By Cian O’Connell

A totemic figure with a fondly remembered Monaghan team in the 1980s, Bernie Murray is still making a mark in the Gaelic Football world.

Coaching and managing teams has brought Murray to interesting places so the latest mission with Ballymacnab supplies significant hope and encouragement.

Murray has worked at every level in the game, and continues to derive enjoyment from being in charge of Ballymacnab alongside the well regarded Paul O’Connor.

Crossmaglen Rangers will provide a daunting test at the Athletic Grounds in Sunday’s Armagh decider, but Murray is delighted by how Ballymacnab are developing.

“So far things have gone well,” Murray says. “Obviously last year they won the League for the first time which was a big achievement for the fellas as the club had never won a Senior trophy.

“Then we got big momentum getting to the final, we were going really, really well up until 10 minutes to go. Cross reeled us in with that bit of experience that they have, they ended up winning by six points.”

While that defeat hurt deeply, Murray acknowledges the attitude and application of the Ballymacnab panel, who quickly turned their thoughts and attention to the 2019 campaign.

“We dusted ourselves down, the guys got back in doing their gym work within two weeks starting to prepare for this year,” Murray adds.

“They have worked really, really hard with Paul O'Connor and myself. Paul has been brilliant with the lads. We have a guy, Neil Alderdice doing the strength and conditioning with them, they have worked really hard over the course of the year.

“The experience from last year and over the last four or five years before us. Lenny Harbinson was there, the Antrim manager, before that with Brendan Trainor and before that Pascal Canavan was there with Brendan.

“So there was a lot of good foundations in place before Paul and myself came in. The guys are very, very driven and obviously very keen to win their first Senior Championship.”

During a decorated playing career Murray sampled Ulster and National League glory, while six Monaghan titles were won in Scotstown’s blue and white, while he also enjoyed success with Louth’s Stabannon Parnells.

With Dromintee Murray encountered Aidan O’Rourke and they have soldiered together with various Queens outfits and with the Louth seniors.

“I had managed Dromintee in Armagh in the early noughties and I became very friendly with Aidan O'Rourke,” Murray remarks. “I did some work with Aidan in Queens, I helped him out with the Sigerson team in 07 and 08 and I managed the Freshers in 12 and 13. We were lucky enough to win an All Ireland with them.”

Other successful ventures were launched too. “I did the Monaghan minors for four years, I was also involved with a very good friend of mine, David Nelson, in Navan O'Mahony's as his coach for five years,” Murray comments.

“We won Championships there, any project I got involved in you were always looking to be working with good players. It is brilliant to be working with, obviously at University level, Sigerson Cup, county minor, you are dealing with elite players.

“The same with Navan O'Mahony's the likes of Kevin Reilly and Stephen Bray, these chaps. Every time somebody would phone you about an opportunity if it was an exciting project to work on, you'd say to yourself you'd love to have a go at this for a couple of years.”

That is why Ballymacnab’s approach struck Murray. “So the Ballymacnab thing when I did a bit of research after the initial phone call everybody said this is a really, really good club,” Murray replies.

“They are very keen to progress and do well. They won their first ever trophy in 1999 with the Junior and the Intermediate then in 06. During the 60s, 70s, and 80s they lost five or six Junior titles, they had never won an adult trophy at Championship level.

“It is a small club just outside Armagh city so it was an exciting project for myself and Paul to get involved with.”

Murray’s desire is to leave a group of players in a better state than when he found them, ensuring the lessons learned in Scotstown as an emerging footballer remain valuable.

“I went into management with Stabannon in County Louth and won a couple of Championships there,” Murray recalls.

“Obviously with Scotstown we had a very strong team at the time, there was a winning ethos around the club. We won Ulster Club titles and the Monaghan team was successful so you have an expectation of winning.

“Looking forward to next Sunday we are hoping the lads will get over the line. Paul O'Connor won an Ulster Under 21 title with Monaghan in 1999, he won six Championships with Blayney.

Paul is a brilliant footballing coach, he played international schools basketball for Ireland. He played for Monaghan seniors for a few years, he was actually man of the match when Blayney beat Cross in the Ulster Club in 2000.

“So Paul had a very distinguished career himself and has turned into a brilliant coach. In his role with the Monaghan County Board, he is Games Development Manager so the success over the last 10 or 12 years with Monaghan, Paul's fingerprints would be all over that.

“Himself and myself worked together with the Monaghan minors so we would be closely connected. He is an outstanding coach.

“His attention to detail and the work he has done with the players has been absolutely brilliant. It is the main reason I feel the Ballymacnab fellas have pushed on is because of Paul's influence on them.”

Ultimately finding a meaningful connection with a panel of players is what Murray strives to do. Improving constantly is what Murray seeks to achieve. “When you are working on a project and you get a bit older, my daughter is 28 and my son is 26, you like working with young people all of the time,” Murray explains.

“It is keeping you young and you can still connect with them because of my own son's friends and my daughter's friends. You still connect with people that age. There is too much time involved to do it for the sake of doing it.

“If it is something you find really interesting, a real project you can get your teeth into it is absolutely brilliant. There is a real challenge to do your best.

“Obviously everyone wants to win silverware, but you have two ways of measuring how you have done. One is obviously can you deliver some success or help the guys deliver success with some trophies.

“Another is have you left the players in a better place when you're finished with them. That is probably the big thing.”

Just to prove that particular point, July 21, 2013 at St Tiernach’s Park is etched into Murray’s mind. “When Monaghan won the Ulster Championship in 2013 so many of the players we had them as county minors.

“So to meet their parents after the match, to see the euphoria from the parents, to think you made a small contribution or a contribution to their son reaching development as a senior, you get great satisfaction out of that.”

Murray is still finding a way to cajole and inspire. Ballymacnab’s imminent tussle with the striped Crossmaglen warriors will be worth monitoring.