Poacher turned gamekeeper
March 01, 2010Throughout his time in his adopted town and county, Hughie sprinkled his stardust for the betterment of the Celts and the Breffni blues.
When the gaels in Cootehill officially opened their new pitch in 1981, they unhesitatingly decided to name it the Hugh O'Reilly Memorial Park.
For years now, Monaghan native Kieran McCarville has been aping the gospel according to Cootehill's most famous 'blow-in'.
During the season, he's an almost weekly visitor to Hugh O'Reilly Memorial Park; either in his capacity as a coach, referee or linesman.
Fact is, that when he decided to marry into the local McCarthy family and join the Hoops, he was only doing what comes naturally to him.
Like Hughie O'Reilly and many another 'blow-in' to arrive in Cootehill, Kieran has served the Celts exceedingly well and has received due kudos.
A couple of years ago, Cavan County Board made it known that the clubs of the county were threading thin ice on the issue of referees.
The powers-that-be ordained that severe penalties would be imposed on clubs who hadn't one of their members registered as a referee.
With the prospect of forfeiting home games or something such like, Kieran stepped into the breach and saved the day for the green and whites.
Having played football with his native Killeevan Sarsfields at all levels from juvenile to senior, Kieran decided to try his hand at refereeing.
"The club were facing a possible penalty or fine so I decided to help the club out, give it a go and see how I got on," the 44-year old says.
"I thought that as a past player I would have a fair idea, as a referee, of what went on in a player's mind and that that would help me in refereeing."
And the rest is history, as they say. These days Kieran can be seen in charge of matches in any part of the county at all grades of football.
He says he has enjoyed his stint to date as a man-in-black but is honest enough to admit that the job is far from the piece of cake some might think:
"It's not easy being a ref," he insists. "It would help though if some players could imagine themselves in the same position. No one is perfect.
"Everyone knows that referees don't always get it right. We're only human after all but sometimes players or managers don't help a ref's cause.
"From my experience so far, a lot of players and referees don't know a lot of the rules of the game so that causes frustration and annoyance."
Interestingly, the rookie ref has already concluded that more needs to be done to allow refs have a voice in helping to make Gaelic games better.
For instance, he is adamant that refs should be answerable to a certain body or bodies and that dialogue between the two should be encouraged.
He is acutely aware of how a ref's decision can result in a team losing a match. People have the right to be told why the ref made such a decision.
"There should be more communication in the GAA between the ref and the players and between the ref and the general public," Kieran declares.
"Poor communication is a recipe for disaster in some cases and, in the case of a ref, the breakdown in relations between him and the players.
"In my view, there should be some one person or committee to whom the referee is answerable and where he can explain himself.
"The mental pressure a ref comes under in a match is something that has surprised me and is something I wouldn't have been aware of as a player.
"Some players give you more hassle than others and, in fairness, their team-mates are often your best ally when you're trying to impose the law.
"From what I have learned so far, it's the same players, time and time again, that try it on but they are found out fairly quickly and all refs know them."
A referee who is known for his penchant for letting the game flow - "unless a player has a head injury you let it go" - Kieran is nobody's fool though.
He is recognised for using his common sense in handling a game and his pleasant demeanour and personable nature has quelled many a flare-up.
Two years into his new career, he is aware of the perception that some referees can be influenced by the reputations sported by some players.
"The way I approach my relationship with the players is that I start with a new slate on an individual basis, regardless of their history in the game.
"It's a policy I have whether it's a juvenile match where a youngster might be very talkative or a senior game where a player is known for fouling a lot.
"In my book, respect is what's needed between a player and the referee. If respect isn't in place, then it won't be long before trouble comes along."
A mine of ideas, Kieran is a deep thinker when it comes to Gaelic games and proffers a number of opinions on ways of improving the game.
In that regard, he reckons the grade one referees in county Cavan should be asked to referee more Junior 'B' and Junior 'C' matches.
He believes that the creme-de-la creme of Cavan's refs would benefit - and so would the clubs - from taking charge of lower profile games.
Meanwhile, he's a fan of the 'pick up' rule in ladies' football. "Most fouls happen when a player is bending down to pick the ball on his toe," he attests.
He is convinced that video cameras ought to be introduced by the GAA to give refs "a helping hand and make for more fair decisions."
"For the sake of a fourth official looking at a replay of the incident for 30 seconds or so, I can't see why the GAA won't allow cameras help get it right.
"Referees need a hand, especially at the big matches where there's a huge amount at stake. I think the linesmen should be given more power too."
In succeeding Pappy Woods as Cootehill's only referee, Kieran found himself thrown in at the deep end pretty soon after taking up the whistle.
His first outing as the man-in-the-middle was a game between Maghera and Corlough, a Junior 'C' encounter which saw him send off one player.
"I'd prefer not to send off any player," he explains. "But just as a ref should be expected to use his common sense, so should a player.
"Referees are conscious that a player has got his adrenalin going and that he's maybe not thinking straight but the ref has to apply the rules as well.
"The ref can make a mistake and I have made mistakes but 95% of the time, you'd be happy with your performance and how the game went."
Ultra-conscious of the need to constantly maintain his personal fitness levels and his knowledge of the rule book, Kieran takes refereeing seriously.
For all that, he has "no great ambition" to rise up through the ranks and take charge of senior championship matches.
So far, the most profile matches he has refereed have been senior league division two encounters and he's quite satisfied with his progress to date.
In 2009 he refereed just over 50 games, ranging from juvenile level to senior grade and concludes "they weren't as painful as they might have been!"
He confirms that he has enjoyed his innings to date as a referee and looks forward to giving it his best once more in 2010.
So, how long will he don the black garb and suffer the slings and arrows of some outrageous cat-calls?
"Well, I'll probably be stuck with it 'till the club gets another ref."
And you've guessed it, the Celts aren't in any major hurry to get a replacement for McCarville just yet!
Hurling booming in Cootehill!
Hurling in Cootehill continues to go from strength to strength with the club now boasting its highest number ever of number of 10-16 year olds learning the game.
Weekly training sessions are held for the club's under 10s, 12s, 14s and 16s for nine months of the year with the first-named group kicking off matters with indoor training in February.
During the past year, the under 12s participated in a number of county board organised blitzes in lieu of competitive action and their rate of improvement was notable.
For their part, the under 16s also gained considerable experience and while they failed to secure any victories, the experience garnered by them is bound to hold them in good stead as all but three of them are eligible for the grade once again in 2010.
However it was left to the burgeoning under 14s to ensure that 2009 proved to be a landmark year for the club.
The talented youngsters succeeded in propelling the club to its first division one county hurling final for the first time since the game's renaissance in the town six years ago thanks to a surprise 5-2 to 2-4 win in their 2009 U14 league semi-final duel with Mullahoran at Kingspan/Breffni Park in November last.
Co-incidentally, when the teams met earlier in the league, Mullahoran triumphed on their home territory by a very similar score, 5-3 to 2-4.
As such Cootehill travelled to headquarters with more hope than expectation in their hearts.
However the underdogs were full value for their seven point winning margin and really ought to have won by more such was the joy they reaped from open play in both exciting halves.
As is their wont, Mullahoran gave it their all but for all their honest endeavour they never actually looked like winning their game of catch-up which kicked off after four minutes following a goal by Caoimhin Carney, after good work by the winners' stand-out performer Enda Shalvey.
In the testing round, both teams found it difficult to show their skills to the maximum but once Daniel Reilly pointed in reply for Mullahoran in the 7th minute, a fine contest duly took its course.
Points were exchanged but after another Reilly point for Mullahoran, the impressive Aaron Cosgrove goaled (17th) to help propel Cootehill into a 2-1 to 0-2 interval lead.
Mullahoran flew off the blocks at the start of the second half but a fine save by Alex Hamilton from a Christopher Dalton piledriver and another goal from the aforementioned Cosgrove had Cootehill sitting pretty on the back of a 3-2 to 0-3 lead nine minutes after the restart.
Terrific work by Daniel Reilly in midfield kept Cootehill on their toes thereafter but while his two goals (18th and 21st mins) sandwiched a similar score from Cootehill sub. Johnny McKay, they weren't enough to stop the Celts booking a place in the final where they will meet Ulster Feile champions Woodford Gaels.
Watch this space!
Cootehill Celtic (U14 Div. One semi-final v Mullahoran); Alex Hamilton; Dermie Connolly, Fintan Roche, James McKitterick, Caoimhin Carney (1-1), Ryan Craddock, Ryan Rogers, Stephen Shalvey, Enda Shalvey (1-1), Aaron Cosgrove (2-0).
Subs used; Darren Lavery, Odhran Reilly, Jason Halton, Conall Farrell, Fiachra Hughes, Sam Foy, Johnny McKay (1-0). Tweet
