Orchard County to Old Trafford

By Niall McCoy

AS far as sporting paths go, the Armagh minors to Old Trafford is not the most well-known – but in the early 1990s two Lurgan players did make that particular journey.

A look at the ’91 Orchard minor team would have Clann Eireann pair Darren Whitmarsh in goals and Pat McGibbon at centre half-back. Listed alongside them were the likes of Paul McGrane, Barry O’Hagan and the ‘terrible twins’, Diarmaid Marsden and Des Mackin.

In July of that year Armagh lost an Ulster semi-final replay to Tyrone by a single point despite Whitmarsh twice denying the Red Hands from the penalty spot after the referee had ordered a retake. Encroachment perhaps? There was no VAR at the Athletic Grounds that day to confirm or deny.

In the space of a few weeks the following year, the pair would each have a massive moment in their career.

In August, McGibbon was signed by Manchester United from Portadown for £100,000. A few weeks later, Whitmarsh ran out onto the Croke Park pitch for an All-Ireland Minor final against Meath only to see his dreams shattered late on as the crossbar denied Armagh the Tom Markham Cup in the last seconds (YouTube footage of this game has recently been posted online).

He would soon follow McGibbon across the Irish Sea though.

McGibbon’s debut came for the Manchester United reserves in August 1992, the then 19-year-old having to face down a Leeds United side containing the likes of Gordon Strachan and David ‘Rocky’ Rocastle having impressed on a trial match against Aston Villa a year earlier.

Leeds would also be the opposition for Whitmarsh a couple of months after that as over 30,000 turned up at Old Trafford to watch the first leg of the Youth Cup final. That team also contained Paul Scholes, David Beckham, the Neville brothers and a certain Robbie Savage.

McGibbon too played with Beckham as well as the likes of Eric Cantona, and the mental health advocate said that it was quite the journey.

“I started playing Gaelic football at Tannaghmore School,” he said. “My formative years would have been there and then with Clann Eireann u-10s. Myself and my brother (Phillip) would have been in the same u-10 team.

“I played right through to senior football, I was also involved with St Michael’s through the Herald and the MacLarnon. I think we maybe won the MacLarnon three times.

“I played an awful lot of Gaelic football growing up. The county minors had a really good group the year before I headed over the water. We played Tyrone and lost narrowly in the semi-final.

“The year after they got to the All-Ireland final with Darren Whitmarsh and Kevin O’Hagan (former Ballymena United and Glenavon player) involved. They are still good friends of mine.

“Kevy had a trial at Blackburn when I was at Man United along with Peter Kennedy, who ended up an international footballer.

“Any of the Irish lads coming over, North or South, I always tried my best to go out of my way for them. Shay Given was at Man United before he signed for Celtic and I got to know him in that short time. Big Anthony Tohill became a good friend when he was over. There was always that Gaelic connection.

McGibbon was a victim of Alex Ferguson’s famous hairdryer treatment after being sent off on his first-team debut in 1995 when he replaced Steve Bruce for their 1995 League Cup loss to York City.

It wasn’t a dream debut, but not many Armagh minors have played at Old Trafford alongside Beckham, Ryan Giggis and Lee Sharpe.

McGibbon would go on to play for Swansea City, Wigan Athletic, Scunthorpe United, Tranmere Rovers, Portadown, again, and Glentoran. He would also earn seven caps for Northern Ireland.

A career in management followed as he took charge of Lurgan Celtic, Monaghan United, Newry City and Portadown.

In recent years McGibbon’s focus has been on promotion mental well-being. Eight months into his time in Manchester, his brother Phillip took his own life and that had a devastating impact on him.

>body2text<McGibbon received plenty of support from United, particularly Ferguson, and he hopes that he can now help those in need.

“The gaffer (Ferguson) was terrific,”McGibbon told the club’s official website last year.

“When you look at it now, when we talk about mental health and the issues surrounding self-harm and suicide, those things weren’t spoken about. The education wasn’t there and I had to deal with it without that, but the gaffer saw it as very personal, which I totally understand.

“The family appreciated that. He just said: ‘Look, take as much time as you need and only come back when you’re ready to come back.’”

McGibbon is the founder of the Train 2 B Smart (TTBS) Juniors, a football club that aims to promote positive mental health and well-being through sport. TTBS have affiliated boys and girls teams at a range of age groups. The aim of the charity is to educate through seminars, workshops and play and to inspire the local and wider community.

McGibbon said that during lockdown, it is important that players, coaches and fans, whether it’s GAA or soccer, seek help if needed – or simply reach out to somebody for a chat.

“I always said about the Gaelic, it gave me great values and a real sense of community,” he continued. “The whole sphere of mental health has a lot to do with connections.

“The soccer helped me with the Gaelic and the Gaelic helped me with the soccer. To make it as a professional footballer you have to be mentally resilient, you have to have a bit of ability, but resilience is massive.

“I was a big fish in a small pool at Portadown and then I was a tiny fish in a very big pool at Man United.

“Social connectivity and social interaction is hugely important in sport and life generally.”