Brendan’s voyage to junior heaven is worth the wait
Ardagh midfielder Brendan Carr has a firm grip on the ball as he is tackled by Eastern Gaels' Dara Flanagan during last Sunday's final in Castlebar. Picture: David Farrell Photography
“It is hard to put into words,” said Brendan Carr before the Ardagh midfielder did a damn fine job of putting into words exactly what victory in Sunday’s junior championship final means to his club.
“It’s special for the club and I’m sure it will be even more special in January when Sam Maguire comes to Ardagh. We’ll have a big crowd there for Sam but we’ll have an even bigger crowd now because we’ll have [the] Pete McDonnell there too. That’s amazing, I can’t even believe I’m saying that,” said Brendan, older brother of full-forward and captain James, younger brother of full-back Joe, with the trio’s youngest brother, Martin, among the substitutes.
This wasn’t just Ardagh’s first time to win the title, it was their first time to appear in the final.
“It’s just unbelievable to get the job done, it’s awful special for this small parish. We’re actually knocking on the door for a few years; although we hadn’t been in finals we’d been there or thereabouts, we felt anyway. So it’s really, really special and we’ll enjoy tonight,” beamed Brendan.
“What I would say is that as a group, we dealt all year with a lot of games where we were on the back foot and came back, losing in the first-half and coming back in the second, every game.
“Even if the game was in the melting pot in the end, we always believe in ourselves. We’ve got great resilience in the group, good subs came in there today.”
Eastern Gaels had gone 19 minutes between scores in the first-half but still managed to take a one point lead into a second-half in which the stiff breeze was to be at their backs. But it just didn’t work out for the team who had also lost to Kiltimagh in the previous year’s final.
“We had watched Eastern Gaels last year in the final and we knew they didn’t do themselves justice,” said Carr. “We know the threat they have up front, they’re excellent footballers and I’ve no doubt they’ll get the job done at some stage if they keep the heads up.
“We were in that same frame of mind where you wonder what you’re missing and they’ll go back and think they’ve done everything wrong when in actual fact they haven’t much done wrong at all, it’s just that this year was our year. We believed in ourselves.”
Outscoring Gaels by 3-6 to 0-5 in the second-half, it’s fair to say that Ardagh both rose their game and rose to the occasion.
“We spoke about if before the game, about how this was where we wanted to be,” Brendan told the .
“I’m playing junior football for the last 15, 16 years, and this was where I wanted to be, playing county finals, so what’s the point in being nervous? If you lost it, the first thing you’d think is that you want to be back next year, so there’s no point being nervous for a day like today. It’s to be relished and enjoyed.
“This year especially, a special word to the youth that came in. Five, six, seven lads came in there this year, Tony Carey, Adam Naughton, Tom Varkonda, Dylan Murphy, Dillon Sheridan… these boys are super footballers and they made a huge difference to us. And even the boys who came in last year.
“I’ve been waiting a few years for them and they came this year and thank God they did.” As well as the Pete McDonnell Cup and a shot at the Connacht championship, the reward is a place in next season’s county intermediate championship.
“It’s something we’ve always chased and I’m just thankful we’ve got over the line now. I’ve no doubt these young fellas will be able for that challenge and we’ll relish it,” said Brendan Carr. “But for now, all there is to do is to enjoy tonight.”
Fine words indeed.
