Momentum very firmly behind the Barry’s boys in Clarke's corner

On Saturday, St. Barry’s will be looking to claim their first Junior A football title since 2007 when they face Clann na nGael in this year’s county final at Dr. Hyde Park.

It has been a tough few years for the East Roscommon club. The Tarmonbarry-based side went five years without winning a championship game — a period which saw their stay in intermediate football end.

Clonguish native Colin Clarke was brought in by John McGowan and Eoin O’Boyle as manager for the 2023 season. Instant improvement followed, arresting Barry’s losing streak by reaching a quarter-final where they were defeated by neighbours Kilglass Gaels in a feisty affair in Kilmore.

This season, the club has reached what their manager is calling “bonus territory”. After a poor league campaign, the panel regrouped to win a crunch match against local rivals Strokestown in the preliminary quarter-finals.

The momentum has been building since that win, as Barry’s went on to beat Boyle in the quarter-final before surprising a fancied Ballinameen team in the last four, thanks to Pauric Halpin’s injury-time free.

Having already confirmed their spot in the Connacht club junior championship with their most recent victory, Clarke spoke of the effort expended in his second season in charge that has got Barry’s to this point.

“We had a very poor league campaign. Our panel was very stretched, we had lads not really committing. I suppose five weeks out before the St. Ronan’s game (in the opening round of the championship), it all kind of came together and lads started buying in.”

Clarke went on to highlight the importance of momentum after finishing third in their group.

“We started off with a good victory against Ronan’s, which laid the platform to get out of the group. I know we lost the next two games, but then we went into a preliminary quarter-final. I suppose we gathered a bit of momentum, and that’s where it has ended up — we’re in the final. 

“It’s amazing, it’s 17 years since Barry’s won the championship, and there’s a few boys still knocking around — the likes of David Keenan, Kyle Cawley, Tony Fallon, Finbar McGowan, Seán Doherty, John Murtagh.

“It’s a credit to them that they’re still involved. The younger lads can look up to these fellas,” he highlighted.

Younger players like Cillian Campbell, who was part of the Roscommon U-20 football panel earlier this year, and Emmet Burke, who scored a momentum-shifting goal in the second half of the semi-final, have been to the fore during Barry’s championship run.

The blend between youth and experience has proven invaluable to St. Barry’s, with Clarke complimenting the older players in the panel for encouraging the younger players.

“You need lads like that floating around the place. The rest of the lads are relatively young, we have a lot of lads in their twenties, so it’s important,” he pointed out.

One important aspect of St. Barry’s game has been their efficiency in turning the ball over in the middle third.

“Turnovers are big for us,” acknowledged Clarke, who gave credit to coach Niall Toher on the work he has done on that aspect of the game. The Longford native also pointed out that turning the ball over was only half the battle saying, “it’s how efficient you are then after that.”

In preparation for the final, Clarke referenced the buzz around the club, with the St. Barry’s ladies’ team in the intermediate final last Saturday. He said that the finishing touches are being put in place and that “we’ll be working on a few things to try and get us over the line” in an effort to bring a Junior A championship back to Barry’s for the first time in 17 years.