'I had to have a sit down to compose myself' - emotions flow over for Loughmacrory
Declan Bogue
AT HALF TIME of the Tyrone county final, Loughmacrory’s Ryan Grimley was on the pitch when he was informed that his home club Madden had just won their very first Armagh county championship.
Such an event is always laden with emotion but for the 37-year-old Grimley, it goes to the core of his being.
Next week will mark the two-year anniversary of the death of his brother Patrick, who passed away following a road collision on his way home following his 40th birthday celebrations, along with his wife Ceira and Ciara McElvanna.
Patrick had been an integral part of the Madden Raparees club, serving for five years as PRO, before spending the last five years as the club secretary.
Over in Armagh, his younger brother Niall was delivering a comprehensive performance while Liam was also on the panel as Madden beat Cullyhanna 0-20 to 0-9 to win the Gerry Fagan Cup for the very first time.
In the final moments of the Tyrone final, Ryan was introduced as a late sub as Loughmacrory won their very first Tyrone title, beating Trillick.
“It’s just amazing,” said Ryan afterwards.
“I was keeping track of the scores and the boy beside me had the phone out for most of the game. At half-time we found out that Madden had won. I can’t put it into words. Just can’t.
“I needed five or ten minutes to myself. I had to have a sit down to compose myself.”
Some years ago, life had taken him to the Tyrone village. He bedded in well with wife Karen and they have three children.
Only for him and his contribution in earlier rounds, not least against Donaghmore, Loughmacrory may not have made it to the final.
“Everybody couldn’t do enough for me, my boys and the wee girl and all that. Fantastic. It’s a place the exact same as Madden, a close-knit place,” he said.
At that point, he was planning on joining the celebrations at Loughmacrory, before heading on to Madden and being among his people.
On an evening drenched in emotion, Trillick were also trying to do justice to their own. Last December, they lost their manager Jody Gormley who passed away after a short illness with cancer.
From a silent Trillick dressing room, the now manager Richie Thornton came out to give his reflections.
“I suppose with the year they have put in, the stuff that they have went through, the way they carried themselves all year has been exceptional, for me being involved with them,” he began.
“Sometimes you don’t get what you deserve or what you want to deserve.
“Having spoken to the boys all year, it wasn’t a crusade. It was trying to honour and represent what Jody stood for and what Trillick stands for. They have done that, to be fair to them. Getting over the line might have been a final piece to that.
“It’s sport, there is no sentiment in sport and fair play to Loughmacrory.
“They (Trillick) are a serious bunch of lads. From when I met them, I told them that I had respect for them from playing against them and being involved in Tyrone football.”
When it came to the presentation of the O’Neill Cup, Loughmacrory captain Nathan Kelly delivered a touching speech, saying, “To Trillick, to the club and the players; you are a top-class side. You took us down to the wire there and that’s what championship football is all about. I have no doubt we will be battling it out for years to come.
“I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the late, great Jody Gormley. A man who gave so much to Trillick, to Tyrone and to the game itself. His influence and spirit lives on through this Trillick team and you are a credit to his legacy.”
Just nine days previous, Loughmacrory had beaten their parish rivals Carrickmore in the semi-final replay, the first time they had achieved such a feat in championship football.
Kelly admits that as soon as the final whistle went on that game, the speech was playing on his mind.
“Straight after the Carrickmore game if I am being honest,” said the 28-year-old.
“It’s just another thing that came with the game that I had to do.”
He continued, “I have to say, the management team took a bit of pressure off me with that speech. They helped me put it together and I made it my own.
“I knew that Jody’s passing was December, I knew it was coming up and this year was a big year for Trillick. I don’t need to tell anyone what he done for Trillick, for Tyrone football and the GAA. I just thought it was the right thing to acknowledge him and his family.”
As much as the GAA is about the local becoming the universal, there was an unusual international twist to the final.
Playing with number 4 on his back but handed the daunting duty of marking Mattie Donnelly for the evening was Arnoldas Macidulskas.
15 years ago, he and his family arrived in Ireland from their native Lithuania. He went straight into the nearby Dean Maguirc College in Carrickmore.
There’s not a trace of eastern Europe in his accent – he is as Tyrone as Hugo Duncan now – as he reflected on becoming the first Luthuanian with a Tyrone senior championship medal.
“I am sure my mum keeps in good touch with the people back at home and would let them know about what is happening here. I wouldn’t be in touch with them so much, I tend to be all about Loughmacrory,” said the 26-year-old engineer.
“It feels… I can’t believe it. It feels amazing but I am shocked. I have no words, no words to describe it other than to say it feels amazing.”
In a club of tight-knit families, the McCullaghs have been with Loughmacrory since the start of their story in 1972.
A cousin of fellow selector Ciaran Meenagh and club chairman Shane McCullagh, Stevie McCullagh lives and breathes Gaelic football as he reflected on the route they have taken.
“We probably made a right stab at this, five years at senior level. We had heartbreak up in Galbally against Dungannon in 2020. ‘21, Errigal beat us. 22, Carrickmore beat us with the last kick of the ball. 23, Trillick beat us that year after extra-time, after penalties and they went on to win the championship, a phenomenal team. We have great respect for them,” he said.
“Last year we had heartbreak when Dungannon got a last-minute goal to beat us.
“But we kept at it. We kept battering away on the winter nights and it was always about that prize, going up those steps.
“The place went mad last week. We moved Mass, we painted sheep and cars, the whole thing was crazy. The people of Loughmacrory are crazy about football and that reflects those lads; they are mentally strong as we saw there, and they really, really grasped the opportunity.”
So many could not put it all into words. So many reach for ‘unbelievable.’
What county championships bring, is an intangible feeling. Words can never suffice.
The 42
