Oisín McConville: There’s a belief that Armagh's journey is headed somewhere special
RAISING THE BAR: Rian O'Neill of Armagh hangs on the crossbar during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 2 match between between Donegal and Armagh at St Tiernach's Park in Clones, Monaghan. Pic: Seb Daly, Sportsfile
The timing worked out well in that it’s the last week of primary school up here but the mood around the schools has been far more carnivalesque than usual. It was jersey day yesterday. Earlier in the week in the classrooms, my two boys were singing the national anthem and booming out the lyrics of ‘The Boys from county Armagh’.
Despite how much we’d like to believe that our kids are immersed in Irish and GAA culture, the saturation of Premier League and world soccer has naturally diluted that ethos. We’re in the soccer off-season now but the only way to limit that bombardment is through an even more aggressive counter-charge. And the best means of doing that is through the success of your own county.
I’m amazed at the impact that Armagh’s journey this summer has had on the kids. When I was operating in that bubble with Armagh, I had no real cognisance of that effect because we were conditioned to avoid the noise and block it out. Yet now that I have my own kids, I have a massive appreciation for what a team can do for an entire county, and how much it can inspire the next generation.
I can see that first hand as coach of the Crossmaglen U11s. All I’m getting from the lads are questions as to when the Cross' players on the panel are coming to take a session. Despite all the success Cross' have had, this is totally new to these young lads because they now see it through the eyes of Armagh.
It’s been too long but that happy feeling doesn’t feel silly. It doesn’t seem like we’re getting carried away because there’s a real belief here now that this journey is headed somewhere special. After a decade and a half of longing and want, there is something tangible now for Armagh people to hold on to.
We all appreciate that we have won nothing yet but we believe that there won’t be a return to the same old Armagh next year, which has been too much of a recurring theme here for too long.
Without getting carried away, there is even more excitement because of the potential pathway back to an All-Ireland final. All four teams – Armagh, Clare, Derry and Galway – will feel the same way. Maybe it’s our recent history but there is a real conviction in Armagh that we can blaze that trail and get there first.
Can we? Are we really good enough? When I see the pink boots, the white boots, the tan, the mullets and other snazzy haircuts, all of that stuff is fine once there is substance behind the flash. It’s a completely different watch, and much harder to support, when that look and strut isn’t backed up by performances on the field.
That was the feeling around Armagh for years, especially in Ulster where our record was abysmal. When you met someone on the street, they might not have always known much about football but they were fully aware of our dire record in the province, where we couldn’t win a game.
That frustration inevitably led to huge questions, especially around Kieran McGeeney and the length of his tenure in the job. People have very little idea of what it takes to change a whole culture within a county team and it’s taken ‘Geezer’ and the group that long to turn it around.
There is more of an understanding now of what we were building towards, but it still takes results and performances to win over the masses.
I also genuinely believe that it’s taken ‘Geezer’ this long to get the coaching and management chemistry to the correct level because I don’t think he always had the coaching mix right. But the dynamic looks perfect now with Ciarán McKeever, Ciaran McKinney and Kieran Donaghy.
It was a masterstroke by ‘Geezer’ to bring in Donaghy. There was surprise and excitement when the news was first announced. The first reaction was, ‘How’s that going to work with the travel involved?' But we’re GAA people and we overcome obstacles to make it work.
Donaghy’s huge personality and charisma is clearly rubbing off on the players. He is a winner from Kerry but he probably has a greater appreciation of the Armagh mindset than any other legendary Kerry player could ever have because of Donaghy’s own background and how hard he had to fight to get onto the Kerry team.
We’re more than used to long and winding roads up here. It hasn’t always been a straight path. We were languishing for years in Divisions 2 and 3 before finally making that step up to Division 1. In many ways, we’re not too dissimilar to Galway. They didn’t slip into Division 3 but they also struggled to find a true identity as a group that they were comfortable with.
It would be wrong for me to say that both teams stumbled upon the right formula, but they’ve found it in a roundabout way. These two teams have had a lot of short-term pain for the long-term gains they’ve enjoyed so far this year.
For all the frustration we’ve felt, it was probably even more painful in Galway at times because when they often expected something to happen, the whole thing collapsed. I remember watching their opening league game last year when Kerry walloped Galway by 22 points. They ended up getting relegated to Division 2 before Mayo beat Galway well in the Connacht final.
This season has been so redemptive for both counties that being on the cusp of something so potentially special now has made the yearning even greater. The flipside is that it has ramped up the pressure to a whole new level again. Of all the four games this weekend, this is the hardest match to call.
I have no idea what pattern the game is going to take. Both sides love to play attacking football but there has to be huge nerves in both camps, which could lead to a more claustrophobic and less expansive game than many expect.
It’s not bias but I expect Armagh to shade an intriguing contest.
