28 July 2009
And so the 2009 odyssey that was Antrim football ended in Tullamore on Sunday. And yet it is really only the beginning.
With one hour of the game gone on Sunday, as Michael McCann swung over a free to level the game, the old pessimist in me feared the worst.
“We will get caught by a last minute, square ball goal” I thought, in yet another addition to the litany of Antrim’s long line of failures.
Then the reality kicked in. Failure? This was Kerry we were level with after 60 minutes. The mighty Kingdom.
A Kerry side that has contested the last 5 all Ireland finals, winning three of them. A Kerry side that has been in 8 semi-finals this decade. A Kerry side that had brought on “Gooch” Cooper and Tomas O’Sé as substitutes.
There was no failure for Antrim last Sunday in Tullamore. This was a Division 4 team that had played to its potential, a team that was exactly that in every sense of the word, as they presented a united front against all comers. One look at the faces of the Kerry supporters told the true story, as they faced up to the very real threat of losing to Antrim, a situation that had it been suggested twelve short months ago, would have had the likely result of the “fantasist” being referred to a psychiatrist.
In a close contest decision making, experience, and strength of panel will usually decide the winner. Kerry were favoured by all three.
I was reminded of the hurler’s great effort against Tipperary in 2002. Then again on that day Tipperary were able to bring on top quality, all star substitutes, to ensure that they eventually won the day. Antrim are not at that stage, yet.
But we have certainly taken a brave few steps along that road. Antrim played like a team, were dedicated and well prepared, and have enough of a scoring threat to ensure moderate success. Long range point taking, a bit more composure, these are the things that will improve us, and those come with experience.
At the end of the road we can take stock. We played four championship games this summer; oft times a feat that takes us four years. We lost to Tyrone and Kerry, the two teams who have dominated the present decade. But we competed in those games, especially against Kerry.
We beat Donegal and Cavan, an achievement that some tried to belittle with talk of an “easy side” of the Ulster draw. Donegal’s presence in the Quarter Final gives the lie to that theory.
But hopefully the real achievement will be off the field as well, which will provide for a better future for the county.
The streams of cars heading to Tullamore yesterday, the tide of saffron that was Clones on Ulster Final day, these were real achievements. The abiding memory of that delirious crowd besieging the BBC commentary box in the setting sun after the win against Cavan will long remain in the memory of those who were there. For the first time in many a year we got to enjoy the GAA as it was meant to be, with bus trips to strange destinations, cheering on the county team, rather than a club team.
For it is among those supporters that we can find the people willing to come forward to continue the development. It is also among those supporters that we find the next generation of Antrim footballers and hurlers, if it is carefully nurtured.
2009 has been a great adventure. It has seen the awakening of a sleeping giant amidst the Land of the Giants, and hopefully now awakened, further progress can be made. In these days where the mass media demands instant success not just in premiership soccer but increasingly in the GAA, it is important that we all recognise what the county achieved this year. A first Ulster final in 39 years, and summer football nearly extending into August. This time last year all of us would have settled for that.
The ongoing work at the Centre of Excellence at Dunsilly in Antrim Town, the strength of the clubs in the county, the improvement in the schools, and that great potential that was seen on the hill at Clones, in Ballybofey and Tullamore, all of this needs to be built on. The foundation is there.
Club Aontroma would like to congratulate all involved with the county footballers this year, the players, management team and support staff. We would also like to thank the thousands of supporters who were fine ambassadors for the county and the GAA in the last few months.
Roll on next year, which we can look forward to with anticipation rather than trepidation. This could be the start of the good times.
