Forde focused only on the performance

Fintan Forde was not brought to Garrymore’s last appearance in the Mayo senior football final. Nor is he old enough to have any memories of that entire golden age which yielded six county titles in just nine years. But he was reared on the stories that were told – “and told well!” – about those glory days so he can appreciate just what it would mean if the team now under his and Tony Corcoran’s stewardship was able to end the club’s 44 year wait for Moclair Cup glory.

“It’d be great. Great for the community. Great for everyone in Garrymore. For every member, every child. It’s a big, big game for us,” admits Forde for whom this is his and Corcoran’s second time at the helm of their home club.

The former Garrymore teammates have forged a longstanding managerial partnership. They spent two years in charge of the Eastern Gaels junior team and also two years over the Hollymount ladies but couldn’t turn down the opportunity of taking over Garrymore’s senior team once the opportunity arose again.

“Once the position came up when Martin (Maloney) left, we felt we’d have another crack at it. It’s our own club and we wouldn’t leave them stuck. We were more than happy to get involved,” explains Forde who knows that after the last county final victory in 1982, ironically against next Sunday’s opponents Castlebar Mitchels, few in Garrymore would have believed they’d be waiting over four decades just to get back to the final.

“It’s a long time. We were very unlucky around 1995, ’96, we had a good team but there was great teams around Mayo. You had Ballina, Crossmolina, Knockmore, all teams that contested in the All-Ireland series, so you really had to be on your game. If you progressed you were playing against one of the top teams in the country.” 

Forde and Corcoran were key cogs in that Garrymore team, the latter scoring a goal on his senior debut for Mayo against Roscommon in the 1995 Connacht championship before injury badly curtailed his progress. Both players were known for their no nonsense approach on the field and their management style is no different.

“There’s a lot of hard work done,” stresses Fintan Forde. “We have the guts of 90 sessions done on the field since the start of the year. And it’s a credit to the lads, they’ve put in a huge effort.

“It’s everything to everyone around here, to play in a county final. It’s a big day out for the club and a day we’re really looking forward to.” 

He knows that there is something uniquely special about Garrymore, the people and the club, because of its almost total lack of amenities that other rural clubs might take for granted. There’s no shop, no school, no church… but there’s the GAA club.

“It’s very community driven. No matter what you’re doing or what you need done, there’s always someone there to give a hand, whether it’s parking cars or taking a football team or taking a session. There’s loads of volunteers always willing to put up their hand and get stuck in.

“They give what they can and give what we can on the field.” 

Garrymore have played five and won five so far this championship, unlike Castlebar Mitchels who suffered a third round defeat at the hands of Garrymore. But with both teams having already secured their passage to the last eight at that stage, Fintan Forde refuses to read anything into that result.

“We take it from quarter-finals on, when it’s knockout football. You either show up and perform or you’re out. We’ll be doing our best to show up and perform.”