Michael Glaveys v Moy Tír na nÓg - AIB GAA Football All-Ireland Intermediate Club Championship Final
By John Harrington
In the minutes after Moy’s AIB All-Ireland Intermediate Club Football Final win over Michael Glaveys, Colm Cavanagh was struggling to take in the enormity of what he and his team-mates had just achieved.
Hundreds of the club’s supporters were still making plenty of noise in the lower Hogan stand, and Cavanagh couldn’t keep a smile from his face for more than a couple of seconds at a time.
“A lot to take in,” he said after the match. “Unbelievable. An unbelievable feeling. Very, very hard to put into words what the club has achieved today, for a small club in Tyrone. Crazy. Dreams come true.
“It’s very, very hard to describe what the GAA can do for our community. Our club and our community as a whole has changed over the last number of months.
“It's unbelievable to see what football can do. It sometimes puts things into perspective. It's just lifted the whole town. Everybody is in great form.
“It's going to do a lot for the youth coming through over the next number of years. It's done so much for the elderly probably as well in a way.
“Look, it's unbelievable, the power of football and the power of sport. It's evident here today when you see such a big turn-out from the club.”
Michael Glaveys v Moy Tír na nÓg - AIB GAA Football All-Ireland Intermediate Club Championship Final
This All-Ireland triumph follows on the heels of Moy’s first Tyrone Intermediate title since 1982, and Cavanagh admits they’ve exceeded everyone’s expectations, even their own, with what they have achieved.
“To be honest, I don't think we were favourites to win our first championship match in Tyrone against Augher, way back last year,” he said. “To do what we've done is unbelievable.
“We rode our luck at times throughout this campaign, but we have a lot of character in this team which maybe The Moy wouldn't have been known for.
“We've dug deep on certain days. We've got a couple of one-point victories throughout our campaign, so that shows we have a lot of steel and character in this team.
“Sometimes football is a funny thing. Nobody would have took The Moy to win anything this year. I don't know if I would have tipped us myself.
“But it's amazing what a bunch of lads can do with good management, good backroom team, good supporters and committees. It's amazing what you can achieve.”
Cavanagh played through the pain barrier to help Moy to victory on Saturday.
He sustained what looked like a bad elbow injury in the first-half, but strapped himself at half-time and re-emerged for the second-half.
Tyrone supporters will be relieved to hear he doesn’t think he has done any long-term damage to the joint.
“Just before half-time, I thought it was curtains,” he said. “My elbow. I felt a lot of pain go through my elbow and my arm and fingers.
“I thought I was in wild trouble. But it's amazing what 10 or 15 minutes of strapping and a few harsh, choice words from my brother to say, 'you're not staying in here, get back out'.
“Yeah, look, I'll get it assessed afterwards. But I don't think it's anything to worry about. I don't know at this stage, we'll just have to wait and see, but I think it's going to be fine.”
