Reilly struck by Gowna's 'pure football passion'

SFC final preview

The first thing that struck Fintan Reilly when he arrived to take over as manager of Gowna was that this was no ordinary GAA club. Football is a deeply engrained part of the identity in the area. It is, says Reilly, “pure passion - and it’s all football.”

“It’s not just about the team in Gowna, it’s about everybody and it’s the area. If you need something done and you’re involved in football in Gowna, there’s no problem getting it done,” the former Cavan goalkeeper told the Anglo-Celt.

A winner of Junior and Intermediate Championship medals with his native Redhills, Reilly has been living in Killeshandra for the last 16 years and has managed a couple of other clubs to success. Gowna, though, is unique, he suggests.

“When you go to Gowna, it’s unbelievable to see… You hear these stories of when Ciaran was playing and Dermot and Eamon Coleman was over them but when you’re up in the middle of them, you can see the passion and you can see what it means to the people of Gowna.

“Whether that’s a men’s team or a women’s team, it makes no difference, it’s pure passion and it’s great to see. For everybody, it would be unbelievable to win this final but we know Ramor are there, they are very, very experienced and they were there two years ago.

“So we know what’s ahead of us. I’ve said no matter where I’ve been, it’s not about me, it’s not about the management, it’s all about the players and the club and I hope on Sunday week it’s for Gowna.”

Reilly has been very impressed by the Virginia men to date.

“If you look at the championship as a whole, it was a masterstroke by Ramor to play Jack Brady at centre half-back, he’s lit up the championship. At the other end of the field, Sean McEvoy pulled them out of a hole against Crosserlough, he kicked the winner again in the semi-final, they have a lot of talent.

“They’re a footballing team, they play a lovely brand of football. The experience is going to stand to them and we just hope that we don’t freeze. That’s one thing you hope for as a manager, that your team performs, they don’t buy in to what goes on round it.

“Castlerahan pipped Ramor two years ago by a point, I still think 12 or 13 of those boys will play in this final. I am very impressed with them, we were very lucky to get a draw with them in the league and I said coming out that they would have a big say in the championship.”

Riding shotgun with Reilly is club legend Dermot McCabe, who has enjoyed considerable success in management to date.

“I’d have known Dermot before I came to Gowna. The knowledge of football that he has is unbelievable. He brings a real professionalism to the set-up. We talk regularly about stuff and work together. If there’s a bit of giving out to be done, lately, would you believe, it seems to be me that’s doing all that!”

While it’s a young Gowna team, there are a number of vastly experienced players too which will help in dealing with any nerves which may arise.

“You just tell them to relax and enjoy it. It’s a big occasion but the good thing about being in Gowna, everyone said when we went to play Kingscourt that they were an experienced team – I don’t think at this particular moment in time that there is a more experienced club footballer in Cavan than Mark McKeever.

“Mark will be chatting to the young boys. They have their feet firmly on the ground. That’s bred into them, the pressure of the big game won’t get to them, it’s just about a team performance and that probably starts from us at the top right down to the very last. It’s a collective effort. When you have Mark and Ronan Bannon and ‘Razor’ Keogh who have championship medals, they bring a calming influence around the place and it’s great to have them around.”