Armagh charges' quality was always clear, insists Cadogan 

CLEAR QUALITY: Armagh’s Conor Turbitt celebrates a point in extra time. Picture: Ryan Byrne, Inpho

Eoin Cadogan has downplayed his role in the development of a number of Armagh's football stars but said their quality was always clear.

The former Cork dual player and 2010 All-Ireland SFC medal winner worked in Armagh for a period as a strength and conditioning expert.

The 2021 All-Ireland hurling finalist initially came on board as a fitness coach with the Armagh hurlers in 2015 before branching out to a wider role working in schools in the county.

He recalled working with Conor Turbitt and Barry McCambridge, both on short odds in the Footballer of the Year betting, among others and said they were 'a pleasure to deal with' as teenagers.

Cadogan stopped short of taking any credit for their march to Sunday's All-Ireland final, joking that he was merely a 'gopher' at the time but he identified their ability even at that stage.

"I would have done S&C in the schools under Julie Davis, she was heading up the high performance and is still doing the S&C there so I used to be in St Paul's, Bessbrook, St Ronan's, and I would have come across all those lads," said Cadogan, an ambassador for the Budweiser backed Aer Lingus College Football Classic at the Aviva on August 24.

"I remember Jarly Og Burns as well, and Barry McCambridge, a very quiet unassuming lad who did a phenomenal job on David Clifford the last day against Kerry, and in the quarter-final as well, popping up for a goal. They were good lads, a pleasure to deal with.

"They had that vision in Armagh that they wanted to give the schools the best chance possible in terms of the feeder schools that would put players into the Armagh system, the minor system. 

"Then you had the likes of Paul McGrane, Denis Hollywood. They went in that direction in Armagh and it's shone through."

Cadogan counts Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney as a friend too, not just from his time in Armagh but from playing under McGeeney when he coached the Ireland International Rules team in 2011.

"We were only training for 10 or 11 weeks but I genuinely could say that you'd go through a wall for the guy," said Cadogan. "And that was only from a short period of time so I can imagine the sort of effect he has on younger players coming into the Armagh squad, and the senior players.

"I'd say he's instilling a lot of similar values that he had as a player into older guys like Aidan Forker, 'Soupy' Campbell, these lads, and they're probably bringing everyone with them and that's invariably what Kieran would want to happen in Armagh, that the next leaders would step up and bring the next crew through."

Cadogan said he couldn't take much personal credit for the development of Armagh's current stars.

"No, no, I was just a gopher, I was just going in doing my job," he said. "They had a vision and it was great to be part of it and to get that experience. I was dealing with 15 and 16-year-olds then, some not even that, and it was brilliant to see them continue their journey.

"McGeeney made a great point about capability and capacity in his interview after (beating Kerry). Everyone has the capability to achieve but it's about maxing out the capacity. 

"I'd like to think I did the same myself in terms of squeezing the lemon because I was a very limited player but I definitely maxed out in terms of trying to do the simple things well. I'm just delighted for that Armagh group now."