GAELIC GAMES ULSTER SFC:ON THE Falls Road, they are hearing what has been coming out of Crossmaglen about tomorrow's football match and they aren't buying a word of it.
Not that Cross’ are rebuilding; not that they have already achieved their season’s objective in winning the county championship; not that they are promising to do their best against St Gall’s, the reigning All-Ireland champions.
All St Gall’s know is this: they are playing against the best club football side of modern times and on their turf. It doesn’t come any harder. Word that John McEntee, the athletic centre forward at the heart of so many vintage Armagh teams, has come out of retirement to play with his club seems more in keeping with what Crossmaglen have in store for the Antrim side.
“Yeah,” manager Lenny Harbinson says flatly when asked if he expects to see McEntee on the field tomorrow. “I do genuinely think that if John is back training, it is for a purpose and it wouldn’t surprise me. Similarly, I think we can expect Francie Bellew to feature.
“This is a massively difficult task for us. We are playing a club that has won five of the last Ulster titles in 10 years and a team who have been almost invincible in their own county – and on that ground. This was their 14th county title in 15 years. It is an incredible record. And even when you look at the profile of their team, it doesn’t tally with the idea that this is a new squad. Thirteen of their players from the side that one the last All-Ireland are still there. So we know what we to expect and we are thinking more about getting ourselves right for this.”
For GAA fans, this match has the potential to light up Halloween. It features two of the standard bearers of the Ulster game. Crossmaglen are among the most storied and high-profile clubs in Ireland while St Gall’s will celebrate their centenary early next month.
There is something of the distance slog about the club championship, adjusting from the quickening pace of the county championship to the grind of these provincial days that are too often defined by driving winds and rain.
Winning becomes as much a question of battling elements as the opposition. For Harbinson, getting the balance right has been central to his management tasks this year.
“We tried to rest guys during the league games after the All-Ireland final. But a lot of players were soon back into training with their counties, both here and in Fermanagh, and that obviously placed an added demand on them. And Gall’s is a dual club so several of our players were also involved in hurling. It is an added demand but I don’t feel that we will have any problems with fatigue on Sunday.”
Harbinson has long been one of the jewels of the St Gall’s establishment, from his days as a skilful and elusive young forward for club and county through to his manager’s role in last year’s triumph. But he argues that the nature of maintaining and extending a club in a city is different to the country experience. St Gall’s and Crossmaglen offer a perfect contrast of the two experiences.
“There are a lot of Gaels in Belfast, unquestionably. But do you get recognised for winning an All-Ireland club championship when you are walking around the city centre? No, you don’t. It is a different experience to a small town in which the club becomes the heart of the community. It is more spread out here. I think St Gall’s winning definitely helped but I wouldn’t be making any claims about it transforming the overall fortunes of football in Belfast.”
But the enduring presence of St Gall’s in the city is a significant achievement. On November 5th, the club will hold a gala evening in the Europa Hotel with past and current players and members.
Harbinson’s formative years coincided with the harder realities of running a GAA club in Belfast. “I think the evening is about paying tribute to the people who kept it going through periods when they had to put up with harassments, when members of the club were murdered and when keeping the club alive involved incredible commitment. And thankfully now we have moved away from those darker episodes and the club has gone from strength to strength as a dual club and the women’s team has had success. The senior winning team winning the All-Ireland last March was the icing on the cake but it is a celebration of the 100 years.”
That St Gall’s are keeping the saffron flag flying in Ulster for a second year running bodes well for the consistency of the game in the county. Harbinson has been pleased to see the county side progress from division four to two under Liam Bradley and thinks that this year’s league will offer a good indication of where Antrim football currently stands. His contribution has been to keep St Gall’s marvellous run going. Getting out of Crossmaglen with a win is as tough as it comes.
“Our own record has been good in recent years. But you look at Crossmaglen over the years and you have an idea of what you are facing into. These games are what Crossmaglen are used to.”
