Carryduff's 'blow-ins' have made the place feel like home

By John Harrington

Carryduff GAA club in Down give credence to the saying that if you build it they will come.

For the first 30 years of their existence they were known as the nomads of Down GAA because they had no home pitch of their own and had to beg and borrow from others.

They finally got that home of their own in 2001 and ever since have gone from strength to strength.

Now they’re one of the biggest clubs in Ulster with a playing membership close to 1,500 across all codes.

The expansion of Belfast city has led to a population boom that the club has harnessed very effectively thanks to an open arms policy that has made them a social as well as sporting hub in their community.

Rivals, perhaps envious of the club’s growth in recent years, now refer to them as the ‘blow-ins’ rather than the ‘nomads’, but that doesn’t bother anyone in Carryduff in the slightest.

They’ve taken ownership of the term. The fact the club is now energised by so many ‘blow-ins’ is reflection of how successfully they’ve made themselves a pillar of their area of south Belfast.

“I'm born and bred in Carryduff but my mother and father weren't from Carryduff, they moved there as a young married couple and started up family and that’s the same story for so many others” says club chairperson, Brendan Sloan.

“Without blow-ins Carryduff wouldn’t have been born, so it doesn’t bother me that people use that word blow-in.

“We have a lot of people who have moved here from a lot of different parts of Ulster and beyond who now call Carryduff their home.

“And so many of those families who have moved to the area have made huge contributions to the club and here's been massive growth even in the past four or five years.

“After Covid we really wanted to put the club at the heart of the community and to provide a feeling of ownership and welcome and have everyone really feel a part of it and to get behind it and I think in the last few years we have done that really successfully.

“In 2023 we were crowned Gaelic Life Ulster Club of the Year, last year we won the Down Club of the Year award.

“People don't want to be away from the club now. They used to just drop their kids and teenagers and drive away. Not people come in to the club and socialise in the club.

“They come in for a cup of tea or go for a walk around the walkway and they're staying and meeting other people at the club.”

Last year the club opened a third pitch, Páirc na Óg, for their juveniles and there are plans to develop a floodlit 3g pitch and, in time, a new clubhouse.

Huge work has gone in to underage development across all four codes and the club now has over 200 coaches with a large percentage of them qualified to level 1 or Level 2.

That combination of good facilities and coaching has made the club serial winners at all grades and in all codes, and they’ve been just as proactive off the pitch as they been on it.

“We have put a big emphasis on inviting everyone into our community and one of the key objectives for me was to develop a vibrant Healthy Club and also a GAA for All Initiative,” says Sloan.

“A lot of families in our area would have a member of their family with additional needs and last year we launched a our Carryduff All-Stars which has really transformed the club because people realise that we really open to everyone in the community.

“We organise so many culture events too. A lot of talks happen, Irish language classes, traditional music classes, a book club, darkness into light walks, there’s just an awful lot of stuff going on off the pitch.”

Because Carryduff now have such a community buy-in, there’s a huge buzz around the club ahead of Sunday’s Down SFC Final against Kilcoo.

It’s only the second time in the club’s history they’ve gotten to the final. The last was five years in 2020 when a young team heavily stacked with players that won three county U21 titles from 2017 to 2019 were well-beaten by Kilcoo.

This time around there’s quiet confidence in the club that their team has matured sufficiently to stop a Kilcoo team gunning for a seventh title in a row and 13^th in 14 years.

“After that Final in 2020 they maybe thought we'll be in every final every year but it took us a while to adjust,” says Sloan. “We were a young, inexperienced team and maybe didn't play with enough maturity.

“There was a change of management two years after that with Finn Moriarty coming in and it took a while for him to get to know the players and get across the style of football he wanted them to play and what he wanted to achieve.

“That went well and we won the club's first League title and we've been very close over the last few years. We've been narrowly beaten in quarter-finals and semi-finals and we would have been very disappointed after some defeats.

“This year we just went out to play our own game and I just think there's a new maturity about the lads. There's a real cohesion with them and I just think they're a really good, solid unit who all have one another's backs. I'm confident they'll give it their very best on Sunday and hopefully that can get us across the line.

“There's no doubt about it, Kilcoo will be the favourites. They know how to grind out results even if they're not playing their best. Their running off the ball is unreal. They know how to get the job done. Even in the semi-final against Clonduff they were pushed to the limit but still got across the line. They know what it's about, they have massive experience.

“They're definitely the favourites but if our lads can play their game on the day I don't think they'll be too far away.”

Kilcoo bring a famously vocal support to their matches but Carryduff will match them for noise on Sunday.

The whole community has been energised by the team’s run to the final and the prospect of winning a Down senior championship for the very first time.

“We have a group of young lads in my son's age group at U-10.5 and those boys have been following this team since U-7.5 all the way,” says Sloan. “There are die-hards that have never missed a game, home or away, in the last three years and some of them will be the mascots on Sunday.

“They're known for the noise they make and getting in behind the goal and shouting at opposition keepers. We call them the U-10 Carryduff Ultras!

“There's just a massive buzz about. It's huge for the community. All the school-kids are having a club colours day in school on Friday and they'll all be coming in their colours with their flags and banners.

“We had a meet and greet with the senior players last week and a big breakfast with them. The buzz and atmosphere and positivity around the club is just massive.

“Club gear and jersies are just flying out the door. There's just a great happiness and buzz and everyone is really looking forward to it

“If we could win it would the icing on the cake that has been the transformation of this club. So many people have done great work to turn this club around and it would be a great reward for that.”