Gerard McGrattan Down history maker unknown outside the Ards in early 1992. Nowadays the Portaferry All Star is a household name in hurling Ireland Twelve months ago the name Gerard McGrattan was totally unknown outside the Ards Peninsula. Today he is a household name not only in his native county down but throughout the whole of Ireland. The twenty year old employee of the aircraft manufacturers Shortts has set the hurling world alight with his performances during the last six months or so and his rise to fame is synonymous with the recent and dramatic rise of Down hurling. By his build, McGrattan is an impressive figure, standing 6'2" in height, with broad muscular shoulders and weighing some 13 stone, his very physique is enough to grab attention. His tremendous strength, his long looping stride and his exceptional hurling skills make him a player of renown and one who no doubt, will continue to capture the headlines in the years ahead. It may seem strange to some but it is fact that Gerard McGrattan had never worn a Down senior jersey prior to the 1992 championship. He had represented Down at minor and under 21 levels, winning Ulster Championship medals in both grades, but due to examination commitments, he was unable to join the down senior hurling panel for the 1991-1992 Royal Liver Assurance National League. Injuries to a number of key players gave Sean McGuinnes the opportunity to give Gerard his chance and he made his debut for the Down senior hurling team on July 5th 1992, in the Ulster semi-final against Derry at Casement Park. Down scored a whopping nine goals and eighteen points that day and while it was other forwards such as Noel Sands and Michael Blaney who grabbed most of the limelight that day, young McGrattan had got his first taste of senior action and he was ready to do battle with Antrim in the Ulster Final a week later. "Down's glorious twelfth was also Gerard McGrattan's twelfth." Time and time again he pierced the Antrim rearguard with darting runs and when not scoring himself, he was creating space and setting up scoring chances for his colleagues. Gerard McGrattan remembers that famous July day vividly. "It was a great occasion, It was fantastic to beat Antrim but to beat them in an Ulster Final made it all the more sweeter. While obviously delighted to have my Ulster medal, I was particularly delighted for some of the longer serving members of the squad who for years played their hearts out and won nothing. It was good to see players like Noel Keith and Gerard Coulter finally collect their Ulster medals." Down's reward for winning their first Ulster senior hurling title since 1941 was an All-Ireland semi-final meeting with the mighty Cork. History was made on that August 9th day when Down, in their changed strip of amber, played the Rebel County, in that the men from the Mourne County were playing in an All-Ireland senior hurling semi-final for the first time. After winning the Ulster senior hurling title in 1941, Down were regraded and playing in the All-Ireland junior hurling semi-final where they lost to Galway. Like he was in the Ulster final, Gerard McGrattan was the star of the show in the All-Ireland semi-final and his performance that day won him the Telecom Eireann Man of the Match award. Time after time during the first half, he cut through the Cork defence, piling the points on at will and from an early stage the Cork mentors were forced to move Cathal Casey to mark him, in a bid to minimise the effect McGrattan was having on the proceedings. "It didn't worry me who was marking me," said Gerard. "I always play my own game and that occasion was no different. Cathal Casey is a final hurler but all opponents must be respected. I just treated him like any other hurler and continued to do my own thing to the best of my ability." Down lost nothing in defeat that day - indeed they gained many new admirers. They had tasted the big time and like the footballers who had gone before them, were in no way overawed by the task. "Knowing that we can compete with the best has given us the desire to return again and do even better. We must aim even higher. People say that with only three strong hurling clubs we can never hope to win an All-Ireland. I disagree. Offaly have shown the way. They had only four or five more hurling clubs than us when they won the All-Ireland in 1981, so it can be done. We must now set our standards even higher and aim to do even better and if we do this, who knows what might be the outcome," said Gerard. Recent National League results show that Down are not intent on resting on their laurels but do intend to aim even higher. The league began with a victory over Offaly at Ballycran before losing narrowly to Limerick but the year was rounded off magnificently with another famous victory over Antrim at Casement Park. With four points out of six, Down now stand an excellent chance of qualifying for the league play-offs, though difficult assignments against Tipperary (home) and Kilkenny (away) remain. The current league has been a good education for the Portaferry clubman - it has quickly taught him the price of success. So conscious were Offaly of the threat he posed that it took two men to mark him for most of the hour, but the resulting gaps created by this play did not go unnoticed by the other Down forwards and they carved the way for Down's third victory over Offaly in four outings. "Against Limerick we played well but were unlucky to lose," stated Gerard, "while I don't remember much of the Antrim game, having been injured early on. Thankfully, the injury was not as serious as first feared and I am now back training and expect to be fit for the game against Tipperary on 7th March." The success of Gerard McGrattan's first year in senior intercounty hurling can be judged by his trophy cabinet. A winner of the TSB/Gaelic World consistency award, he was voted Hurler of the Year in Ulster in a Sunday Press GAA players poll and he was also named on The Sunday Independent hurling team of the year. On the night of Friday 18th December however, he made history when he became the first Down hurler to win an All Star award. Selected in his favourite position at right half forward, his honour has placed Down among the elite counties of gaelic games, one of only eight which have had All Star winners in both hurling and football. "I was really delighted with the All Star award. I don't only see it as a personal award but one which I won on behalf of the team. I felt that we deserved one or two other All Stars but the selection committee obviously had other ideas. Our goalkeeper Noel Keith for one, definitely deserved an award but he didn't even get a nomination," stated Gerard. He added "I was also pleased with the players award. It is nice to be honoured by those who you rub shoulders with every time you put on a jersey. That award is one which I will really cherish." Gerard McGrattan comes from the Portaferry club and together with Ballycran and Ballygalget, they form the bulk of player representation on the Down senior hurling squad. Only two members of the 1992 championship panel came from outside the 'Ards', one coming from the Leitrim club and the other from the Kilclief club. None of these players actually played in the championship but one of them, Jerome McCrickard, has subsequently played in the league. Since 1960, the Ards clubs have competed in the Antrim league but they continue of course, to play their championship hurling in Down. The rivalry between the clubs is intense and indeed often families have split loyalties. Gerard, for example, is a cousin of fellow county player Gary Savage, who plays his club hurling with Ballycran (both representative mothers being sisters), while his sister Angela is married to Down's star corner back Kevin Coulter, and "Cody' as he is affectionately known, plays his club hurling with Ballygalget. It was Ballygalget who halted Portaferry's bid to win their third Down senior hurling championship title in four years last September. Gerard McGrattan had won championship medals with Portaferry in 1989 and 1991 but in 1992 they lost out to Ballygalget in the first Down final since 1973 which did not involve Ballycran. Portaferry won the 1992 county final everywhere but on the scoreboard. In Gerard McGrattan's words "we dominated the game for long periods but failed to take our chances and Ballygalget made a great comeback in the final minutes to snatch victory by a point. Graham Clark was superb in goal for Ballygalget but we still had enough chances to win. You can't afford to waste scoring opportunities when playing against Ballycran or Ballygalget." For many years this intense rivalry of these three great clubs spilt onto the county team, consequently Down teams did not always perform to their capabilities. No doubt, many opportunities of success at inter county level were lost because the correct team spirit was missing. Gerard McGrattan agrees that the appointment of Sean McGuinness as Down senior hurling team manager has been the key which unlocked these barriers and the affable Antrim man has instilled a new pride in wearing the red and black among the Down hurlers. "There is great spirit in the camp under Sean. He has instilled a new spirit into us. He gets away with things that perhaps an Ards man might not get away with. He is a great character and his great sense of humour and camaraderie makes training enjoyable. He has instilled a new belief in us and I know that we can continue to go from strength to strength," said Gerard. There is little doubt that today once a Down hurler puts on a jersey, he is almost willing to die for the other fourteen men in red and black on the same field. This might not always have been the case in the past. The past few years however, have witnessed a dramatic turnaround in the fortunes of Down hurling and the Down stars of today will perhaps inspire a new generation of Down hurlers to even greater success in the years to come. That's in the future however. For the present, the Down hurlers can reflect on a triumphant 1992 and look forward to the coming season with great optimism and few can be more optimistic than Gerard McGrattan. It is doubtful if anyone has grabbed more headlines in their first season at senior level than the tall Portaferry man. If he can continue to hurl like he did during 1992, then a glittering career is in prospect for Gerard McGrattan. Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 29th January 1993 Tweet

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