Rural clubs continue to defy odds

If you’re interested in your club football and hurling, it’s a time of the year when you get the chance to get stuck into some special stories around the country.

In some cases, clubs from large towns and cities tend to dominate county championships; for example, Cuala in south Dublin won the Dublin football title and have over 3,000 members. Imagine!

Indeed, they were pushed hard by Tullamore on Sunday afternoon in the Leinster Club Championship, but eventually got over the line on home turf at Parnell Park.

Being part of a large club brings its own challenges; just ask Finian Hanley, the Salthill/Knocknacarra manager, who spoke about the difficulties they have faced in retaining players to don the club colours at senior level.

Generally, though, the stories that really catch the imagination at this time of the year are the ones where success comes against all the odds - particularly where demographics provide the biggest obstacle to attaining silverware.

I’m not sure if Edendork in Tyrone and Ardagh in Mayo have any connections, but they are both on a similar journey right now. And, geographically at least, they’re both one of the smallest clubs in their respective counties.

On this week’s RTÉ GAA Podcast, James Carr told us that Ardagh was ‘just a road, more or less’, while Aidan Kilpatrick, Conn’s dad, has described Edendork’s area as a ‘one-mile stretch of road populated by little more than a collection of cul de sacs’.

Edendork St Malachys, to give the club its full title, has never really dined at the top table. They are located just on the outskirts of Dungannon, with big clubs lurking all around. Dungannon Clarkes have 11 championships to their name, Coalisland have ten; both are a stones throw from St Malachy’s home ground.

Indeed, just ten weeks ago, a defeat to an understrength Omagh team in the final round of the league left Edendork staring relegation from the top flight in the face.

Now, they find themselves out of that relegation play-off having claimed their first-ever Tyrone senior title, overcoming the challenge of the mighty Errigal Ciarán after a replay.

Two key men played a central role in both the drawn game and the replay. First day out, Darren McCurry’s two-pointer on the buzzer forced another day out. The following Friday, Niall Morgan nailed a two-point free with the game’s final kick to land the title for his club for the very first time.

Both players are All-Stars and were, again, outstanding in last weekend’s win over Down champions Clonduff in the Ulster preliminary round tie at Pairc Esler. The provincial competition is also a new journey for Edendork and they didn’t look out of a place for a second last Saturday night.

For them, their big players matter. Local heroes driving the club forward at every opportunity.

Ardagh may not be plying their trade at the highest level in their county, but they can draw similarities with Edendork’s journey.

This weekend, the north Mayo side will make their provincial bow in a clash with St Aidan’s of Roscommon, having so impressively won the county junior crown for the very first time thanks to their final win over Eastern Gaels.

The Ardagh success is down to many factors, but on that final day at MacHale Park, the class of their county star, James Carr, was a decisive part of the story.

While Edendork’s Morgan, McCurry and, as of last week, Con Kilpatrick all have All Stars to their name, Carr matches all three players in holding the most coveted prize of them all, a Celtic Cross.

And his love of the club is undeniable, as he told the RTÉ podcast this week.

“It’s magic, we’ve never been in a county final before so it was unknown territory for us but thank God we were able to get over the line.

“We’re obviously in between three of the biggest clubs in Mayo, they tried to form it a good few times and various things stopped the club being formed.

“My grandfather was actually one of the founding members of the club in 1978 and it was a club to try and get lads between Ballina, Crossmolina and Knockmore a bit of football and it’s ended up now that his grandsons have won a Junior title.” For Carr and Ardagh people in general, the achievement of winning both an All-Ireland and a county title in the same season that will make 2026 an unforgettable year.

It's hard to compare the two, of course, but it was interesting to note James' response when asked how the two experiences stood along with one another, given he's in the unique position of being able to assess the realisation of two long-term goals in such a short space of time.

"A lot of it was relief, the feeling was relief and ecstasy in both instances but when I look around, I see my brothers there, my parents are steeped in the club.

"It’s very hard to match them, they’re two very different experiences.

"But you won’t beat winning with your family and with your home club, I think."

Ironically, Niall Morgan referred to the same sort of feeling when he landed that last-minute free to clinch the Tyrone title for Edendork a couple of weeks ago.

'This is the pinnacle of my career," the 35-year-old said as the celebrations began.

"I’ve won an All-Ireland, I’ve two All-Stars. This is it. This is as good as it gets.

"It’s never going to get better than this.” For those of us never destined to get within an asses roar of his achievements, we'll have to take his word for it.

But it goes to show that, even for those who have reached the very top of the inter-county game, matters closer to home stir the heart as much and, in some cases, possibly more.

That's the beauty of this time of the year.