JOHNNY McINTOSH: Powers of perseverance

ST John’s winning their first county title in more than 50years is a phenonemal achievement. What struck me most about the interviews afterwards was that so many of the lads spoke about resilience. They said it was their resilience that got them through in the end, and they were absolutely right.

I’ve huge respect for Cushendall, Dunloy, and Loughgiel – fantastic clubs, steeped in tradition – but the dynamic is different as they’re used to winning.

If they don’t lift it this year, chances are they’ll be there or thereabouts again next year. That’s the advantage of being a big team, success breeds success and expectations are always high.

What really impressed me about St John’s was the persistence through years of disappointment. They’d so many knockbacks, so many semi-final losses. It would have been easy for a lot of those players to drift away. But they didn’t – they stuck at it.

For a team that couldn’t even get to finals, to finally make one and win it is a massive achievement. It’s a testament to their belief, their togetherness, and their ability to keep a squad motivated year after year.

Getting over that semi-final hoodoo was huge. They went out and played brilliantly in the final.

All the pressure was on Loughgiel, who were hot favourites, but maybe that got to them a bit. They didn’t perform to their usual standards, but that’s also down to how well St John’s played. They stifled them, they were up for it, and they simply wanted it more.

On a personal note, with my own club, Glenariffe, we’ve had our share of tough days. It had been 20 years since we last won the intermediate title, and to finally end that drought this year meant a lot.

We’re a small club, and the magic of the GAA is that sometimes small pockets of players coming along together and brilliant things happen. Only four years ago, we were in an Intermediate semi-final and could barely name 18 players – lads were away, injured, or working abroad. This year we had 33 in the squad. It just shows how things can turn around.

A lot of credit goes to our club for keeping the faith, for valuing persistence and believing that better days would come. That’s exactly what St John’s did as well. They clung onto hope, and they got what they deserved.

It was refreshing too to see the so-called underdogs — St John’s and Loughgiel — coming through the semi-finals, playing Cushendall and Dunloy off the park respectively. Let’s be honest, people were already saying it would be another Dunloy–Cushendall final. So it was brilliant to see that script torn up. It’s great for Antrim hurling as a whole to have a new champion. It’ll only encourage development across more clubs.

I saw a stat recently that no team has retained the Tyrone senior championship in twenty years. That’s incredible — and a sign of a really healthy club scene. Not to say Antrim’s is poor, but that kind of regeneration, with new teams coming through, is important.

There’s a new hurling development committee being set up in Antrim, and one of the things that needs looked at is competitiveness. In Tyrone, maybe ten teams can realistically win a senior championship. That means when the county manager picks players, he’s not limited to four or five clubs. That’s part of why Tyrone football is so strong.

We need to encourage that in Antrim too – promoting structures that help smaller clubs compete, not just survive. The big clubs will always be there, but the game is healthier when others are rising too.

It’ll be fascinating to see how St John’s fare in Ulster. They face the Donegal champions Setanta, first, which is a tricky tie, especially in heavy winter conditions.

Sleacht Néill will be strong again, as always, but they’ll have to get past the Down champions Portaferry first.

Wouldn’t it be great to see something different – maybe a St John’s–Portaferry Ulster final? That would be brilliant for Ulster hurling.

I think in Antrim there’s maybe been a sense of inevitability that the big teams can’t be beaten and hopefully that will start to change.

It’s not the county board’s job to promote smaller clubs over the big ones, but there has to be an effort to improve things acoss the board.

My own club, Glenariffe, is hopefully on the rise again. I’d love to see a bit of dispensation for clubs like ours to be allowed to stay in Division One for a period, to really establish ourselves instead of yo-yoing between divisions.

Ultimately, every club has to get its own house in order – that’s where it starts. But if we can build structures that reward resilience and persistence, like we’ve seen with St John’s, then Antrim hurling will only get stronger.