Reilly’s Cavan focus a long way from Turf Moor dreams
Martin Reilly has admitted it’s a very different sporting dream that he’s chasing these days with Cavan.
A win over Armagh in Sunday’s Ulster semi-final replay will propel Cavan through to a first final since 2001, an 18-year gap in which every other northern team has been to the final at least once.
After 12 years in blue, Reilly is PwC GAA/GPA Player of the Month for May and would love to finally reach the showpiece event, yet chased an entirely different dream back in the mid-2000s.
A promising underage soccer international, he was snapped up by Burnley and spent two seasons there, featuring on the bench in a League Cup game in 2005.
Former Leicester star Ade Akinbiyi scored for Burnley that day while Kyle Lafferty, the future Northern Ireland international whom Reilly shared accommodation with for a spell, came on but the Cavan man never got the call.
He was eventually released in 2006 and after skipping his Leaving Cert to concentrate on soccer was forced to return home and rebuild his life, jacking in soccer completely.
“It was a big change,” Reilly said of quitting soccer so suddenly. “I probably didn’t expect it to be as tough as it was over there and didn’t realise about being away from family and friends, that was the biggest thing.
“It makes a big difference having family around you and living in your home house. You are a lot more comfortable in that environment and maybe I wasn’t that comfortable in the environment over there.”
Reilly can understand why Shane Supple walked out on a contract at Ipswich Town in 2009 to return to Ireland and play GAA for his club and also for Dublin.
Supple, a goalkeeper, explained that professional football wasn’t what he thought it was.
“He was my age, I played soccer with him too,” said Reilly. “Ah, it works out for some lads, some lads take to it better over there.
"The key thing is how you take to living away from home and from your family, that’s the big thing.
"I suppose if you knew then what you know now, things might have been done different. But you’re very young, it’s very tough on somebody so young to go over there.”
Reilly was in digs in Burnley with Dubliner Chris McCann who went on to make 238 appearances for the Turf Moor club, captaining them for a spell.
Yet there is no regret for the Cavan man who wasn’t interested in pursuing a League of Ireland career, spending a ‘couple of weeks’ at Longford Town before settling on Gaelic football.
“I was enjoying being at home and I was doing an apprenticeship and I felt I had to make a decision about what to do, would I play Gaelic football or League of Ireland so I decided to do my apprenticeship and play Gaelic football with my club,” said Reilly.
An electrical engineer now and DIT graduate, Reilly said he doesn’t think about soccer much and can’t remember the last time he even played a five-a-side game.
It’s all about helping to propel Cavan forward and if they beat Armagh in Sunday’s semi-final replay they will be just one win away from a first title since 1997.
The Super 8 will also come firmly into focus for them.
“I feel we can improve and I think we have to improve to get the win so we’ll definitely be looking to do better than last weekend’s performance,” he said.
Armagh are a very good team. To get the ball or get a score you really have to work extremely hard against them and we expect the same again.
"Hopefully we can up it a wee bit and get through.
“It would be huge for us players and for the supporters obviously if we could make an Ulster final, so we know what is at stake.
"I remember Cavan’s last win very well, 1997, and being on the pitch after the game and the buzz about the place and the county for weeks after.
"Those were great days and hopefully we can get some of that back in the near future,” he added.
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