By their deeds they shall be remembered
December 31, 2007
That was the underlying theme when Rockcorry folk gathered to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the clubs major breakthrough back in 1982 when they won the Monaghan junior football championship for the first time ever. 1982 in fact turned out to be an even more historic year as going into the winter months the club completed the coveted junior double by adding the Dr. Ward Cup to their championship title.
Success in any GAA club is memorable and even more so in a small club that has been starved of success so that first breakthrough is something very special and irrespective of whatever success comes in future years that first major breakthrough can never really be equalled. The Rockcorry team of 1982 was the first to bring a county title to the club and that fact can never be taken away from them or changed in any way. That success was celebrated to the shout back 25 years ago and those memories were relived when the club organised a special presentation dinner on the 25th anniversary of that great achievement as recognition of the efforts and commitment by all concerned at the time.
Recognising the silver jubilee of that great achievement was further proof that the efforts of all those players and mentors all those years ago is still very much valued in the club but even more importantly it can also act as an inspiration to future generations of players.
The idea of celebrating this great achievement 25 years on was the brainchild of club chairman Michael Carroll who felt that it needed to be recognised and that it would inspire others to keep up the efforts that would see Rockcorry take further honours in the years ahead. Rockcorry's breakthrough in 1982 were seen at the time maybe as something of a surprise but perhaps not the major shock that some felt it was.
The club had reached the final of the Dr Ward Cup in 1979 after a 10 years absence but lost to Killanny who went on and won the championship and promotion to senior. The following year, 1980, the club reached the semi finals of the league and their conquerors on that occasion Oram went on to earn promotion to senior. 1981 saw them playing the role of the nearly team again by reaching the final of the junior football league only to lose to Inniskeen having lost out to Sean McDermott in the championship and they, like their conquerors in previous years went on to win promotion. So people in Rockcorry began to question why can we not go all the way and maybe in posing that question the seeds of the success the club achieved in 1982 were sewn.
There were a couple of other things that happened though that helped Rockcorry make the breakthrough. Paddy McKeown, a former player with the club returned to his native heath and Tom Daly transferred in from Killanny. Tom had already won the junior double with Killanny and so brought that much needed experience to a Rockcorry team that was relatively young with an average age of about 23. In addition to those two players Martin Pierse who came in from Ballybay and who was to have a vital influence on the outcome of the championship and David McGregor, also from Ballybay, joined in and added some solidity at the back with his very formidable presence between the posts.
"As well as those players joining us we enjoyed a little bit of good fortune too because our championship aspirations might well have come unstuck on day one when we had to recover from an early shock to defeat Drumhowan," Michael Carroll recalled. "We went on from there to defeat Corduff in the quarter-final by 2-9 to 0-2 putting us through to a semi-final meeting with Emyvale. That one took two meetings to sort out with our replay victory in Threemilehouse creating its own little bit of history as we booked our place in the junior championship final for the very first time."
Further history was in the making when they went on to defeat Toome in a low scoring final to clinch that first championship and have their names included in the draw for senior football championship for the first time ever in 1983. "Boosted by their new found status the team worked its way through to the final of the junior football league and they completed the historic junior double, only the 10th time that this feat had been achieved by a club in the county, when they defeated Doohamlet by 2-10 to 1-7 in the Dr Ward Cup final on Sunday, November 14th 1982.
And so twenty five years on the players, the club officials and the surviving team mentors gathered in the Hill Grove Hotel, Monaghan to recall those heady days of 1982 when Rockcorry were kings. Some of the waist lines had expanded a little and the hairstyles had certainly changed but one could not help but notice that there was still a great degree of camaraderie among the players even 25 years later. Team captain Pascal Smith spoke of that camaraderie on the night which he said it "made training and playing all that much easier because there was always very enjoyable banter. That type of thing helped to keep us going and it made things so much more enjoyable. I was very fortunate to be chosen as captain and it's great to get all the boys together again and look back on those great times."
The fact that there were a number of sets brothers playing with the team probably helped in that regard as the whole thing took on a family feel. There were four Fitzpatrick brothers, Kieran, Ivan, Paul and Val with some of Kieran's recollections and reminiscences on the night in particular generating a great response. The three McKeown brothers all played vital parts, Gerry, Paddy and Noel. Paddy was the midfield general who kept things on course and whose return to the club that year was a contributing factor to the success.
"I learned a lot when I was away from Rockcorry," Paddy told everyone on the night "but it was a great achievement and everyone worked very well together". Gerry was the strong man full back and one could almost sense the fear he instilled in opposing forwards when he recalled that "if they got in past Kieran (Fitzpatrick) or Pascal (Smith) then we lamped them in the square."
There were also three Coyle brothers, Aidan, who unfortunately has gone to his eternal reward, Gerry and Kieran and Gerry summing things up probably most succinctly when he spoke of what the night would have meant to his brother Aidan. "Aidan loved Rockcorry and loved playing for Rockcorry and even when he moved to Louth because of work commitments he still travelled home for matches and never lost interest so tonight is as much a tribute to him as it is to anything else and he certainly would have been here had he still been with us." The late Aidan Coyle was represented by his wife Mary.
The two Calvert brothers, Nicky and Noel played their part, Nicky's contribution of four points were crucial ones in vital matches and later when he hung up the boots he went on to become a very well known and very well respected referee. Jim Clear whose seven points in the championship were vital scores and Brian Wynne were still in the thick of things at the reunion as they were during the campaign but they made no comment on their overall contribution or their recollections which according to others was substantial. The "Binner" (Wynne) as he was referred to locally was certainly one of the characters of the team although on the night he pleaded to be suffering from a degree of amnesia with Kieran Fitzpatrick likening it to a touch "Bertyitis", I was probably there, I'm sure I was but I just can't remember".
The chairman of the club at that time was Pat Brannigan and his memories were very vivid of a great group of young people who were determined to achieve success. Seamus Tate was both a selector with the team and club treasurer, and he recalled how great it was to be involved although "money was tight enough at that particular time because the club was also involved in developing the new field. We made a bit of money and we spent a right bit of money" was how he summed it up on the night and few clubs have had anyone who has served their cause better than Seamus Tate has with Rockcorry. The other selectors were Jimmy Carroll, the late Gerry Cleary and the late Jack Walls, both of whom were represented at the presentation by family members, Peadar Cleary and Nicola Farrell, nee Walls.
Tommy McCormick who played both an outfield role and in goals recalled the great feeling at the time as Rockcorry celebrated hitherto unknown success. Super sub Owen Connell, a native of Galway who had thrown in his lot with the Rock readily admitted that he had more than just football in his mind when he joined the club twenty five years ago, there was a young lady, Grainne McGill from the area who had caught his eye and she was also present on the night as the interest blossomed into marriage.
There were just so many stories. All the players, the team manager Joe Patterson, who was unavoidably absent, and the selectors were all presented with a specially inscribed piece of crystal as a memento of their contribution to this great achievement which was such a very colourful part of the chequered history of the Rockcorry club. To date Rockcorry has not won another junior championship and their sojourn in intermediate ranks at that time was a short enough one but that first championship win is still very much cherished in the club.
THE STORY AND THE PEOPLE OF THE 1982 CHAMPIONSHIP.
The Results:
Rockcorry 1-11, Drumhowan 1-2
Rockcorry 2-9, Corduff 0-2
Rockcorry 1-6, Emyvale 0-9
Rockcorry 2-4, Emyvale 1-6
Rockcorry 0-4, Toome 0-3 (final).
The Scorers: Martin Pierse 2-8, Noel McKeown 0-9, Jim Clear 0-7, Jim O'Connor 2-0, Nicky Calvert 0-4, Owen Connell 1-0, Brian Wynne 1-0, Tom daly 0-3, Paddy McKeown 0-2, Aidan Coyle 0-1.
The Players: Pascal Smyth (capt.), David McGregor, Ivan, Paul, Kieran and Val Fitzpatrick, Gerry, Paddy and Noel McKeown, Brian McGorman, Peadar McCormill, Jim Clear, Martin Pierse, Tom Daly, Nicky and Noel Calvert, Jim O'Connor, Aidan (RIP), Gerry and Kieran Coyle, Thomas McCormcik, Owen Connell, Mark McCormick, Brian "Binner" Wynne, Kevin Clerkin, Dominic McGuirk, Anthony Clerkin, Martin Burke, Denis Moloney, Benedict Rooney, Damien McDermott.
The Team Management: Joe Patterson (manager), Selectors: Seamus Tate, Jimmy Carroll, Gerry Cleary (RIP), Jack Walls (RIP).
Club Officers: Chairman & Asst Treasurer: Pat Brannigan, V Chair and PRO Pax McCormick, Sec. Peter McKenna, Asst Sec. Jimmy Carroll, Treasurer: Seamus Tate, Registrar: Pascal Smyth. Committee Members: Tommy McCormick, Gerry Cleary, Joe Patterson, Ollie McQuillan, Bosco Carroll, Brian McGorman, Val Fitzpatrick, Gabriel Greenan.
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