STEWARTSTOWN attacker Gareth Devlin will appear in his second All-Ireland club final this weekend – 18 years after the first.
Just turned 17, he was a member of the Harps forward line that faced a star-studded Finuge side in the 2005 JFC decider.
And at 35, he remains a key figure for the Tyrone champions, and his team’s top scorer in the current series.
“The love for football will never go away. It’s when the body tells you to stop that you have to listen,” said Devlin, whose 1-6 haul was crucial in the extra-time win over Clifden of Galway last Saturday.
“But this year was a breeze with those young lads and their fitness levels and the positivity around the squad.”
“To win it would be the icing on the cake, and I would consider retiring if I won an All-Ireland club medal in Croke Park.
“I don’t think you can ever top it, not at this stage of a career anyway.”
Back in ’05, the All-Ireland final was played at Portlaoise, due to the unavailability of GAA Headquarters, and the occasion ended in despair for Stewartstown as they crashed to defeat at the hands of a star-studded Finuge side that featured Kerry Allstars Paul Galvin and Eamonn Fitzmaurice.
Another stellar Kingdom outfit, Fossa, led by the great David Clifford and his brother Paudie, will provide the opposition when Stewartstown finally make it to Croke Park on Sunday.
“For me, it’s bittersweet, because in 2005 the All-Ireland final was switched to Portlaoise, and we felt we were hard done by in not getting our day out at Croke Park,” said Devlin, a 16-year-old All-Ireland MFC winner with Tyrone a season earlier.
Three of Stewartstown’s championship games have gone to extra-time, and on all three occasions they had what it takes to come out on top.
Drumquin gave the county title favourites a scare in the Tyrone JFC, and the Ulster final against Drumlane of Cavan also required an added stretch, and a penalty shoot-out as well, to produce a winner as the Red Hand representatives held their nerve to claim the provincial crown.
And once again at Hyde Park, it was Stewartstown’s braves who had the steely will to go the distance and get the job done against Clifden.
“Drumlane were a super team, and they put us to the pin of our collar in the Ulster final and we thought we were dead and buried.
“But the lads dug deep that day, and we were glad to come out the right end of a penalty shoot-out.”
Current managers Blake Smyth and Peter Armour were team-mates in 2005, and their new roles have given them a second chance to chase an All-Ireland title.
“I played my whole career with those boys, and now they have retired and moved into management, and they have freshened the whole thing up this year,” said Devlin.
“The training has been excellent, and we have never got too carried away, no matter how far in the competitions we were going.
“It was always a case of the next game being the most important one, and it has been fantastic just to be a part of it.
“Our main aim for this year, after we got out of Ulster, was to get to Croke Park.”
