Masterful McGrath gave everything for the cause
Wicklow star calls time on stellar inter-county career
YOU’RE meant to get out of something what you put into it.
This has not exactly been the case for John McGrath, who, for 12 years, has poured every ounce of energy and fought with every sinew in his body to elevate the Garden County only to be knocked time and time again.
It has not been all bad – McGrath waxes lyrically about the Tommy Murphy Cup as if it happened this morning and pulling on the Wicklow jersey after beating leukaemia will live with him forever but the lows outweigh the highs.
Despite that, McGrath has loved every second of his time with Wicklow and you can hear the passion in his voice when he contemplates his dozen years where he called Joule Park his second home.
It was not a snap decision to never again don the blue and gold. It has floated around in his head for some time now but he has informed John Evans that he’ll have to plan without him for 2019.
Success in 2018 – a Division 4 league victory for example – would have had no bearing on McGrath’s mind. Success at club level could now be more achievable with McGrath finally able to give his beloved Baltinglass his undivided attention.
‘It has been on my mind for a couple of months. It’s a long time pulling on the jersey and a lot of sacrificing but it’s something that I always enjoyed doing. At the moment it’s just time to step away and get a break for me and my body.
‘It probably would have been the same decision. It was made for a number of reasons. There’s not any one reason really; there’s a few different reasons.
‘I’m at a constant battle with my own body to get out on the pitch day-in and day-out so it’s been worn down a little bit. That’s probably the main thing for me; to get a breather and allow the body to recover and recharge for the next few months.
‘That was a big driving factor as well (having more time with my club).
‘With inter-county football, you have to be at your peak for pretty much 10 months of the year... you’re expected to be at your best January until October. I’ll step back now and I can probably prime myself for three months of the year for club championship. It’s a big driving factor and the club have been very supportive over the last 12 years and they’ve never put pressure on me so it’ll be nice to get back there for a few years before the body gives up on me.’
Playing for Wicklow doesn’t have the pull that it should. Their uninspiring results mean that not all people are champing at the bit to impress Evans. McGrath though has always had a burning desire to take up residence in the home dressing room in Aughrim and he may well end up back there one day as a member of the backroom staff but that is for another day. As a man who nearly lost everything through illness in 2011, he encourages everybody to grab the opportunity to play inter-county football with both hands.
‘I’m a fairly obsessive type of fella. I walked around in a Wicklow jersey at home every day since I was a kid and I’d just be kicking balls against the wall and dreaming of playing for Wicklow so to play for them for as long as I did was amazing. It’s nice to say that I pulled on a starting jersey for Wicklow for 12 years in a row. I’m very happy to be able to say that and I gave everything I could to do that.
‘I’m fascinated with management. I think it’s an incredible job and a very difficult job for anybody to do.
‘I’m always listening and speaking to different managers so it’s something I would be interested in at some stage down the line in any category really. It’s something that I’d love to help out with at some stage down the line but it could be well down the line!
‘It’s difficult. Wicklow are always going to find it difficult to compete at the highest level even with our best players out on the pitch so if we don’t have our best players out there, well then it’s a constant uphill battle.
‘The one thing I’ll always live by is that some day something might go wrong and you won’t be able to play. It’s only then that you’ll regret it that you could’ve played for Wicklow but decided not to for whatever reason. People will always find an excuse not to do something instead of chasing the dream. Something could happen down the line and you might not get the chance again.’
McGrath doesn’t tend to hold onto regrets but admits that a suspension he earned in an U-21 match in 2008, which meant he missed Wicklow’s 0-13 0-9 victory over Kildare in Croke Park in the Leinster championship will ‘always haunt me (him). That was tough to take’.
The days of longing to tog out for his county may well return in a few months time but to console him, McGrath has lifelong friends, an impeccable reputation and cherished memories.
‘It’s when the summer comes that you really miss it but I actually just like training at any stage of the year so I’m sure there will be days that I really miss it but at the moment, I’m content and happy that my body is getting a break. When I’m back out on the pitch with the club I probably will get the itch and start wondering do I still have something to offer at a higher level but it’s the decision I’ve made.
‘I gave everything I had and I can’t ask for anything more.
‘I’ll never forget the day in Croke Park in 2007 when we won the Tommy Murphy Cup. It’s the kind of game that when you look back; the energy on that pitch afterwards and the joy of the people in the stands. It was incredible. It was special. We play football because we love football and we enjoy it but when you’re winning something at the end of the year it is fantastic and I’ll never forget that day.
‘Also in 2012, the year after I was sick, and Harry Murphy gave me a start in London in the league. That meant a lot. That was a special summer and to get my first start, it was a very proud moment.
‘Those two moments will always stick in my mind.’