By Damian Dolan

'Which one's Philip Butler?' one journalist keenly enquired at London Southend Airport as the team prepared to board a flight on route to play Mayo in last year's the Connacht final. Upon having Butler pointed out to her, she duly exclaimed 'ah, he's just a baby!'.

London's march to a first-ever Connacht final appearance thrust the county, its manger and its players into the media spotlight, and none more so than a fresh faced London born and raised then 20-year-old student by the name of Philip Butler.

Owing his Irish connection to his Cork mother, as well as Cork connections on his father's side of the family through his Nan, Butler became one of the faces of the Exiles' historic year.

It's been an eventful 12 months for the corner back, who one year ago had only just made his London debut - against Leitrim in the league in Carrick on Shannon - and for whom events conspired to thrust him into the full media glare.

A misplaced passport had very nearly cost him that London debut in Carrick. Thankfully a hasty search proved successful and he went on to more than hold his own with an Impressive display.

Butler wasn't the only London-born player on the panel, but he was, as he puts it, 'the one with the accent'.

"It was little bit weird as I'm not as big a player as the likes of Lorcan Mulvey or captain Seamus Hannon - they're experienced players, great players," said Butler, now 21 to The Irish World. "But it wasn't too bad."

It had seemed for a time, however, that he would be destined to play only a peripheral role. Named among London's substitutes for their historic win over Sligo, manager Paul Coggins summoned Sligo native Brian Collins from the bench when Kevin Lynam went down injured. Butler would have to wait.

"I was a bit gutted when that happened, I was like 'what's Brian doing warming up!', he laughs. "But Brian got injured then and that was an opportunity for me."

Boy did he take it, starting both games against Leitrim, the Connacht final with Mayo and then London's Croke Park outing against Cavan. An extraordinary journey - an extraordinary year.

"It was an honour [to play at Croke Park], but I was a bit gutted about the result and that's what you mainly think about," added Butler, who wasn't unduly faxed by playing at Croker.

"But it doesn't really bother me where we play - I'd prefer it to be Ruislip as it's only ten minutes down the road for me."

Having missed out against Sligo, Butler was thrust into the fray against Leitrim in Carrick, and it was only now that he felt truly part of the panel.

"I was surprisingly ok; I wasn't too nervous, just excited. I remember having a good warm up but the rest of it is just a blur really," said Butler, about whom much was made of him playing championship for London before he'd played senior championship for his club, Tir Chonaill Gaels. That would come later in the summer.

"Sligo was a great win but it was a bit gutting not to have played. And when the draw happened against Leitrim it was hugely disappointing as I thought 'am I going to win a game in the championship?"

He needn't have worried. A week later the Exiles finished the job, if only just, by beating Leitrim in a thrilling replay at Dr Hyde Park in Roscommon - London holding off a resurgent Leitrim second half comeback to win 2-11 to 1-13, having led by 14 points at half-time.

"The last ten minutes was horrible - it felt like half an hour. It was a constant onslaught and I thought 'are we going to throw this away?'. When the final whistle went it was just a massive relief," recalled Butler, a self-proclaimed soccer and rugby nut until he discovered Gaelic football when he was 12.

A Connacht final and Croke Park would follow, as well as that senior debut for the Gaels. Now firmly established in the London side, Butler has come a long way in the past 12 months.

"I feel stronger and a little bit more confident - I've played championship games now. There isn't the pressure of 'am in going to get a game?'," he said.

"I was a bit worried last year, because I was with the team in 2012 and never got a game. So it was just a relief to finally get some games and become a regular. That was the goal when I was 16, to become a regular by the time I was 20, so to do it when I was 20 was fantastic.

"I remember watching the game against Galway in 2009 when London got hammered, and I just thought 'I've got a chance here, so I might as well go for it'.

"The next goal now is just to beat Galway on Sunday, and then maybe long term to get to a Connacht final again and win a senior championship with Tir Chonaill Gaels." Tweet

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