Ballinderry’s brightest moment

Ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland Intermediate final, Shaun Casey speaks to Declan Bateson about Ballinderry’s most famous day, their 2002 All-Ireland Senior final win over Nemo Rangers.

BELLAGHY were the constant stumbling block. Ballinderry held the tag of the second-best team in the Oakleaf County for two years running, no dispute, but it was Bellaghy who carried home the championship crown in 1999 and 2000.

One goal separated the sides in ’99. A single point 12 months later. But come 2001, it was Ballinderry who would enjoy the narrowest of victories and experienced the sweetest success. But that was only the starting point.

The John McLaughlin Cup was no stranger to Shamrock Park. Ballinderry had won six previous championship titles, the most recent in 1995. This one however was much more than just another championship glory. This was the beginning of the greatest run in the club’s history.

“We had a good young side that came through in ’95 and we were expected to push on,” recalls goal-getter Declan Bateson 23 years on. “Bellaghy were the current Ulster champions at that stage, so they were a brilliant side.

“It starts to play on the mind when you lose a couple of finals to the same team. We had that good side that came through in ’95 but to be a really good side you have to win a couple of championships, so we were under a bit of pressure.”

In the 1999 decider, Ballinderry didn’t perform on the day. In 2000, Barry McCusker received a controversial red card early on and they played the majority of the contest with 14 men. But in 2001, all the small margins fell Ballinderry’s way.

Brian McIver, the championship winning manager of six years previous, took charge once again in 2001, replacing Damian Barton at the helm, and that kickstarted Ballinderry’s historic rise to kings of Ireland.

“He was maybe just that bit of difference in 2001,” Bateson added of McIver’s return. “He was a super motivator, and he had us absolutely pitch perfect for the county final. We were really prepared for that game.

“Earlier in the season though, we played Craigbane in the first round of the championship and we were very lucky to get over the line. We had a 45 that dropped into the net, and it goes to show how sometimes you get a lucky break and that snowballs into a magnificent thing.”

In the end, it was a goal from Bateson that was the difference, and it all came from a move straight off the training ground. Bellaghy edged ahead just after half time before Bateson intervened to change the course of Ballinderry’s history.

“We’d actually worked on this move in training. If Conleith (Gilligan) was taking a 45, one of the corner-forwards on the edge of the square would come out as if they were looking it short and then turn and run back in.

He continued: “If the ball dropped in around the square, you were facing towards the goal. With ten minutes to go we got a 45, ‘Deets’ (Gilligan) hit it and big Enda (Muldoon), and the ‘keeper jumped for it, and it dropped perfect for me. I got my hands to it and pushed it into the net.

“That put us a point up but there was still eight or nine minutes to play. That was the last score. It was backs to the wall, big Niall McCusker was the rock that Bellaghy kept floundering on and somehow, we managed to keep them at bay.”

With that Bellaghy-shaped monkey off their back, the Shamrocks were raring to go in Ulster. They were crowned provincial winners for the first time ever in 1981, but it took them another 20 years to reach a second decider.

The class of ’95 had defeated Tyrone’s Errigal Ciaran but fell at the semi-final hurdle against Bailieborough Shamrocks of Cavan, after a replay. While winning Derry was the primary objective in 2001, getting another crack at Ulster excited the team.

The Shamrocks needed a second chance to see off St Gall’s in round one and proved too strong for Cavan Gaels in the last four clash. That left a winner-takes-all showpiece with Down’s Mayobridge and a chance to follow in the footsteps of the 1981 legends.

“The ’81 team were the heroes of my age, I was 10 or 11 when they were playing. They were magnificent and they’d won the first and only Ulster at that stage for Ballinderry and to try and emulate them was something that we strived for.

“The Ulster final was a nice November day, and it was a great game of football. It was two teams that really went for it, playing go-forward football. It was a joy to watch apparently but it was tough going stuck in the middle of it.”

“They got a goal, a rocket into the top corner but it was blown up for him over-carrying the ball prior to him hitting the shot so we got away with one and we ended up winning it with three to spare.

“We were growing as a team with every game. Different players were playing well and winning us games at different stages. To emulate that ’81 team to win an Ulster, that was my dream as a child.

“I suppose I was the oldest man on the team at that stage, I was 30,” Bateson continued. “It was just amazing; we really couldn’t believe that it had come true, and we were just delighted to win an Ulster title.”

A trip to London was the prize for the Ulster winners and it was Ballinderry who booked their flight across the water to face Tír Chonaill Gaels in the All-Ireland quarter-final. The club held its annual dinner dance the week before, so everyone was in good form heading over.

McIver’s side avoided the potential banana skin on the field, while the fans enjoyed “a great bit of craic” off it. But coming home with the victory was the main thing and that qualified the club for an All-Ireland semi-final showdown with Wicklow’s Rathnew.

“It was an unusual pairing; I don’t think they’d won Leinster prior to that,” Bateson added. “We would have been expecting a team from Dublin or Meath or Kildare, some of the usual counties so they were novel opponents.”

A week of heavy rain left the game in jeopardy. The newly developed pitch at Pearse Park, Longford was “completely waterlogged.” While McIver protested the decision for the game to go ahead, there was only one winner when Ballinderry emerged from the dressing room.

“We went down the week before and the pitch was in great shape for the time of year,” remembered Bateson. “We had a run out on it, a couple of drills and a couple of shooting drills and everyone was happy going up the road.

“But it rained for the whole week in between and the pitch was completely waterlogged. It never should have been played; it was absolutely ridiculous. I remember Brian, the referee and the opposition manager having a talk about what to do.

“Brian was adamant it was impossible to play football and the Rathnew manager must have thought we didn’t fancy it, so they wanted to play it. Brian came in like a bull and by the time we were going out, we were taking the hinges off the doors.”

Ballinderry burst into an early 1-3 to 0-0 lead but the Wicklow champs did comeback to make a game of it. In the end, it was the good start that gained Ballinderry the upper hand and they saw out a five-point win.

Pre-match, Ballinderry lined out in the customary gleaming white jerseys but after an hour in the muck and dirt, their shirts were unrecognisable.

“Our jerseys were mud coloured, they went from white to just pure brown,” laughed Bateson.

Having been through the trenches, the Shamrocks were ready to take the next step, now 60 minutes away from All-Ireland glory.

“Everybody in the club, connected in any way, were in dreamland,” Bateson said. “Around the club at that stage, the atmosphere was just hectic. Every training session, there were a couple of hundred people watching and they were great times, you’d love to go back and bottle that feeling.”

Club royalty in Nemo Rangers stood between Ballinderry and the Andy Merrigan Cup but unfortunately for the Shamrocks, the thrill of seeing their club compete in Croke Park was one they wouldn’t experience.

Croker was under redevelopment at the time, so the game was set for Semple Stadium, Thurles instead. While Bateson and his teammates would have loved to grace the hallowed turf in the blue and white, winning the trophy was all that really mattered.

“The opportunity to get to Croke Park with your club was just heaven and not to have that was disappointing but we were just focused on the goal of making sure we won the All-Ireland, no matter where it was played.”

While the Croke Park voyage didn’t materialise, the club and the team ensured those few days would never be forgotten.

“Our committee, the likes of Mickey Donnelly and Brian Rocks, we were so well prepared for the game,” described Bateson.

“We stayed in a fantastic hotel in Kilkenny and after the game, we had a banquet at Hayes Hotel, where the GAA was founded. Every detail was thought about and it was a great night. It was everything you expected from our club.

“We got suits for the final and I still have it hanging up. I don’t think I could get into it now,” he joked, “but it’s there as a keepsake and everything was taken care of superbly. I know the players on the day are remembered but the committee people were brilliant.”

Like the county final all those months previous, Bateson’s eye for goal were key to victory. He punched home a first-half major and earned a turnover for a second goal near the end of the game which allowed Ballinderry to breathe a little easier in the final few minutes.

“Dessie (Ryan, the team’s coach) was a big man for following in shots if they fall short so for the first goal, I used to keep Darren Conway going about his left foot, I always followed them in because I knew they were going to fall short.

“Darren took a shot, and it fell short. The ‘keeper came out too late and I was taller than the man I was marking, which was unusual, so I felt I was going to get to it first and I got a fist to it, and it went into the net.”

One point up at half time and with the breeze at their backs, all Ballinderry had to do was keep their heads and they’d be All-Ireland champions. They extended that gap to five after the turnaround, before Nemo fired back.

“We went out five points ahead at one stage in the second half but then Nemo took over. They clawed it back and scored four in a row so there was only a point in it with seven or eight minutes to go.”

A turnover in attack left Ballinderry in on goal and a chance to secure the title. Bateson once again played a key role, winning the ball back and feeding possession to captain Adrian McGuckin, who set up Gerard Cassidy for the crucial score.

“I just got my toe to it, and it was two-on-one – Adrian, Gerard Cassidy and the ‘keeper and it all came down to Adrian’s pick up. If he got it wrong, the ‘keeper was out on top of him, but he got it to perfection, got it across to Gerard, who had an empty net, and we were in heaven.”

From runners up in Derry to the best team in Ireland. It was a dream come true for Ballinderry.

“We were in disbelief that we had managed to climb that mountain and accomplish what we had accomplished. It was amazing.”