WATCHING TRILLICK BEAT Errigal Ciaran in the Tyrone final on Sunday, the mind flickered back to the same pairing in the 2019 final.
The week before there was another positive result for the club in the offices of the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council Planning section. The previous June, they made a significant application for a full-sized pitch complete with dugouts, floodlights, fencing, ball nets, paths and groundworks.
The Chair of the Planning Committee was Mary Garrity of the SDLP; mother of players, Simon and James. She declared her interest and stepped out of the process.
After listening to the details at the decisive meeting, UUP Councillor Alan Rainey proposed its adoption. The plan was seconded by Councillor Errol Thompson of the DUP, who delivered his line with a flourish: “I would have pleasure in seconding the recommendation.”
Think about that for a second. A rural GAA club showing massive ambition, not only helped by two Unionist politicians, but indeed relishing the prospect.
At the time, Garrity told yours truly, “There would be people within Trillick and the community in Trillick, including DUP, Ulster Unionists, Sinn Fein and so on, it is a very harmonious area and, thank God, we are one of the lucky ones. The Protestant band would open the Fleadh in Trillick, for example, when we had it.”
She added, “It’s my favourite committee of the council. People would argue it is not meant to be political whatsoever.
“And we often have to make decisions, ones that could make you very unpopular in different corners of the world.
“I have to make sure I don’t put up just what I want, unless I can stand over it in terms of policy.”
Trillick are unusual in that they are a rural Ulster club that enjoys a high level of support from the local Unionist community.
And it’s not just a tokenistic, ‘hope yous do well at the weekend, lads’ thing either. They have people from other faiths and political persuasions regularly attending their games.
“There was a nod to that,” continued Garrity, “Especially when the DUP said they would be delighted, why did he say he was delighted? Because he knows it is a club that is well run, I believe. We have cross-community participants in it, it makes no difference for anyone. Without blowing our own trumpet, if everyone had that kind of ethos, it would thrive even more.
“We have had our own troubles in the past that people would find hard to get over in both sides of the community.
“But we have a lotto in our club and I go down to a ‘Protestant pub’, if I could be as vulgar. I go in to lift tickets there and people in the bar will buy tickets.”
It’s the kind of place that draws everyone back in.
In 1995 when Tyrone reached the All-Ireland final, Jody Gormley was an elegant citóg midfielder.
Thereafter, he became a well-travelled figure, playing in London for Tír Chonaill Gaels and the county team, and playing several seasons with his adopted club, Bredagh in Belfast.
For a couple of years he was the Antrim manager and also spent time in Loughinsland, while he brought Bredagh to the Down Intermediate title in 2019.
It is damn near close to a four hour round trip from Belfast to Trillick and yet he accepted former manager Nigel Seaney’s invitation to join the backroom team for last year. They won the league together.
More importantly, the success of Trillick has been a patient job of work. Gormley understood the principles of the club and could bed in over the course of last year.
And now, he has become a championship winning manager with Trillick. It’s the high point of his managerial career but you could hardly have guessed it as he stands contentedly over the crush barriers, resembling a good-humoured dealer at a mart looking at a promising pen of fat cattle.
“It is a big commitment, there’s no doubt, coming down the road from Belfast, but it’s worth it,” he says.
“The energy in that group is so positive, it’s unbelievable. I’m not exaggerating, they’re a great group of fellas to be involved with.
“I would’ve played with some of the older boys, and their fathers and uncles… it’s a big thing to win the championship with your own club.”
Asked why he hadn’t been involved in coaching and managing Trillick before now, he smiles and answers, “It’s always good to make your mistakes away from home, isn’t it? It’s important that you learn as you go along.
“Obviously we still have a lot to learn, but this is a good step in the right direction.”
As an indication of wat he talks about in terms of leadership, Trillick went into this campaign without Michael Gallagher and Mattie Donnelly. And Gormley believes the players themselves continue to inspire their clubmates.
“Not to show any disrespect to Mattie and Mickey, but there are a lot of good footballers in Trillick and I think they showed that today. We were probably quite fortunate in that they got injured early enough in the season, so we were able to regroup,” explained Gormley.
“But Mattie said to the players, pointedly, I’m injured but you’re a good squad, I don’t want to hear any talk of it.
“That was very important and drew a line under the fact. After that, it genuinely wasn’t mentioned. Mattie and Mickey are there every night at training, they’re doing their rehab, making a contribution, those two guys are massive leaders in a squad that’s full of leaders.”
