Philly McEvoy: A life between the posts

By Shaun Casey

The goalkeeping position is the loneliest place on a football field. The outcome of a game, or an entire season, can quite literally rest on their fingertips.

That’s a heavy burden to carry.

In the modern era of structured attacks and team-defence, the poor old number one is still stuck all on his own between the posts, knowing his impact could turn out to be the most crucial of all.

Philly McEvoy’s Armagh career hung by a thread. On more than one occasion, the Dromintee man was ready to call it quits only for fate to intervene and offer him a lifeline.

He guarded the goals for seven years and played under a number of different managers. Peter McDonnell, Paddy O’Rourke, Paul Grimley and Kieran McGeeney were all in the hotseat during his county career.

McDonnell brought McEvoy in during pre-season of 2009, and he hung around until 2015, earning almost 60 appearance in the orange and white shirt.

His unofficial debut actually arrived in 2003 as a 21-year-old, when the rest of the team were off on holiday having just won the All-Ireland. They needed to pull a team together for the McKenna Cup, and McEvoy got his shot.

“The U21s played in the McKenna Cup, and I played two games against Monaghan and Down,” he explained. “Ciaran McKinney had just been called up to replace Benny Tierney (who had retired) and he went on the holiday after just coming through the door.

“It wasn’t until the end of 2008 that I got an official call up from Peter McDonnell, so I had to bide my time. That was the start of my county career then, into preseason and then the McKenna Cup in 2009.”

McEvoy entered a changing room stacked with Ulster and All-Ireland medals. The Orchard County were the reigning provincial champions, having collected the Anglo Celt seven times in the previous decade.

“I went to all the Ulster finals and all the matches throughout the years. They reached the All-Ireland quarter-final in 2008 and lost to Wexford – the day Mattie Ford got the goal, and I was there that day.

“I was playing well for Dromintee, and we were competing at a high level, and I was 26 years old so I was chopping at the bit. Still, I realised how good (Paul) Hearty and McKinney were and it was only when McKinney retired that I got my shot.”

Back in those days, Hearty was usually preoccupied with Crossmaglen’s All-Ireland adventures and was out of the Armagh scene until after St Patrick’s Day, so there was gametime to be had for McEvoy.

“Me and Paudie Rogers got called in and we alternated during the National League in 2009,” he recalled. “I remember saving a penalty against Kildare to win the match and ironically, Geezer was the Kildare manager.

“Peter McDonnell was our manager, another Mullaghbawn man, so that always sticks in my mind. It was a bit surreal coming up against a team managed by Geezer, he was everyone’s idol growing up.”

All-Ireland champions and arch-rivals Tyrone were the first step on the hurdle in Ulster in 2009 and with Hearty returning from his club heroics, he was straight back into the starting team.

Manager McDonnell felt that McEvoy had taken a backward step on Hearty’s return. When a goalkeeper was required for a drill in training, McEvoy held off and let Hearty step up.

“He said I’d taken a backseat and let Hearty move ahead during drills. I had that respect for Hearty and was still inexperienced at county level so that struck a chord with me. I realised you have to have full confidence in yourself and put yourself forward.”

McEvoy didn’t have to wait too long for a taste of championship football. Armagh lost to the Red Hands and McEvoy was in nets for the qualifier clash with Monaghan, which also ended in defeat after extra time.

Hearty was Paddy O’Rourke’s preferred choice of goalkeeper when the Down legend took over in 2010, and McEvoy endured another few years on the bench.

“I remember I conceded one goal in four league matches (in 2010), and I was dropped when Hearty came back. That knocked my confidence.

“Paddy would have always said that Hearty was more experienced, but how do you get championship experience when you don’t get a chance? But Hearty was and is the most decorated club player in Armagh and he did everything at county level as well.

It was only when Hearty retired at the end of 2011 that McEvoy felt it was finally his time to nail down the number one spot.

But he wasn’t the only one that had their eyes on the jersey.

Niall Geoghegan of Middletown got the nod for the first round of the league against Cork, when Armagh earned a draw and was set to start against Kerry, in Tralee, the following weekend.

“Dromintee were still pushing for championships at the time, and I had made the decision that I was done with Armagh. I was there for three years and hadn’t established myself, so I was going to go back and focus on the club.

“I rang Aidan O’Rourke who was our club manager and he told me that I still needed to be ultra professional, to go down to Kerry and help Niall as best I could but once the coach landed back to the Carrickdale Hotel, to let Paddy know my thoughts.”

McEvoy took O’Rourke’s advice. He made the long trek down, togged out in the number 16 shirt and helped Geoghegan prepare for his shot at the Kingdom. But a twist of fate soon changed the evening’s plans for both men.

“In the warmup, the very last ball, and it wasn’t even a proper shot because if it had of been I’d feel a wee bit of guilt, I launched a high ball in, Niall went to catch it and then he let out this scream.”

McEvoy added, “He couldn’t even get his glove off because his finger was that badly damaged, so I was in at the last minute.

“In my head, I was already quitting and I had a packet of wine gums to munch through during the match and suddenly, in the space of a few seconds, I was starting.

“Kerry had Kieran Donaghy at full forward, Darren O’Sullivan, Declan O’Sullivan, all the big guns and I was just thrown in at the deep end. I ended up keeping a clean sheet and we beat them; I think that was the last time Armagh won in Kerry.

“Aidan texted me after, knowing I was staying, and it just showed how quickly it can all change. For the next couple of seasons, I played in all the league and championship matches for Armagh.

“Looking back, I would have had massive regrets if I did quit because I hadn’t established myself and I hadn’t proven to myself that I was good enough.”

Roscommon and Galway ended Armagh’s year’s in 2012 and 2013 respectively, but the tables began to turn in 2014. With Paul Grimley in the hotseat, he welcomed Kieran McGeeney back to the Orchard County as his right-hand man.

Monaghan beat them after a replay in the Ulster semi-final, before Armagh embarked on a memorable journey through the qualifiers, culminating in a one-point defeat to Donegal at Croke Park in the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

Like that February night down in Tralee, things could have been so much different for McEvoy. Having started all league and championship matches, Paul Grimley had a different plan when they were drawn out against Tyrone in Omagh.

A do or die knockout game against the old enemy, McEvoy couldn’t wait. But Grimley decided to start Tim Harney, a former underage goalkeeper for Tyrone, who had linked up with the Pearse Óg club and was ready for his first championship start with Armagh.

With a new child on the way later in 2014, McEvoy had committed to the fact that this was his last season as an inter-county player, but he didn’t want it to end like this.

“It was my brother’s stag the weekend of the Tyrone match, but I’d given up going,” he continued. “Then on the Thursday night before training, Grimbo pulled me aside and said because Tim had played underage for Tyrone and for his knowledge, he was starting.

“My heart just sank. It wasn’t as though I’d just lost my place, in my head, my Armagh career was over because if Tim played well and we won, they weren’t going to drop him and if we were beat, we were out of the championship.

“I just focused on trying to get Tim ready because we needed to beat Tyrone, but I remember telling Kevin Dyas in the car on the way home and he couldn’t believe it.”

Again, a strike of fortune (from McEvoy’s perspective) moved the goalposts again. From his Orchard County career almost ending, he quickly had to regather his thoughts as things suddenly changed.

“Paul texted me on the Friday morning to prepare myself as if I was starting because there was an issue with Tim’s registration. Ultimately, Croke Park hadn’t registered Tim correctly – he was eligible to play for the Ógs but not Armagh, so I was back in.

“That was as big a mental test as I ever had to deal with, certainly from a sporting perspective, but I kept a clean sheet, we beat Tyrone in Omagh, and it was probably the best team performance I was involved in with Armagh.

“It was probably the best championship victory I had with Armagh, and they still had Stephen O’Neill, Sean Cavanagh. Niall Morgan was unbelievable. To think that my career was over 24 hours previously, looking back, I don’t know how I dealt with it all.

“I was emotional after that because I realised I had a second chance, almost like a third chance if you consider that I was going to qui in 2011.”

McEvoy did bring the curtain down on his Armagh career in 2015. With a new child in the house, his wife agreed that he should give it one last shot, but with work commitments and everything else, it was time to pack it in.

He played in the semi-final of the McKenna Cup, but preparations meant he wasn’t at his best that night as Tyrone earned a comfortable victory.

“The problem was that I was working in the Bank of Ireland in Portadown and we were training in the Athletic Grounds or Callanbridge and doing weights in Armagh as well.

“I was going to the gym straight from Portadown on Monday and Wednesday and then going to Callanbridge on Tuesday and Thursday. I wasn’t seeing my son Charlie awake, from Sunday night through to Friday evening.

“I didn’t want to continue like that. I wanted to try it before pulling the pin and Geezer gave me plenty of time and couldn’t have been more accommodating.

“The story about that Tyrone match, I had got very little sleep the night before and went to work that morning as usual. I went straight from work to the Athletic Grounds, and I was there maybe 45 minutes earlier than I needed to be.

“I decided to take a 20-minute power nap and ended up sleeping in the car for an hour and it was the first time ever, club or county, that I was actually late.

“It was the first time in my career that I played when I probably wasn’t up to it and I had a stinker. At half time, I had made my decision to quit so I wanted to just go and give it a bash. I remember leaving the pitch a wee bit more satisfied that I had given it a go.”

And that was it. It was over.

McEvoy continued to play at club level for Dromintee but soon stepped into the world of coaching and that helped to fill the void.

He’s linked up with plenty of different clubs as a goalkeeping coaching, the likes of Dromintee, Inniskeen and Cavan Gaels and is also the current Armagh Ladies goalkeeping coach for the past number of years.

“I love the coaching. I don’t miss playing because I’m so involved in the coaching side of things. I love to be able to give something back, using all the experience I’ve had, to try and take the ‘keepers I coached to a level that I probably didn’t even get to myself.

“There are other bits that make it all worthwhile. The likes of the Armagh Ladies this year, Moya McGrane was called up from the minors, and it took me back to 26 years ago when I first started with Armagh.

“Paul McGrane, I don’t even know how he knew my name, but he pulled me aside and told me that if there was anything I needed, to tell him and he would sort it out and that always stuck with me.

“When I saw Moya, I got the chance to relay the favour that her dad had done for me. I think it was more significant for me than it was for Moya, to have that full circle moment, to be able to do that for Paul’s daughter, I can’t tell you what that meant to me.

“The same with Cassie Henderson, I played with her dad Ryan, so it’s nice to have those moments because you feel as if you are giving something back to the people that helped you.”

Reflecting on his time in the orange and white jersey, it mightn’t have delivered the Ulster and All-Ireland titles that he’d hoped it would and despite the up and downs, he loved every minute of it.

“I only have a Division Two medal. We beat Down in Croke Park and that’s the only medal I got. The plan was to keep winning Ulsters and maybe All-Irelands, it didn’t work out but I still look back with immense pride.

“It was a roller coaster and I’m sure every player has their own ups and downs but I’m very grateful to have played with the lads I played with but also having the likes of Davy O’Hare and Brian McAlinden as goalkeeper coaches and the other ‘keepers I worked with too.

“I couldn’t speak more highly of my time with Armagh, despite the fact that we went on a bit of a drought, but it was always about the journey.

“There were a good cohort of players that I played with that got their All-Ireland and Ulster medals, so I take great satisfaction in them winning it and that I got to play with them.”