IT has become one of the most familiar sights in Ulster club football across the past decade and more.
Half-time, full-time, without fail, a blanket of black descends, high-pitched shouts filling the air as Kilcoo’s young supporters flood the field. In the early days, irate calls would come from the tannoy, urging them to get off. To return to the stand.
Now, PA announcers barely bother. Because, out there, they are lost in the thrill of emulating their heroes on the same stretch of grass.
Except these heroes aren’t like the ones glimpsed on TV screens, strutting their stuff across the water in a world of ego and extravagant wealth far removed from the one they know.
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Their heroes are their fathers, uncles, cousins; every day in life they share the same space as the men to whom they rush when all is said and done, in a community where football, and farming, are at the epicentre of everything.
Sunday sees the Magpies back in another provincial decider, taking on Tyrone champions Errigal Ciaran. Of the last five Ulster championships, Kilcoo have been in the final of four, winning two.
Looking at those still live in this year’s All-Ireland club SFC, they are the one constant from recent times – others, like Dr Crokes and Errigal, determined to recreate the glories of yesteryear or, in the case of Cuala, Coolera/Strandhill and Loughmore-Castleiney, bidding to break new ground.
The challenge faced is to keep that going.
The Frank O’Hare Cup was won in more straightforward fashion this year than most that have gone before, before Scotstown were put to the sword in spectacular fashion after Cavan’s Crosserlough almost delivered the rudest of awakenings in the Ulster quarter-final.
But where Kilcoo stand now is a long time in the making, forming foundations that will keep them competitive, at the very least, in the years ahead; a thread of young boys watching dreams become reality, then going on to follow in those footsteps.
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JEROME Johnston sr was one of those who started the ball rolling. It is a well told tale but one that, in light of the club’s continuing evolution, remains a relevant reference point.
Much of his playing days were spent battling against the odds; Kilcoo not even a footnote in the grander landscape of Down football at the time, with Burren and Mayobridge taking turns to dominate.
In 1989 Johnston sr, along with the late Paddy Morgan, got involved with the U10s – a group that included Anthony Devlin, Noel Devlin, Sean O’Hanlon and Mark Branagan, the eldest of the Branagan brothers.
The young Kilcoo team that reached the East Down final in 1992 was the first to compete in a championship decider in over 50 years. Even in defeat, it was a seminal moment.
“I can still see all the wee faces with tears in their eyes - my own eyes had tears in them because I believed we were going to win,” recalled Johnston sr.
“They’re listening, clued into every word you’re saying, and I told them ‘boys, they might’ve been bigger and stronger than us today, but I can assure you now, the day will come when we will beat them. We will be winners’.”
Morgan reprimanded him for offering false hope but, four years later, that same group won Kilcoo’s first all-county championship.
“That was the start,” he smiled, “the conveyor belt was starting to go.”
The Magpies became minor champions in 1998, and won back-to-back U21 crowns in 2000 and 2001. By the time the seniors won the Division One title in 2003, many of those young boys were playing alongside their mentor.
Johnston sr still smiles when he looks at photos from that day; not just because of the great memories brought back, but because of those on the periphery, soaking it all in.
“There’s our Jerome and Ryan, Cillian Laverty, Darragh O’Hanlon… all them wee boys were all in that photo like the wee children are today.”
Another group, captained by current goalkeeper Niall Kane and coached by Johnston sr, Conor Laverty, Aidan Branagan, Mickey McClean and Donal Kane, were crowned U14 feile champions in 2006.
“Jerome was the man when I was coming up, along with Barney McEvoy,” says current club chairman, Michael Kane.
“In terms of the tactical side of everything, Jerome changed everything for us. At U14 we were set out to be a possession-based team – fist pass, fist pass, don’t be kicking the ball away.
“I remember going home and my dad being like ‘what was all that about – why do you not kick the ball in?’ I didn’t know who was right. But Jerome was ahead of his time.
“The days of catch and kick were coming to an end, when we got to minor level you could see Jerome’s philosophy was working. He changed the culture in a lot of ways.”
Championships won at U16 level between 2007 and ‘09 were backed up with three minor crowns in-a-row from 2009-2012. Heady days indeed – yet this was only the start.
The seniors, under Jim McCorry’s stewardship, made the breakthrough in 2009, ending 72 years of hurt. Paul Devlin scored six points when St Eunan’s, Letterkenny were toppled on their first foray into the provincial arena, before being edged out by the Loup in the last four.
When Kilcoo next ventured into Ulster in 2012, the faces on the field – and in the crowd – were starting to change. The new crew, Ryan and Jerome Johnston, Darryl Branagan, were forcing their way into the frame, while the likes of Ryan McEvoy, Anthony Morgan, Ceilum Doherty, Miceal and Crissy Rooney, Shealan Johnston and Callum Rogers were among those flooding on at half-time, full-time, blissfully ignoring orders to leave.
“That’s the thing about it,” says Kane, “the wee boys you see coming onto the pitch… the boys playing now were them wee boys not so long ago.
“Pre-2009, my vintage, we all remember the days when we were starving for it; couldn’t get near it. Them memories are still there - that’s why nobody takes it for granted.”
And that’s also why laurels have never been rested upon.
Alongside the two pitches at Pairc Eoghan Rua, planning permission was approved in recent weeks for a new 4G pitch and wall ball, with the aim to have that open inside the next two years.
The community hall is booked up every night of the week, keeping the younger groups together through the winter.
“Even just to build that bond between them, keep them working on the basics, is important,” says Kane.
“They don’t stop because their season’s stopped; there’s a plan 12 months of the year round. There’s no breaks.”
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AND while Jerome Johnston sr is no longer involved to the same extent, Laverty – still, at 39, an integral part of Karl Lacey’s playing panel - has assumed the mantle of galvanising Kilcoo’s youth.
Becoming Down manager has proved a blessing in disguise in that sense. Also a busy sheep farmer, the county job led Laverty to take a career break from his role as GAA development officer in Trinity College.
About home much more, he is heavily involved in the football side of things at St Malachy’s primary school, with the blessing of principal Declan Lawlor. With four of his five boys still there, a vested interest is clear.
But Laverty’s passion extends far beyond the paternal as he seeks to bring the best from Kilcoo. Johnston sr could see that from the earliest days; an obsession with the game that set him apart from his peers.
“Me and Conor’s daddy Gerry would’ve been involved with a lot of teams… I used to go and lift Gerry, we’d have gone to a different football match every night if the wee boys weren’t playing.
“Every night, the back door opened and this wee boy hopped in with the coat under the arm. No matter where we were going to football, Conor Laverty came with us; some nights it was only me and him going to matches. And he would take every word in.
“You see it with his own wee boys now - it’s just the same thing over.”
Alongside fellow stalwarts Anthony Devlin, Gerdie McEvoy and Dominic McEvoy, Laverty helps out with the minors.
Sean O’Hanlon and Gary McEvoy are with the U16s, and then from U14 down Darragh O’Hanlon – whose career was cruelly cut short by injury – and current players Paul Devlin, Callum Rogers, MacDarragh Hynes and Tiernan Fettes all play an active role.
Each one, from the bottom to the top, is reared on the same style to ensure that progression through the grades is seamless, with senior success the river from which all else flows.
“Conleith [Gilligan] would’ve talked to us about Ballinderry – they played him, [Enda] Muldoon and boys like that until they were done. They forgot about their youth and ended up in intermediate,” says Kane.
“Like, we’re not winning everything at underage level but we’re in the mix all the time.
The plan is that everybody plays to the one style, nobody deviates from that, and what you show them is ‘there’s your senior team, there’s what we’re winning – if you do this, this is where we’ll get to’.
“Because there’s so many close-knit families, there’s nearly competition between them. You always want your own to do well. That all plays a part in pushing things on.”
And even when those senior days are done, you stay, and you contribute.
“Very few drop away. The amount of late developers we’ve got just by doing the like of that… Eugene [Branagan], Ceilum Doherty, they were corner-forwards in the 2013 reserve third team that won the championship.
“There’s no big heads; you play for the third team if that’s where you’re put. This year we won senior seconds and thirds, three different teams, no overlapping because of the way the championship works.
“Niall McEvoy, Gerdie McEvoy, Sean O’Hanlon, they’re all still playing thirds, they still offer something back if they’re fit to do it. For their kids, nephews, nieces, seeing that, it’s a big thing – ‘he did it, that must be what you do’.
“Paul Devlin played the last three reserve championship games this year, scored eight points in the final against Bryansford. People were saying to me about him playing reserve, but sure he hardly kicked a ball in the league all year because he was injured, so those games helped get him back up to speed for senior championship.
“In some clubs, a PD wouldn’t drop down like that – they’re a senior player and that’s it. In Kilcoo nobody’s allowed to get ahead of themselves, or somebody’ll take you down, even in your own training.
“That culture’s engrained; you do what you need to do. Everybody has to row the right way.”
Winning is undoubtedly a major factor, but one hand would cover the significant losses Kilcoo have suffered to their playing pool during the last 15 years.
All-Ireland winning midfielder Dylan Ward has recently returned home after spending the guts of the last two years in Australia. He has been training with the squad since the victory over Scotstown, but getting back to the required level is a significant ask, so high are the standards set.
“Paul Greenan missed a couple of seasons… he was on the All-Ireland winning squad when he came back, but he couldn’t get back on the team.
“He would tell you that when you’re out of that cycle of month after month, putting the preparation in, it’s very hard to get it back. I’m sure even Dilly, for as fit as he is, and he’s a bit younger than Paul was, it’ll take a while to get up to the pace of it.
“They would nearly have been frowned upon for going. It’s unusual you get anybody going against the grain like that.
“When you’re looked after, it helps too. Nobody’s left out of pocket. We’re doing a thing at the minute to win a jersey sponsor on the back next year, the amount of money that has come in… the goodwill out there is wild, and those are the same people putting their hands in their pockets week in, week out.”
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AND the rewards are clear to see – not just in terms of silverware and showpiece days, but in the full pitches at Pairc Eoghan Rua, and at the Athletic Grounds before, during and after Sunday’s final.
Five of this year’s minor panel - Ruairi Madine, Ruairi McEvoy, Tadhg O’Hanlon, Liam Grant and Lorcan Ward – were brought into the squad for the Ulster campaign, while the conveyor belt Jerome Johnston sr started all those years ago continues to purr.
Laverty and Aidan Branagan, joint captains for the All-Ireland success two years ago, have five boys each. The offspring of Aidan’s brothers, Niall and Aaron, have bolstered the ranks, and are among those revelling in the moment; in 10, 15 years it could be them, just as it was Miceal Rooney and Ceilum Doherty, Ryan McEvoy and Shealan Johnston.
Aother generation taking inspiration from the last.
“You hope it goes the same way,” says Kane.
“If we win on Sunday it’ll be like Christmas, where if we lose it’ll be a long winter. If we were getting beat every year, things might be different.
“But when you’re winning, it’s very easy to keep everybody coming in behind you… it just changes everything.”
