Everybody in Creggs seems to be joining in the celebrations. In the middle of the Strokestown pitch, family and friends have swarmed around the players. Mere metres away the Kilglass Gaels players gather with club officials and supporters. Theirs is a quieter gathering.

The Creggs players celebrate the club’s first championship success in 33 years. Pic: Gerard O’Loughlin

By Noel Fallon

As they await the presentation with a dignified demeanour, Kilglass have time to dwell on the bane of any sportsperson’s career, the ‘might-have beens’. Their regrets will more likely focus on the drawn match than the game just finished but they will be part of the post-match conversation around Roosky.
Referring to their last junior triumph somebody remarks that “it’s a long time since 1983” and Ger Dowd agrees readily. Dowd, joint-manager with Jonathan Conroy of the Creggs team who have bridged the long gap, is sought out by everyone. Among those offering congratulations are team-mates of Ger and his brother Kieran when they last won the junior title.
Ger handles the attention with his customary calm. Dowd has deftly juggled managerial duties with Creggs and St. Brigid’s this year and this was the weekend when all that work bore fruit. He knows that his team have done what every manager dreams of — they have delivered on the big day.
“We played well today. We are a good footballing team and having played well all year we would have been disappointed if we hadn’t won the county title,” Ger said.
“I am delighted, this is a great day for Creggs football. We showed more workrate and more intensity that we did the last day. We learned a lot from the drawn match and I thought we got our match-ups right today. We gave a much better team display than we did in the drawn game. Kilglass Gaels started well but we showed good application and good workrate,” he noted.

The joint-manager felt that the success would have a very positive impact on the players, management and the Creggs club area in general.

“People had to stand up today and they did. All the young lads stood up, a player like Conor Gore was outstanding. David Brandon and Colin Canny were excellent, you couldn’t fault anyone. The influence of James McKeague and Colin Canny, two players who have All-Ireland minor medals, was important. This is a great boost for our area and a reward for a lot of hard work. The St. Ciaran’s underage teams have benefitted both Creggs and Fuerty. These players have competed at a high level at minor and U-21. That experience helped to get us over the line today,” Dowd outlined.
“We knew we had a team good enough to win the junior title. We had a good team for the last couple of years but this year we had good young lads coming through. I suppose the younger guys like Shane (Dowd) are used to winning underage titles and being part of county development squads. That has given us an impetus and helped good players like Enda O’Rourke and Tom Fleming who hadn’t experienced underage success,” he maintained.
“We tired near the end but Strokestown is a big pitch. Kilglass showed great courage. They have resilience and steel, and great commitment. To beat a team as good as Kilglass makes this victory all the sweeter for us,” Dowd concluded.