ST Patrick's Day 2020 marked the 10-year anniversary of a memorable All-Ireland victory for St Gall's. Last March, manager Lenny Harbinson and key attacker Kevin Niblock gave their reflections on an historic occasion for the famous West Belfast club . . .
THE St Gall’s All-Ireland club Senior Football Championship winning side of 2010 would give the current Corofin side their fill.
That’s the view of the man who guided the Milltown Row outfit to Andy Merrigan success 10 years ago – Lenny Harbinson.
In fact, Harbinson feels St Gall’s ought to have won more than one All-Ireland title with the quality of the squad they had at the time.
Although they lost the 2006 decider to Salthill-Knocknacarra (0-7 to 0-6), it was the defeat to Crossmaglen later in 2010 when they were the defending Ulster and All-Ireland champions that lingers with Harbinson.
The South Armagh men, who would go on to win back-to-back All-Irelands in 2011 and 2012, afforded St Gall’s the traditional guard of honour at their Oliver Plunkett Park home before claiming a 1-12 to 0-9 win in a tempestuous Ulster Club clash.
“It doesn’t feel like 10 years ago! Maybe four or five,” stated Harbinson. “Absolutely, I’d have no doubt that they’d match Corofin. We actually beat Corofin in the 2010 semi-final after extra-time.
“The talent St Gall’s had at that time was unreal. When I took over, my frustration as a clubman, was that the talent we had wasn’t being converted into the appropriate number of trophies. It is important to win Antrim Championships, but we didn’t put the Ulster titles behind us the way we should have.
“I always felt there was at least one more All-Ireland in the team with the talent we had. “Like all sports people – you always dwell on the losses more so than the glory of winning.
“My abiding memory is not of Croke Park – although it was a great occasion to share with your club, your friends and your family.
“My abiding memory, and it’s crystal clear, is of losing in Crossmaglen in the first round of the Ulster Championship. I felt we had a team which was capable of defending the All-Ireland and winning it for the second time.”
According to Harbinson, everything clicked for St Gall’s in the 2009/10 campaign as they enjoyed a relatively clean bill of health the whole way through. Yet, lady luck deserted them as the travelled to South Armagh to defend their provincial title.
“Ahead of the Crossmaglen game, Sean Burke picked up a back injury and Kevin McGourty had an ankle injury,” added Harbinson.
“I played Sean in the first half and put Kevin on at half-time. Thrown into the equation, Terry O’Neill and Sean Kelly were sick on the bus before we arrived. This went on behind the scenes. The previous season, everything went our way.
“On that day, we were entering the lion’s den against one of the best club teams in Ireland with two players injured and two players who were sick.
“That might sound like excuses, but that was the reality of the situation. You need luck at times and we didn’t have it that day. I felt if we had have gotten out of Crossmaglen that day, we would have gone on to defend our title.
“I always felt like the great Armagh team (2002) who won one All-Ireland, the Derry team (1993) who won one All-Ireland – they had great talent. They both should have won at least one more All-Ireland. St Gall’s, maybe not should have, but certainly had the ability to win another All-Ireland title. That’s probably the sense of frustration for me.”
Lenny Harbinson with Liam Stewart, Sean Kelly Snr, Harry Bradley and the Andy Merrigan Cup
When captain Colin Brady climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand and lifted the Andy Merrigan Cup, few would have thought it would it be the last time St Gall’s would feature in an All-Ireland decider such was the emphatic nature of their victory.
The 2010 final pitted the men from West Belfast against a Kilmurry-Ibrickane outfit from West Clare and the 0-13 to 1-5 scoreline doesn’t reflect the dominance of St Gall’s. Stephen Moloney’s early major gave the Clare side a dream start, but it was one-way traffic afterwards with St Gall’s leading 0-8 to 1-1 at the break.
With the calming presence of Sean Kelly building from the back and with Kevin Niblock and Rory Gallagher pulling the strings up front, the Antrim champions always had too much class for their opponents.
Indeed, the six starting forwards and the midfield duo of Sean Burke and Aodhan Gallagher all scored from play on an historic day for Antrim football. St John’s lost the 1978 final to Thomond College of Limerick and no team had graced the All-Ireland Club Senior Football Championship final since apart from St Gall’s who also reached the decider in 2006.
Gallagher influence
Harbinson felt he had to shake things up in his first year in charge, but he believes the addition of a certain Rory Gallagher bolstered a squad already brimming with attacking flair.
“We felt that we would change the way we trained, which was important,” said Harbinson.
“We wanted to peak at the right time of the season, so we didn’t train in the early part of the year. That was because of the talent we had, both in the first 15 and within the wider panel.
“We didn’t do anything serious until the end of June. We just played league games.
“We wanted to prepare for the Antrim Championship, but also to ensure we had enough gas in the tank for an Ulster campaign.
“We also worked a lot on our kick-out and defensive strategy. That’s par for the course nowadays, but it wasn’t all that common back then.
“I suppose the third part of it was having someone like Rory Gallagher joining the set-up. “With his knowledge and experience, he added another dimension to our inside line. Certainly, the likes of Kevin Niblock and CJ McGourty benefited from having Rory there.”
Kevin Niblock at the final whistle
Niblock himself also felt the presence of Gallagher in the forward line gave the St Gall’s attack added potency that season. Two years on from winning an All-Ireland with the West Belfast side, Gallagher, who is now the Derry senior manager, was assistant manager to Jim McGuinness when Donegal won Sam Maguire title in 2012.
“The sport has changed since 2010 - I don’t think you’d see as open a game these days,” reflected Niblock.
“When you think back to that day, the amount of space you had when you got on the ball was incredible.
“It played into our hands. You could talk about a lot of things that day, but Rory Gallagher, who has done great things since, had a big impact.
“He played so well throughout the campaign, but in the final one of the big things he did at times was just to pull out to create the space. Attackers do it all the time now. He would go to midfield or hang out at left half-forward and making space for the likes of myself or Kieran or CJ (McGourty) to have a one-on-one.
“It was a massive team performance and everyone played their role, but I think he (Gallagher) had a big impact when you look back and reflect at how smart some of that play was.”
Regrets
Like Harbinson, Niblock still has lingering regrets over some of the ones that got away. The 2006 All-Ireland final defeat and the harrowing loss to Crossmaglen has given the former Antrim skipper a greater appreciation of the 2010 victory and also a sense of empathy for those great club sides like Slaughtneil who have yet to taste All-Ireland glory.
“Sometimes the defeats do stand out,” added Niblock.
“When you win the All-Ireland and you play Crossmaglen as defending champions - we were trying to get up for that game and it was so disappointing. You do remember those as much as the victories.
“The All-Ireland was such a high and you are always trying to get back to that level. “After ’06, when you reflect on it, there’s a lot to be said for experience of the big day. I think with us, it definitely took us to lose one before we could win one. As heartbreaking as it was, I remember it was such a cold day with the wind blowing everywhere - it was one of those defeats that you try and blank out. I’ve never watched the 2006 final back again.
“I’ve actually only watched the 2010 final once. . . I should probably watch that one again!
“When you look back at 2010, it was such a relief to win it. To lose two finals?
“You’d have to have empathy for the likes of Slaughtneil and hopefully those boys can get over the line. To have our ratio on that stage isn’t bad. When you look back, you could say we could have won two All-Irelands, but you have to be happy with what you have.”
A second All-Ireland title may have eluded them during their reign as the dominant force in Antrim club football, but annexing 13 county titles in 14 seasons gives an illustration as to just how great a club side St Gall’s were. It could be some time before we see their likes again.
