BACK ON ST Patrick’s Day, Dr Crokes edged out Slaughtneil by two points to land the top prize in club football.
Both clubs made it back to their respective provincial finals, but the Dr Crokes bid for back-to-back All-Ireland titles was ended by Nemo Rangers in Munster at the weekend.
The All-Ireland club title is a notoriously difficult competition to defend and Crossmaglen are the only side to have done so in the last 20 years. That they did it twice, in 1999-2000 and 2011-12, is a testament to the mentality and quality of that club.
It was a leggy performance by Dr Crokes on Sunday, but that should be no major surprise given the lengthy campaign they endured last season. Despite the injection of talented youngsters like Tony Brosnan, Gavin White, Jordan Kiely and Micheál Burns, the vast majority of this team have appeared in five Munster club finals since 2011.
In 2011, 12, 13, and 16 their championship season ran onto the following January, at least, an indication of the mileage on their legs. That’s a lot of time spend trudging around heavy pitches in November and December.
While it may have been the accumulated fatigue of several long seasons that took its toll, or all the winning dulled their senses, Nemo Rangers will point out that the Kerry outfit were simply beaten by a better team.
Nemo are, of course, a hugely successful club in their own right. No team has won more All-Irelands than their seven, while they’ve been Munster champions 16 times and Cork winners on 20 occasions.
It can’t be understated how beneficial it is for underage players to grow up in a club that views winning as a right of passage. The importance of having a winning culture running through a club is one of those intangibles that can’t be measured.
The Cork side hadn’t won a Munster title since 2010, but they were supremely confident going into the provincial final against the reigning All-Ireland champions.
“Other teams might be intimidated by them – like, Nemo are a cocky oul’ shower, we always think we are going to win anyway but it probably does count!” said manager Larry Kavanagh after the game.
The club’s glorious history will only serve to drive on the current group to emulate those who’ve gone before them. Paul Kerrigan’s four Munster titles with Nemo pales in comparison to the five All-Irelands his father Jimmy won with the club during their glorious era of the 1970s and 80s.
Nemo’s opponents in the All-Ireland semi-final are Robert Emmet’s GAC Slaughtneil, who only won their first county title in 2004 but have emerged as a genuine All-Ireland contenders over the last three years.
The Derry kingpins retained their Ulster crown on Sunday, their third since 2014, but their sights will be set on another assault on the Andy Merrigan Cup after All-Ireland final defeats in 2017 and 2015.
They’ve replaced Crossmaglen as the dominant force in the northern province, but have yet to clear that final hurdle. When a strong club team rises up, they generally have a window of opportunity to accumulate as much silverware as possible.
That rule doesn’t apply to the few genuine superpowers in the club game. Sides like Dr Crokes, Nemo Rangers, St Vincent’s, Kilmacud Crokes, Crossmaglen Rangers and Corofin have won All-Irelands decades apart. That kind of know-how is ingrained into the culture of a club.
At any point a brilliant crop could emerge and they’ll become contenders for All-Irelands again. At the moment Crokes, Nemo, Vincent’s and Corofin are among the top teams in the country, while both Cross and Kilmacud have enjoyed St Patrick’s Day victories in the last 10 years.
It remains to be seen whether Slaughtneil will remain a superpower in the club game for years to come, or if this is a golden generation of players who need to make hay.
Players of the calibre of Chrissy McKaigue, Brendan Rogers, Patsy Bradley and Shane McGuigan only come around every so often, but they are doing huge work at underage level by all accounts.
Slaughtneil have adopted the ‘More than a club’ mentality that La Liga giants Barcelona have maintained over the years. Just as important as the happenings on the field nestled at the foothills of the Sperrin Mountains, is their promotion of Irish culture and language in the local community. That sort of positive work creates a tight knit locality.
Chrissy McKaigue spoke last year about his belief that Slaughtneil is “the most united club in the country.”
In February, the country’s most united club meets its most successful one.
An All-Ireland final and immortality for both sets of players is within touching distance. Getting over the line is all that matters.
********************
*An earlier version of this article stated Nemo Rangers will meet Slaughtneil next January. The game takes place next February.
The42 has just published its first book, Behind The Lines, a collection of some of the year’s best sports stories. Pick up your copy in Eason’s, or order it here today (€10):
