Louth GAA club | ‘The boys deserve a crack at senior football’ - Stabannon boss Sweeney

Stabannon Parnells manager Shane Sweeney hailed his players' character after they secured a return to senior football with a dramatic two-point victory over St Brides in the Louth GAA Intermediate Football Championship final on Sunday.

The Parnells came from behind to claim the title at The Grove in Castlebellingham, with substitute Charlie McBride landing a crucial late two-pointer to help get his side over the line.

For Sweeney, who has been involved with the club for almost three decades, the victory was particularly satisfying after last year's championship disappointment and the difficulties Stabannon have faced in recent seasons.

Speaking at full time, he said, “I've been around the club a long time; I started back playing in 1997, but I'm lucky enough to have a couple of senior championship medals and a junior, and obviously an intermediate now.

“It means an awful lot to the community and me to try and keep the thing going. We tried to keep the team afloat for a few years; there was nobody coming round. Just to get them across that line, those boys deserve a crack at senior football again.

“Especially after the way last year ended, there was a lot of hurt there, and we knew we had to get that right today. It eases a lot of the pain from last year, but we'll never forget what happened.”

Resilience

Sweeney recalled how difficult things had become around 2018 and 2019, when he was regularly contacting former players simply to ensure Stabannon could fulfil fixtures.

“That was back in 2018, maybe 2019. I remember ringing lads, begging lads. I was still playing myself, begging lads to come and play, to try and field 15.

“I remember going to the Clans against the Malachis and begging lads to come back to play. I remember we played a game back a few years ago and we had to register to come off the line in a pair of jeans, just to field 15.

“That's how bad we were, but it was all about keeping the thing going because we knew we had the quality coming along. We could see the youth coming, and we just kept it going. There's a lot of people looking down on us today that would only love to be there.

“It was those people, Wayne Lynch and Colin Quinn, who kept the thing going for a few years. It's not only for us, but it's for all of them as well.”

Turning Point

Stabannon's late comeback was another example of their determination, with McBride making a decisive contribution after being introduced from the bench.

“Not for the purists, but you always knew if you're there and there abouts at the end, you've seen what happened yesterday in the senior final, a two-pointer can change the game.

“We put Charlie (McBride) on because Harry's (Butterly) just struggling a wee bit with the frees, a wee niggle at the hip injury. So we put Charlie on, but Charlie can kick frees; we knew if we got a free in range for Charlie, that Charlie would stick it over.

“I'm delighted for him because he hasn't played very little championship this year with us, but to come on there and kick the score that he kicked. The two-pointer that he kicked was just phenomenal for him, for a young lad. He had guts to take it and fair dues to him.”

Preparation

Sweeney said his side had studied their opponents closely but preferred to concentrate on their own strengths rather than individual match-ups.

“We tend not to worry too much about match-ups because that takes away from players their own game. We tend to just put our team out and see what happens. If they want to match up or everyone wants to match up against us, we let them at it.

“We look after ourselves; we put our 15 there in the field where we think our best positions are. I thought our boys just kept relentless pressure on them all the time.

“We knew, looking at all the games, we've done a lot of work looking at their videos, we knew that they leave gaps in behind and that if we can get the runners, that you'll get in behind them. That's what we've done today, and we've kept the pressure on them.”

Community

Sweeney stressed that the achievement belonged to more than just the players and management, with volunteers and supporters playing a major role in keeping the club running.

“It does, yeah, because when it's a community, it takes a lot of people to volunteer to keep the club running. It takes a lot of people; the club doesn't run without sponsorship and different things.

“It's a community effort; it's not about us. We’re there just putting in the work, but there's a lot of people in the background helping out financially and with different things. It is a community; it’s small.”

The close bond within the squad has also been central to their success, with many of the players having grown up together.

“They're so close and so tight. Even this morning they all went off for coffee. That's just the way they are. They're all the same age. They all went to school. They do everything together.

“It was such a small community. There is nothing there apart from the pitch and the two pubs; now there was only one for a while. That's why they meet up and do things.

“They go to the hotbox and do everything together. They're all the same age. That's good. A lot of brothers there as well. Family and cousins. It's a mix of everything. That’s the one thing about Stabannon: everyone gets on well. There's not a cross word.

“You ask them to do anything on the training pitch; they'll just do it. It doesn't matter what they're told to do, they'll just do it.”

Ambition

With senior football secured for next season, Sweeney knows the next challenge will be establishing Stabannon at that level rather than making an immediate return to intermediate.

“We'll see next year. You have the ability within the group to play senior. But the key is to stay up there. You see what happened to Hunterstown; they came straight back then.

“We don't want that to happen to us. There are a few players travelling next year. They're entitled to do that. I encourage any man travelling.

“Everyone works hard. They're entitled to go away. There are more young lads coming in next year. We do have them training with us. They do train with us. We've got them prepared for a year ahead. Hopefully they can step up to the mark now as well.”

Before that, the Parnells will represent Louth in the Leinster Intermediate Club Championship, where they will face either Kilcavan of Laois or Dunlavin of Wicklow in two weeks.

“We'll not worry too much about Leinster; we'll worry about the next couple of days. We will regroup come the end of the week. There's no doubt about it. Maybe Thursday or Friday we'll regroup and get together again. We will give Leinster a crack.

“There's talent within that group. There are subs there as well, young lads that came on; there's huge talent there, so we'll give it a crack.”