despite the fact he was described as “one of the best defenders in Ulster” by veteran goalkeeper John Finucane in the run-up to the Antrim final, O’Boyle was absent from the Saffrons’ squad for this year’s Championship. He doesn’t intend to make a habit of it, though.
“I’ll be back,” he promises.
“Last year was my first year off the panel in nine years. I was getting married and sorting out a new house, so I couldn’t give 100 per cent commitment.”
And he will be back with customary optimism: “Look at Fermanagh this year, if we get everyone committing fully and buying into Fitzy’s [Antrim manager Frank Fitzsimons] plan, we can make progress – first of all, in Division Four.”
But for the foreseeable future, O’Boyle’s “complete focus” is on Cargin and their drive to bring down a football behemoth.
No pressure, he says.
