IT was a packed house at Corrigan Park on Thursday evening for the launch of an impressive book charting the history of St John's GAC.
'Come and See the Johnnies Play,' outlines the historical journey of the club, charting its origins from humble beginnings in 1929 to the present day where they boast a playing membership of 600 across four codes at all age grades, having just celebrated 90 years in existence back in 2019.
St John’s clubman, John Gough took over 10 years researching the history of the club, which was no easy task.
Following a fire in the clubrooms in the early '70s, important documentation was lost, which included minute books and photographs. Replacing such authentic material was impossible, so John took his research to the Irish News offices where he was able to trace back minutes of meetings and match reports to those early years.
The Lawell family were custodians of excellent material too with John Lawell handing on his prize processions to son Hugh who knew the value of keeping such information safe.
"Hugh handing over the notes was great, but John has been trawling newspapers from anywhere he could find information to pull it all together," explained Maria Gough, who wrote the book with the help of John's invaluable research.
"In a moment of madness one night, he said to me he didn't know what to do with it all, so I said I would have a look at it and then proceeded to produce something with all the material, but this man (Gough) deserves all the credit for the work he did behind the scenes. Only for that research John did, we wouldn't be able to include it."
The book is unique in that it celebrates the club’s achievements on the field of play in chronological order, helping the players relive their matches which may or may not have culminated in an All-County championship win.
To this day, St John's remain top of the roll of honour in Antrim football with 24 titles, whilst the hurling title has resised at Corrigan Park on seven occasions.
One of its most famous names is Andy McCallin, Antrim's first and only Allstar footballer.
"The title of the book came from the song, but also tells you what's inside as it's about 'come and see the Johnnies play'," Maria told the packed hall.
"We tried to keep it about what happened on the field of play. It all started with one football team and now we are in a position where we have four codes within the one club, both male and female, so it shows where we have come from since 1929.
"There has been a lot to condense, but it was critical to start at the very beginning.
"Fr Bob Fullerton was the Parish Priest in St John's on the Falls Road in 1929 and his words in his sermon on the evening they opened St John's Church sparked three men to do something about creating a GAA club and that's where it all began.
"That was in 1929 and in 2019, a little girl enrolled in our FUNdamentals who is a grandniece of Fr Fullerton."
The glory days of the 1960s are relived through match reports with an unbelievable seven-in-a-row senior football championships won from 1959 to 1965.
The five Gallagher brothers were heroes in this era and stories of their exploits on the pitch bring plenty of humour too.
Doing the double in Gaelic games meant winning both senior football and hurling championships in the same year and St John’s did just that in 1951, 1961, 1962 and 1969. The players of this era are still our heroes today for such heights have never been reached again in our club history. They are remembered through their exploits on the pitch and through many of their personal stories.
The famous Top 4 Tournaments are to the fore in the history of the club as they were the foundations for what became the Ulster and All Ireland Club Championships which we enjoy today and that journey and the men responsible are celebrated through the timeline.
The 1970s are referred to as the ‘Magnificent Seventies’ as once again from 1969 to 1981 the All-County Senior Football Championship was won on no less than eight occasions with four of these back to back wins, 1975 though to 1978. 1978 was another historic year when the team won the Ulster Club Football Championship and went on to compete in the All Ireland Club final.
Unfortunately, it was a David v Goliath encounter, a wrong which was never put right by the GAA and outlined in the journey from Corrigan Park to Croke Park for this magnificent team.
The revival of camogie and the introduction of ladies football over the years has made St John’s a ‘four code one club,’ to be proud of today. Each have their own place in the history of the club with their successes celebrated through the pages of this book.
The younger generation of players have their place in our history as whilst the 90s and noughties were lean years in terms of winning senior championships, young Naomh Eoin teams were excelling at all underage levels.
Provincial and All-Ireland titles were also won with All-Ireland Féile hurling champions Commedagh lifting the title in 1971 and 1974 with its plethora of what became Johnnies players.
The added extras which make the club that little bit extraordinary include the story of the Development of a Gaelic Culture, The Golden Eagles, The African Connection and Strictly Naomh Eoin, to name only a few.
Scattered throughout the exploits on the field are the stories of many volunteers who did remarkable things to make St John’s the great club it is today.
People like Andy McCallin (Snr), Tommy Best, Patsy Donnelly, Patsy Crawford, Tommy Hall and Jim Gough are highlighted for their dedication to their club while club referees through the years show the importance of this role in ensuring the right to play our games safely.
'Come and see the Johnnies Play', written and presented for publication by Maria Gough is available for purchase at £25 from The Chatterbox Coffee Shop in Corrigan Park on Saturday Mornings 10 am-1 pm.
