McEniff ‘love affair’ with Railway Cup ends in title victory

RIGHT now the old Railway Cup needs all the friends it can get. So it was with some sadness that we watched one of the competition’s greatest servants, Brian McEniff, disappear into the bowels of Croke Park for the last time after Ulster’s success in the football final on Saturday night.

A former player with the northern province, the Donegal man first managed the side back in 1983 when he masterminded an extra-time win over Leinster at Breffni Park and he had been doing the job since.

Saturday’s was his 13th title earned wearing the bainisteoir’s bib. He has patrolled sidelines in the competition in four provinces, three countries and two continents. Regardless of whether or not this competition survives, we will not see his like again.

Said McEniff: “It’s quite a love affair I’ve had with it, since I’ve been a young boy, getting on the Ulster team and then being made manager in 1983. In Ulster, with the six and three (counties) it’s easier to gel than most provinces. They have great pride in the jersey and that showed out there the way they battled.”

Saturday’s success was Ulster’s 28th in the competition and it brings them level with Leinster at the top of the table.

Down by a single point at half-time, McEniff’s side dominated the second period, holding Munster to just three points. Only one of those came from play, Fintan Goold doing the honours.

Munster’s challenge fell away with Darragh Ó Sé’s half-time substitution. Prior to his departure, the Kerryman had locked horns with Monaghan’s Dick Clerkin at midfield and their exchanges were as fiery as those which pockmarked the All-Ireland quarter-final between their counties.

Munster reached their high watermark in the second quarter with the forwards peeling left and right to collect long balls and Kieran Donaghy destroying an injured Kevin McCloy on the edge of the square.

Any intensity evaporated after the restart leaving substitute Steven McDonnell to steal the show with a hat-trick of points, the first two of which allowed Ulster to pull clear and lay the foundation for the win.

The competition’s record attendance of 49,023 was registered 53 years ago when Leinster did the football and hurling double at Croke Park but there was just a fifth of that at the same venue Saturday evening.

While the eircom and Magners leagues would bite your hand off for those figures, the numbers were lost in the cavernous expanse of Croke Park, making for an eerie atmosphere and raising further questions over the decision to play the finals there.

“I’m pleased, to a degree,” was McEniff’s assessment. “Not as much as I thought I would be. I thought we might have a bit more but the GAA made a big effort. There’s a million and a quarter people in the greater Dublin area. It’s a Bank Holiday weekend and we should make an effort to coax people here.

“We want to win the hearts and minds of the youth in this country, particularly in the capital city. The only way we can do that is by getting them into this massive stadium and showing them what we are all about as an organisation.”

So what is the future for the Interpros?

“The future is giving it a slot. Let’s be fair about it. If it had a slot in the calendar around St Patrick’s Day and the club finals there would be a future for it. The players love it. Munster made this today because they had a good-strength side.

“That’s what makes the competition. Aaron Kernan wasn’t able to play today with Crossmaglen still in the club championship but he was still here. That says it all. Benny Coulter wanted to play even though he had an injury.”

Whatever about St Patrick’s Day, everyone is in agreement that October isn’t the answer. Though Munster and Ulster fielded strong teams, numerous others were ruled out due to club commitments and the situation was even more acute for the semi-finals. Whatever the next step is for the GAA’s black sheep competition, McEniff’s devotion to it isn’t about to dissipate just because his days of patrolling the sideline are at an end.

“I’m on Central Council and I will make sure it is well promoted until the day I pass on.

“Next year, wherever they are playing, I will be there.”

Scorers: Ulster: T Freeman 1-1, S McDonnell 0-3, P Finlay 0-3, S Cavanagh 0-2, E Lennon 0-1, D Clerkin 0-1, B Coulter 0-1. Munster: K Donaghy 1-0, D O’Connor 0-3f, MF Russell 0-2 (1f), T O Se 0-1, P O’Neill 0-1, F Goold 0-1.

ULSTER: J Reilly (Cavan); B Owens (Fermanagh); K McCloy (Derry), K Lacey (Donegal); C McKeever (Armagh), C Gormley (Tyrone), K Cassidy (Donegal); E Lennon (Monaghan), D Gordon (Down); D Clerkin (Monaghan), S Cavanagh (Tyrone), P Finlay (Monaghan); T Freeman (Monaghan), P Bradley (Derry), E Muldoon (Derry).

Subs: B Monaghan (Donegal) for McCloy 35, S McDonnell (Armagh) for Bradley 40, D Mone (Monaghan) for Lacey 49, B Coulter (Down) for Gordon 52, S Goan (Fermanagh) for McKeever 65.

MUNSTER: A Quirke (Cork); T O’Gorman (Waterford), T O’Sullivan (Kerry), K O’Connor (Cork); T Ó Sé (Kerry), M Shields (Cork), G Spillane (Cork); D Ó Sé (Kerry), S Scanlon (Kerry); E Brosnan (Kerry), P O’Neill (Cork), J Miskella (Cork); MF Russell (Kerry), K Donaghy (Kerry), D O’Connor (Cork).

Subs: G Canty (Cork) for O’Gorman 32, F Goold (Cork) for D Ó Sé 35, Darren O’Sullivan (Kerry) for Miskella 53, G Hurney (Waterford) for Brosnan 61.

Referee: M Deegan (Laois).