The 2024 County Final was a special day for those players who lined out fifty years ago.
Sheemore Gaels - Auld fellas
At a county football championship final in the last ten years I couldn’t but overhear a conversation behind me. The particular occasion was the presentation of the senior champions of 50 years previously to the crowd at half-time.
Person 1 “What are they bringing the auld fellas onto the field for”? Person 2 - obviously vastly wiser and more experienced - “I think they won something back in the day”. And neither listening to what was being announced on the public address system.
Well if that’s the criteria I officially became an “auld fella” on County Final Day, October 6, 2024 at 2.35 pm - despite having attained that status about 40 years previously, in the eyes of many in my workplace.
On this occasion that brief explanation of the half time military operation would have required considerable further explanation - like who the …… is Alice - I mean Sheemore Gaels.
In the early seventies Senior teams were scarce, so for the 1973 Senior Championship it was proposed and accepted that teams at grades below senior could form amalgamations and compete in the Senior Championship. As still happens in Kerry. And the sky still hasn’t fallen. Fenagh - in reality Fenagh Kiltubrid as they drew players from both parishes in more or less equal numbers, and then a Junior club, agreed to form such an amalgamation with Carrick on Shannon, then an Intermediate club. And the name? Well the meeting that agreed to form the amalgamation was held in that bastion of GAA meeting places - the most central pub, the one in question on this occasion was and still is ‘The Sheemore Lounge’, Kilclare. Join the dots!
Other such amalgamations were St Joseph’s – Aughavas - Drumreilly and Northern Gaels – Glencar-Manorhamilton – Melvin Gaels. That year, 1973, Sheemore Gaels caused no ripples - beaten by Allen Gaels - another amalgamation, albeit a more permanent one consisting of Drumshanbo - Ballinaglera in the first round, overcame Northern Gaels in the first round of the Losers Group and dutifully beaten by a ‘real’ team, Aughnasheelin, in the next round. Nobody’s nose out of joint.
Roll on 1974. Sheemore Gaels beaten by St Joseph’s in the first round 3-7 to 0-11. In the first round of the Losers Group we scraped past Glencar-Manorhamilton by the narrowest of margins, 5-2 to 2-10 - improving slightly. In the Losers Group final, still improving, beat Gortletteragh 2-10 to 1-5. In the semi-final proper drawn against a star studded Ballinamore, going for three in a row and having won five of the previous seven championships. Shock, horror and definitely insubordination of the highest order, Sheemore Gaels beat the red hot favourites 1-6 to 0-8. Still improving.
The final was against Mohill in Páirc Seán MacDiarmada on Sunday August 25 th , a showery, windy day before a record crowd of 2,500. This is still a significant attendance and compares favourably even to the 2024 drawn final crowd of 1,900. Doubtful if improving - in fact definitely not, Gaels nevertheless prevailed on a 1-10 to 0-8 score line that did scant justice to a brilliant Mohill team, who just couldn’t find the posts on the day. Sheemore Gaels, an amalgamation, the first to progress through the Losers Group, with four minors and nine of the team under 23, had won Leitrim’s Senior Football Championship. Joy was unconfined – well actually it was confined - to Carrick, Kiltubrid and Fenagh. Ballinamore’s charismatic chairman Christy Gallogly, had visions of an even greater conspiracy, as he described, with great eloquence, Sheemore Gaels, at various times, as the United Nations, the League of Nations and having players from ‘Edentenny to the sea’. I’m not sure if going to Ballinamore that Sunday night, solely on the basis that it was the only location with bar exemptions, increased the love!
Three weeks later, Fenagh, who had been promoted from Junior ranks by winning the 1973 Junior championship, to Intermediate, and had, three months earlier earlier qualified for the Intermediate Championship final, beat Cloone after an end to end, pulsating final, on a 2-10 to 2-8 score line. This brought a natural end to the Sheemore Gaels amalgamation, as Fenagh were now a Senior club in their own right. Come Convention time the ‘real’ clubs were taking no chances. A motion was passed that the senior championship be confined to clubs playing in divisions one and two of the league. Could it be that such amalgamations were welcome only as long as they were food for the bigger fishes?
And so the Carrick, Kiltubrid and Fenagh auld fellas walked or limped and waved at half time of the 2024 drawn final in Ballinamore. On the previous evening we attended a Mass in the middle ground - St Mary’s Church, Rantogue, concelebrated by a holy trinity of priests, Fr Tommy Greenan - team trainer, Fr Liam Kelly - corner back and Fr Pat Lennon - wing back. With such connections how could we have lost. Later that evening, in ‘Gerties’ in Keshcarrigan, we raised a glass – well several actually, to absent friends – Sean Leyden, Josie Murray, Hugh Murray, Gus Guckian, Michael James McKiernan, Joe Flynn and Pat Egan – all involved, either as players or management. Nor did we forget our final opponents, Mohill, as a special bond joins County Final victors and vanquished, as we thought fondly of their and our absent friends – Jim Boyle, Brendan Gallagher, Gerry Keegan, Michael McGuinness and John McNabola. Fifty years later Mohill have the result they probably feel they deserved in 1974 as they are crowned 2024 Senior Champions.
So from the auld fellas in the departure lounge Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anamacha.
See ye!
Padraig Leydon
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