By Cian O’Connell

A decade ago Joe Kernan carried out an interview to assist the GAA Oral History project.

At the end of the conversation Kernan reflected on a spell when an opportunity to emigrate to Australia was available. To the relief of Crossmaglen Rangers and Armagh, Kernan stayed; thrilling tales and titles followed.

“You look back and think you were lucky to be involved in such great times, disappointing times too when you go back to the club too losing matches,” Kernan remarked.

“When I was a young fella 21 or 22 I had a chance to go to Australia. My father died when I was 11, my mum spent most of her time in Australia so I was here literally on my own.

“I had two sisters and a brother out there, they begged me to go to Australia. I was close to going, but the reason I didn't go was that if I went I might have liked it, and I wouldn't come back. I didn't go and it was the best decision I ever made.”

Sporting wise Crossmaglen and Armagh were the chief beneficiaries. Growing up Gaelic Football was simply part and parcel of everyday life in Cross which Kernan relished.

“In Crossmaglen you are nearly born into it,” Kernan explained. “I remember kicking a ball on the street and that led up to the football field, that was when I was nine or 10 years of age.

“My uncles and my cousins all played it. My uncle Jamesie played on the 26 of the All Ireland Junior team that won. My cousin Frank won an All Ireland minor medal and played in the 53 final, his sons and all my sons played.

“I played my first senior game for Crossmaglen Rangers when I was 16. I had played Under 16, minor, street leagues here in Crossmaglen as a child and then moved up.”

Fortune frequently favours the brave, but Kernan stresses the value and importance of a winning mentality that existed.

“Coming from Crossmaglen we were lucky in one way, we are a very successful club and when you do well with your club you are upgraded as such: you make it to the county team,” Kernan added.

“With Crossmaglen I won an Under 16 Championship, I won Senior, Senior League and Championships, never won an Ulster or an All Ireland at club level. With the county I won Ulster Championship and National League, All Stars. I have been very lucky.”

On the field of play Kernan was an influential figure when Armagh reached the All Ireland Senior Football Final. Dublin, though, were a decorated outfit.

“The day of the match arriving into Croke Park, looking out seeing the sea of orange,” Kernan vividly remembers entering the field of play.

“Dublin bring great support everywhere they go, but on that day Armagh support definitely outnumbered the Dublin supporters. Orange flags were everywhere.”

Ultimately Dublin proved too strong for the underdogs. “We were devastated, it was the end of the world as far as we were concerned,” Kernan admitted.

“We thought on the day we had a great chance. Things went well for a while, for most of the game things didn't go well, but the bottom line is when it was over and done we were beaten by a far superior team, a team with greater knowledge, greater belief in themselves, a team that had been there and done that before.

“We were the new boys on the block, they taught us a bit of a lesson that day. Lessons we learned and used at a later stage.”

That was most certainly the case when Kernan returned as Armagh manager in a gripping 2002 decider against Kerry.

The story of his losers plaque from 77 being smashed at the interval is well documented with Kernan satisfied how his managerial career unfolded.

“In the 15 or 16 years that I managed my club Crossmaglen and county Armagh, I think we won 24 or 25 trophies which was unbelievable,” Kernan stated.

“I felt one, very proud, and two, honoured, to be in that situation. When I look back at some of it now you see the joy not only that you brought to yourself and your own house, but to the people throughout the rest of the town, county, and rest of Ireland.

“I go back to Cross winning the All Ireland, we had fantastic support from all over Ireland. People from different counties always followed Cross because one they knew they would get value for their money. They saw a team playing that gave everything they had.

“Then when you saw Armagh winning in 2002 you had a situation where the whole country wanted Armagh to win that day.

“It brought great joy, one it showed we were good enough to play at the highest level and two other counties in the same situation as us, they knew if they did everything right they had a chance too.”

Being the figurehead of the game in Armagh was a role that suited Kernan to perfection. He had the craft and skills to stitch an Armagh panel together in a coherent manner.

“A manager to me is a person who organises people,” Kernan remarked. “You put a backroom together, I'm not a trainer, a physio, a doctor or a sports psychologist, but I manage all these people. I put a package together, I monitor and work with all these people.

“I also put a gameplan for the team, I get the team to play the way I want. Management is about getting a whole lot of people working together. The one thing is everybody does their own job, they don't step out of their own job, that is what management is, it is like running a business.

“You have 30 or 40 people in your office, everybody has a job to do. When they do their job the business goes well, everybody inside the team goes well.”

Still being Armagh’s boss during a period when the county achieved great things also brought significant duress. “When you are a player you are really looking after yourself and your team mates,” Kernan explained.

“When you are a manager on the bus you'd have 40 people. Outside of the bus you'd have maybe 10,000 county supporters, who want you to succeed and will tell you if you aren't succeeding.

“Your whole life changes because now you really are public property. That can be a burden, when things are going well it is a bit easier. When things aren't going well you can feel the wrath of the public every now and again.”

Kernan’s efforts as a player and manager brought acclaim and respect to Crossmaglen. The role the club occupied in his career will never be underestimated.

“The club was part of the community and parish,” Kernan commented. “Everything that happens in the club affects the parish and the town, vice versa. When we were in trouble with the club it affected the whole town, people wouldn't come to the town to see the true people of Crossmaglen.

“We are like every other small village in the country, we are good friendly people. If somebody is in trouble we help each other, that all sparks from the way you are brought up in the club.”

Such an approach served Kernan, Crossmaglen, and Armagh well throughout the decades.