Three-in-a-Row Celebration – 1977-1979
An event quite some time in the planning culminated in a night of nostalgia in the Patrician Hall last Friday Nov 17th when the Gaels of Carrickmore came together to celebrate the achievement of a special group of players who represented the club in their historic three in a row championship wins in the years 1977,1978 and 1979. Also honoured were the Reserve Championship winning team of 1978. This three-year period saw the Carrickmore team set a number of records. 1977 was their first senior title since 1969 and followed a period of defeat and disappointment from 1970 – 1976 when both Trillick and Ardboe proved untouchable in the championship race. 1978 marked the year in which Carrickmore were the first club to capture the Reserve and Senior Championship in the same year. The following year of course saw them equal the records of Omagh St Endas’s, Clonoe O’Rahilly’s and Ardboe O’Donovan Rossa’s by becoming the fourth and last team to capture the three-in-a-row. Before the year was out they added the league to complete the 1979 double.
Proceedings began with a prayer for the deceased members of this group which includes the following. Sen management/mentors/selectors Frank Donnelly, Packie Mc Philips, Jimmy Mc Callan, Jimmy Mc Elhatton, Packie Ward. Reserve manager 1978 Roddy Gormley and assistants, Brian Mulholland, Mickey Mc Cartan. Players. Kevin Mc Cartan, Gerry Fox, PJ Treanor. Referee of the 1977 final Patsy Lynn 1977.
The passing of these men was mourned by all in the club but we take comfort from the fact that they have left their mark ……not in just the era we celebrate tonight….. but in many other ways in the history of the club as players, managers, coaches, administrators, Club Presidents and loyal supporters.
First speaker of the night was Seamus Woods who not only lined out a midfield for the 3 wins but was also Club Chairman {1975-1979), a level of commitment that would be almost inconceivable today. Seamus referred back to this memorable era and highlighted key aspects of the three years which he felt made the difference in the championship success in each year. In 1977 he pointed out the significance of Frank Donnelly’s appointment as manager and that of Jimmy Mc Elhatton as club secretary and team administrator. 1978 was marked by the return of Fr Peter Paul Kerr, Frank Rafferty and the arrival of PJ Treanor. He also singled out the role of Harry Kelly who looked after all maters at Pairc Colmcille as a vital cog in the wheel in those years. His recollections of several key games kept all in attendance spellbound not least of which was the 5 game (plus extra time) run in the Ulster Clubs which saw us fall by 1 point o Cavan Gaels in the semi-final.
The first group of players to be honoured was the Reserve Championship winning side of 1978. The side included some men who would later play in the senior win but the bulk of it was made up of young players eager to push into senior ranks, bolstered by a few veterans of previous senior campaigns taking the chance to extend their careers and add another medal to the collection. A commemorative picture collage was presented to this panel by 2023 Club President and 3 in a row player Lawrence Kelly.
1978 Reserve Championship winning panel. Damien Kelly, Brendan Mc Elduff, Fr Mickey Martin, Frank Connolly, Colm Grugan, Canice Woods, Paddy Mc Elduff, Arthur Mc Gurk, Anthony Begley, Kieran mc Nally, Peter Quinlivan, Francie Mc Cartan, Sean Grogan, Sean Daly, Pete Fox, Gerry Fox, Martin Conway, Seamus Mc Cartan, Frank Mc Nally, Dermot Mc Nally, Dermot Grugan. Management: Roddy Gormley, Brian Mulholland, Mickey Mc Cartan.
A poem about the clubs first reserve win was composed by Canice Woods who played in both the Reserve and Senior Finals in ’78. His humorous recitation kept the crown enthralled.
Next to be acknowledged were the men in the middle of the three finals: Patsy Lynn (RIP) 1977, Barney Taggart 1978 and Shane Corr 1979. The club were delighted to have Shane and Barney in attendance, despite the fact that in at least one instance they had dismissed a Carrickmore player during the ’77 campaign. A temporary cessation weas declared for the night and team captain John Keenan presented both men with their specially commissioned commemorative pictures.
Following this, a multi-media presentation of original archive material was shown that brought all in attendance back to the that memorable period in the club history including a never-before seen piece of film captured at Quinns Corner in 1978.
MC and event organiser, Gavan Mc Elroy then addressed the Senior team of 1977,1978 and 1979 stating that today’s footballing conversations centre around the difficulties in winning back- to- back titles, the three in a row not even up for discussion such is the perceived unlikelyhood of it being annexed again. This group of players, he said, were marked out for their complete commitment to the club cause. ‘’I feel I speak for us all when I say that for the most part this group of players epitomised this relationship between club and community. What set them apart is what sets all great teams apart. They reached all the vital staging posts along the journey to realising what this is football thing is all about. Firstly, they realised that as the players they were part a bigger picture. They then realised that to part of this bigger picture they had to commit fully to the project of winning the championship. Then as players they understood that they were in a privileged position and with privilege there comes responsibility. When this can be done for a sustained period they earned respect but in turn respected the common identity that has already been created for them by all those who went before me in the club. As we can see tonight and have seen many times since when we have enough players who can do this – good things happen. This group closed the circle on all the above and that can never be taken away from them.
Senior Players 1977-1979: John Keenan (Captain), Pete Fox RIP rep Pat Fox , Lawrence Kelly, Plunkett Daly, Gerry Fox RIP rep Niall Fox, Declan Quinn, Fr Mickey Martin; Sean Gormley, Martin Kelly, Canice Woods, Seamus Woods, Aidan Donnelly, Ed Fox, Mick Daly, Francie Martin, Benny Haughey, Sean Daly, Frank Connolly, Frank Daly, Peadar Mc Callan, Mickey Mc Mahon, Frank Rafferty, Fr Peter Paul Kerr, Mickey Harte, P.J. Treanor RIP rep Paul Treanor,Arthur Mc Gurk, Mickey Coyle,Kevin Mc Cartan RIP rep Dan Mc Cartan. Management/Mentors/Selectors: Frank Donnelly RIP rep Linda Daly, Packie Ward RIP rep Paul Ward, Packie Mc Philips RIP rep Padraig Mc Philips, James Mc Callan RIP rep Seamus Mc Callan, Mickey Mc Callan, Brother Kelly, Pat Daly, Jimmy Mc Elhatton RIP rep Pearse Mc Elhatton.
1977-1979 Captain John Keenan had the honour of being the last speaker to address the crowd and in a humorous and emotional address gave a detailed account of the trail of defeat from 1970 to 1976. Despite acting as player, trainer, manager and captain for large parts of this three-year run Keenan remained modest about his own contribution highlighting the role of the full panel of players in the historic success. His synopsis of the three campaigns pointed out the need for luck in each case but that over all the success was grounded in hard work on the training ground with all players doing what was asked of them without fail. John also emphasised the importance of the role of the supporters across the three years, the ‘Carmen roar’ carrying us across the line on more than one occasion. He also said he was struck by the sense of community within the club and the camaraderie of the players which remains up until the present. He highlighted the league win against Trillick in 1979 as his most memorable game as it highlighted the dominance of this group in that time, delivered the league and championship double and more than evened the score for defeats suffered earlier in the 70’s to the same opposition. John concluded by thanking the club, the supporters and the players for what they achieved then and pointed out that in following defeat to Trillick in 1976 no one could have predicted such a run in the next three years but then as now you just don’t know where hard work will take you.
The night concluded with several more hours of conversations and recollection of old memories. Conan and Cormac Mc Aleer of CMCA Photography were as usual on hand to capture the night in picture form and Martin Gallagher there to record it on film.
An Charraig Mhór GFC would like to take this opportunity to thank the following for making this night happen.
All the committee members who helped set up the hall on Thursday night and clear it away in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Finbar Grogan for his help with the static display.
Maurice Mc Philips and Noel Coyle for sound and IT.
Jimmy, Kelley and the staff of the Old Charm for the excellent food and service.
Eilish Gormley, Peadar Mc Callan and The Patrician Committee for their assistance with the hall.
Martin Gallagher for capturing the event on film.
Conan and Cormac Mc Aleer of CMCA Images for their photography Our sponsors for the event: Brendan Loughran and Sons, Daly Construction Ltd, ACS Civils, MCE Services, Pizzamac, MCB Civils.
Gavan Mc Elroy
