Ardagh have their day at last

“What a moment for our club!” 

James Carr’s very first words after lifting the Petie McDonnell Cup crystalise the magnificence of the moment for Ardagh.

Not alone is it their first ever county junior title, it is their first county championship title at any level.

Since their formation in 1978, the small hamlet locked between the parishes of Ballina to the east, Knockmore to the south, Crossmolina to the west and Moygownagh and Cooneal to the north have had to sustain themselves on very slim pickings when it comes to on field glory.

They did not even have the succour of a North Mayo JFC title to nourish them.

Tony Mulderrig, one of the great stalwarts in their history, told this writer two years ago that it was often just about survival.

And survive they did, fighting the good fight when, all too often, all seemed lost.

Because, the reality is, they were arguably too small to survive.

They are one of the smallest clubs by area in Mayo – considered the smallest rural club. Their numbers are tight too – currently they just have in the region of 100 national school children in their parish to draw from.

In 2014, they made it all the way to the Mayo JFC semi-final, a first for them, losing to Achill but they had dumped championship favourites, Ardnaree, out in the group stages.

They progressed through the leagues as well and Division 4 titles arrived and, more recently, Division 3 ones too.

A decade ago, they had the joy of watching one of their own, James Carr, win an All-Ireland Under 21 medal, coming off the bench in the final win over Cork.

Carr would give the club plenty more days to stand proud when he progressed to the Mayo senior team including the 2019 league win over Kerry, his sensational goal against Galway in Limerick in that year’s championship. And, of course, the never-to-be-forgotten Wednesday, July 29th last, when James stopped with the Mayo team and Sam Maguire at Mickey O’Boyle’s in Ardagh.

But it has been a long wait for such a moment for the club in their local. They got it on Sunday.

Sometimes you need a bit of luck along the way. If you want the greatest example of luck for Ardagh, it was having Kiltane legend Seán Carey move into the parish and immerse himself so fully in the club.

He is one of the most passionate, driven and astute football men in this county.

“The way he has transformed the club from top to bottom has been nothing of extraordinary,” said James Carr in his speech, citing the dedication and loyalty the players have shown to their manager in return.

Seán’s son, Tony, is a real quality footballer. Himself, Stephen Rochford and Lee Traynor would add significantly to any club forward line in the county.

But James Carr was the man on Sunday. Sometimes in the junior championship in recent seasons he might not always stand out. Carey said after Sunday that expectations are sometimes crazy on him. Opponents will build their entire defensive strategy around curbing him.

It was never about any indifference from Carr. His family is steeped in the club and his grá for Ardagh has always been obvious. But injuries haven’t helped.

On Sunday, he was a man on a mission to lead his club to their promised land. He bent the game to his will.

Eastern Gaels have lost their second county final in-a-row and, like Ardagh, were seeking a first Junior ‘A’ title. They competed well and while the final scoreline may read badly against them, they will know this game could have went their way very easily if they had been more clinical with the half a dozen goal chances they spurned.

They missed four in the first half – credit to Ardagh goalkeeper Gary Kenny for two fine saves.

But the decisive period came from the 35th to the 45th minute.

Eastern Gaels were 0-8 to 0-3 down after 25 minutes but an unanswered 1-3 before half-time had them in at the break in front by one. They still led by one after 35 minutes before Brendan Carr equalised with a superb point.

It was the start of a ten-minute period where Ardagh couldn’t miss and Eastern Gaels couldn’t score.

Ardagh scored 2-3 from four shots in that period. Gaels had chances for 2-3 themselves in the very same period but failed to score at all.

They’ll be back. The loss of Mayo U20 forward Senan Guilfoyle to an ACL in the spring was a big blow on county final day but their graph is very much pointing in the right direction still, once they do not allow two consecutive final defeats to burden them.

But Sunday was all about Ardagh.

James Carr gave a fantastic speech. He paid tribute to departed brethren, singling out Gerry Rochford, father of wing-forward/sweeper Stephen, and Diarmuid Farrell, a player when he died two years ago in tragic circumstances and brother to current player Brian and, as Carr poignantly said, ‘a brother to us all’.

James’s brother Brendan was grabbed for an interview on the final whistle by Mike Finnerty for Mayo GAA TV. Somehow, in the emotion of it all, he painted the words to describe it perfectly.

“What we’ve done there is just monumental. People in bigger clubs don’t understand. Small clubs have to work a lot harder to get players and numbers. It’s just massive.” 

This writer wrote a book on each club’s finest hour two years ago. It was clear there were slim pickings in Ardagh. They were half apologising about picking the development of their second pitch.

But it showed the drive that was in the club. Speaking with people like Seán Carey, Brendan Murphy, Tony Mulderrig, Martin Carr and John Herbert, you knew that not alone was the quality there on the field, but the leadership and ambition off it.

Their day would come. And now it has.

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Few would have picked out Davitts as intermediate winners at the start of the year but they are fully deserving of their first Sweeney Cup since their famous breakthrough in 2011. They had underachieved before that win 15 years ago but I don’t think the same charge can be made of this group.

Quite the opposite – they seized the moment in recent weeks, getting it together when it mattered most. They were underdogs against Ballyhaunis but came through. They got a stroke of luck when playing a tired Islandeady in the semi-final but there was nothing lucky about Sunday.

Ballinrobe were favourites but when the game was there to be won, it was Davitts players who seized the day.

Niall Treacy and Jack Melvin were imperious in front of goal. A sumptuous two-pointer from Niall Treacy at the end of the first quarter put Davitts one up and they drove on in the second quarter, taking a six point lead in at the break and they never really relinquished that grip in the second-half.

It was fitting that Colm Boyle was part of the victory. The Mayo selector kicked a second-half point and is a link between the successes of 2011 and ’26. How great must it be for the rest of the Davitts players to have his leadership in this campaign but also his inspiration back through the years as they played up through the ranks and watched one of their own win four All Stars and become a cult hero.

Castlebar Mitchels were the only one of the favourites to triumph on Sunday. I’m not sure anyone had Bob Tuohy scoring six points from play on their bingo card but the All-Ireland champion (such a description will never tire) was magnificent, setting Mitchels on their way with a two-pointer after only 65 seconds. They led 0-7 to 0-0 in the first-half but Garrymore are never the type of team to take a hint that it won’t be their day.

They had it back to 0-9 to 0-4 at half-time and they had it back to just three points with 12 minutes to go thanks to a two-pointer from All-Ireland champion Eoin McGreal and two singles from Darren Quinn, off no less an opponent than All-Ireland champion Donnacha McHugh.

But a simply outrageous two-pointer free from Joe Forry hugging the stand touchline seemed to be the kick that finally broke Garry’s spirit.

Quinn did kick a two-pointer with time running out but a Cian Walsh penalty put the gloss on the scoreline late on.

It’s Mitchels’ first title in nine years which is a long spell considering that 2017 title completed a three-in-a-row. But they had a longer drought before that – their 2013 crown ending a 20-year wait.

And they are most deserving champions too – winning their last three games by six, five and eight points respectively.