It’s A Grand Old Team To Play For… Greencastle

SEAN Teague mightn’t seem like the nostalgic type, but he isn’t totally immune to its charms, and just the other week he took some time to look back at Greencastle’s All-Ireland Junior Championship final triumph in 2007.

Their 0-13 to 0-12 victory over Kerry side Duagh was the cherry on top of a season to remember.

We’ve touched base with a number of its protagonists as we delve deep into the greatest year in this club’s history.

They include Barry Tracey – a man who played his last ever game for his club in the All-Ireland showdown as he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma the following year.

Collie Tuohey, their evergreen goalkeeper who is still lining out for Greencastle after 26 years of undiluted service. Believe it or not, but he travelled in a white van with playing colleague Terry McDermott to every venue, including Croke Park, in their All-Ireland winning season.

And Sean Teague himself – the former Tyrone captain whose playing career was stopped in its tracks by injury. He came on board as manager after Greencastle were relegated the previous season, and the rest, as they say, is history.

If you could attach a handy tag-line to Greencastle’s run to Tyrone, Ulster and All-Ireland Junior Championship honours in 2006/07, it would surely involve the word ‘struggle’.

Nearly every single match involved a comeback of some sorts. They were lucky to escape with their lives in their first-round victory over Derrytresk; a replay was necessitated to shake off Tattyreagh in the Tyrone County final; they scored three points in injury time to win by the bare minimum in an Ulster Championship semi-final clash, and for good measure they won the provincial final by a point as well. They were that sort of team, and it was that sort of season.

Barry Tracey, the team’s veteran free-taker, reflects: “Derrytresk should have beaten us to be honest in the first round of the championship. They played a fantastic brand of football that day and we were very fortunate.

“That was the way things were that year, we were always pushed to the pins of our collar. We weren’t setting the world alight but we fought tooth and nail for every ball. Every game was a complete struggle to be honest.”

Greencastle sits at a crossroads in the rolling foothills of the Sperrins. It’s well off the beaten track, it’s exposed to the elements, and it would be tempting to suppose that the hardiness of its players is no coincidence.

There may be something in that, but Collie Tuohey says that the leadership qualities of team boss Sean Teague was the primary reason why they came through so many tough battles unscathed. Nothing less than total and absolute commitment was expected from his players, but Teague was no armchair general either.

“I don’t know if he’d want me saying this but I think our habit of winning tight matches, a lot of it came down to the character of Sean Teague.

“We’d been relegated so Sean came on board a wee bit earlier than expected. He was still only in his early 30s, but we needed a man to take us out of a tight spot and he was the man to do the job.

“He brought a fear into the team – other managers will let you get away with things but Sean stands toe-to-toe with you. People know that and that’s what makes you go that extra mile. I’ve known him a long time and I would never cross that man.

“Any time I pulled the jersey on for him I gave it my all. He gave it all and he expects you to do likewise.”

Greencastle won two Junior Championship titles in Tyrone during the ‘90s, but that was pretty much the end of the road back then. By 2006, there was an Ulster Junior Championship up for grabs, but Teague admits it wasn’t something they took an immediate interest in.

“We enjoyed the Tyrone Junior final, it took two games to win it and after that every man was enjoying his football, there was no pressure on us.

“Ulster definitely wasn’t a target – anything at all was just a bonus at that stage. We had an easy win over Ardoyne in Omagh, and then another close victory in the semi-final over Drumhowan.

“Things were starting to open up for us but we were almost making it up as we went along – trying to organise things to do before and after matches in places like Casement Park.”

Greencastle won the Ulster Junior Championship title with a 1-6 to 0-8 victory over Donegal side Naomh Brid at the former home of Antrim football.

The game’s defining score was a freakish goal from Barry Tracey, and he admits there was more than an element of luck to it.

“I scored a very fortuitous goal – I was going for a point and the wind brought it down like a stone and it went through the goalkeepers legs.

“There were serious celebrations afterwards to be fair, we won it just before Christmas, but as soon as that was over a lot of the guys did the Boxing Day run in Greencastle.

“I did a lot of running myself around Creggan forest. I was conscious I was one of the old boys and I wanted to get an edge any way I could to keep my place.”

Tracey says the highlight of his playing career was Greencastle’s All-Ireland semi-final victory against Mayo side Killala. Their opponents led by three points at half-time but failed to score after the break as Greencastle, as per usual, stamped their authority on proceedings.

“My abiding memory was the performance of Plunkett McAleer in the second-half. He was another veteran and you just knew he was dying to get a chance of playing in the second half.

“Our captain Marty Conway really stood out as well. I suppose Tyrone were in their pomp back then and we also had that animal instinct to hunt down our opponents, we hunted in packs.

“Getting to the final was the best feeling I’ve ever had, it even surpassed winning the final itself, knowing you were getting to play in Croke Park.”

Sean Teague says there was no escaping the hype in the lead-up to the final, but it wasn’t an inconvenience.

“There was a lot of hype and conversation. Ach I enjoyed it and the lads enjoyed it too, you were going to work and talking about football and talking about Greencastle. We were the first Tyrone club team to play in Croke Park and the first to play under lights so it was a massive deal.”

Kerry side Duagh stood in their way of the All-Ireland title, and there was drama before the game even got underway.

The Greencastle players were in the middle of their pre-match photograph when Duagh emerged from the tunnel and headed straight for the Canal End, even though they’d been directed to warm up at the other end of the pitch.

Greencastle stood their ground and the Kerrymen were shooed up the park by the referee, and Teague believes it gave his team a telling psychological advantage.

“It was a like a red rag to a bull. There was no harm done but it was a bulldozing match and the officials got them to move.

“Without a doubt it helped us, it pumped us up for the game, especially as we were in the right.”

Looking back on the incident, their goalkeeper Tuohey recalls that the Greencastle players were subject to a few nonsensical sectarian slurs from their opponents as well.

“There was a bit of handbags, and you heard stuff about the ‘black north’ and ‘the Brits’ and stuff like that. We know who we are and we’re proud of where we come from so it only served to fire us up really.”

Greencastle forward Terry McDermott, who was brilliant throughout their campaign, struck a superb score in the opening minute to set the tone for proceedings.

Barry Tracey showed no sign of nerves as he kicked three frees in the first-half, but Duagh proved stubborn opponents and the game hung in the balance throughout.

All of St Patrick’s main men played well on the day, but it’s remarkable in hindsight that the winning score came from teenager Danny McDermott with a Stephen O’Neill-esque point in the closing stages.

Teague said: “Danny played his first ever game for Greencastle in the All-Ireland final, he must’ve been only 16.

“He was like a greyhound – you see a lot of fast men who leave the ball behind them but he didn’t. He was a great lad, he ended up in Australia and is settled there now.”

While it was Danny’s first ever championship match wearing the Greencastle senior jersey, it turned out to Barry Tracey’s last.

A diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma effectively ended his playing career, but he’s eternally grateful that he played a full role in their All-Ireland triumph.

“Unfortunately that’s where it ended for me. I’d lost my place on the senior team afterwards as I was fatigued, the All-Ireland took a lot out of me, and then I’d a very different journey ahead of me and I ended up getting a stem cell transplant in 2009.

“I remember when I saw the Hematologist Dr McNicholl, the first thing he said to me when he saw my Greencastle top was ‘did you play on the team that won the All-Ireland?’”

“It was a great way to finish my playing career. I tried to make a comeback but I didn’t have the same power.

“Winning the All-Ireland was an unreal experience and I’d love to see our rivals like Kildress, Loughmacrory and Gortin have the same opportunity.

“It sums it up for me that my father didn’t say congratulations or well done after we won, he just said ‘thanks’. It meant to much for someone like him who was steeped in Greencastle football for decades.”

To their credit, Greencastle’s players built upon their success and within a few seasons had achieved promotion to Division One, where they more than held their own.

Emigration took its toll, however, as players like John McCullagh, who was man of the match when Tyrone won the All-Ireland minor title in 2010, and a rake of others, headed for pastures new, but they’re still a highly competitive county within Intermediate football at the minute.

Teague commented: “We had young players who were standing on the wrong side of the fence on All-Ireland final day who were mainstays of the team shortly afterwards.

“All they wanted to do was play for Greencastle seniors. We finished second in the Intermediate league in 2009 to achieve promotion and never looked back and enjoyed every minute of it.

“We took points off every team in senior football apart from Clonoe, which says it all.”

Who knows whether there’ll be more football the rest of the year, but their goalkeeper Collie Tuohey assures he’ll be back for another lash whenever things do get up and running again.

Now 40, he’s been playing for the club at senior level for 26 years, and while he keeps it to himself, he still feels a massive amount of pride in winning an All-Ireland title with his beloved Greencastle.

“You don’t want to be going on about it as some people might say ‘this man never shuts up about it.’

“I just keep it to myself. Maybe if I’m with another player on that team we might speak about it, but otherwise I keep it quiet as I don’t want people to think I’ve notions. Still though, it was an amazing moment.”