Barry’s brilliance was worth a long journey to Derry
WELL, HOW was your weekend, dear readers? Mine was even more energy-sapping than usual and, if you happen to be reading this Tuesday morning, there’s a good chance that I will be catching up on some shut-eye.
The nature of this job means that I’ve worked every Bank Holiday since I care to remember. And, given that 90% of our content is based on events taking place every Saturday and Sunday, my own ‘weekend’ happens instead Wednesday and Thursday.
The return of the snow added a new challenge to be overcome before putting this edition of the newspaper to bed.
With Derry my destination for Sunday’s Allianz Football League game, I chose to leave one hour earlier than planned, at 6 a.m. rather than 7 a.m., to cover all eventualities ahead of the 1 p.m. throw-in.
I didn’t really know what to expect weather-wise as I departed, and in truth the worst of the conditions were from Ferns to the start of the motorway beyond Clogh.
There had been precious little traffic in the early hours judging by the general absence of tyre marks on the road, but the further north I travelled, the better it became.
The last really thick dusting of snow was on the playing fields at the Monaghan Centre of Excellence at Cloghan, a noted landmark on the N2 beyond Castleblayney.
And it was a fine day without even a speck of the white stuff to be seen by the time I crossed the border between Emyvale and Aughnacloy, passing the memorial outside Aghaloo G.A.A. club for the late Aidan McAnespie.
He was murdered on the roadside at the old border checkpoint, shortly after leaving the venue, in an act of depraved cowardice during the height of the Troubles, 30 years ago last month.
And as a matter of interest, his nephew from the other side of the border, Ryan McAnespie, is currently one of the brightest young talents on the Monaghan Senior football squad.
The reminders of Ulster’s troubled past are everywhere, and that’s also the case on Derry’s Lone Moor Road where the hillside cemetery overlooks two iconic grounds, Celtic Park and the Brandywell.
Joe Brolly wasn’t exaggerating when he wrote recently that nobody follows the Derry footballers any more. Given that it’s their main county team, I couldn’t believe that only 446 spectators attended Sunday’s game.
Among the most-used sporting clichés is the one suggesting that a particular feat or moment was ‘worth the admission fee alone’.
Now, given that my press pass and work assignment entitled me to free entry, it would be somewhat disingenuous for me to go down that road.
Instead, I’ll use a variation on the theme by saying that it was worth driving 780 kilometres, and spending just under ten hours behind the wheel, to witness Barry O’Connor’s coming of age performance.
The talented teenager had shown glimpses of his undoubted talent in all outings thus far, but this was the day when he assumed centre stage.
They say that kicking of the ball is a dying art, but the St. Martin’s lad ridiculed that assertion with three beautiful first-half points from play.
I was the only non-Derry scribe in the press box, and my northern colleagues were all swooning at his sublime talent.
Slaughtneil star Chrissy McKaigue was within earshot as a co-commentator for a local radio station, and he was glowing in his praise of a player with the potential to have a great future.
A salmon-like leap to claim one of two second-half marks reminded me so much of his father. If I had closed my eyes there and then, I’m sure I would have pictured George giving an exhibition of high fielding in a league play-off against Clare almost 35 years ago to the very day: on March 13, 1983, in Wexford Park when that gifted dual star masterminded a 0-9 to 0-8 win to seal promotion to Division 2, shortly before deciding to concentrate fully on hurling.
The footballers may be struggling right now, but there’s reason to be positive and hopeful after witnessing what in my humble opinion was the best individual display of the year thus far.
Well done, young man, and I hope there’s plenty more to come.