By Cian O’Connell

“It is brilliant for the community, we are a very close knit community,” Kevin Kelly says about Galbally Pearses run to the AIB Ulster Club IFC Final.

Saturday evening’s encounter at Páirc Esler against Corduff is dominating the conversations, but Kelly, a proud Galbally Pearses clubman, is fully aware how much progress has been made.

“Prior to 2019 the club has only won one adult championship - that was a junior title back in 1958,” Kelly adds. “We won an intermediate double in 2019, but unfortunately with Covid four teams were relegated out of senior last year instead of two because the previous year there was no relegation.

“We just got caught out with injuries and whatever. The new management team has come in, the target was to get straight back to senior football. Thankfully we have done that.”

Kelly’s respect for what Paddy Crozier and Joe McMahon have achieved is deep. It is the first time in 17 years that Kelly hasn’t been directly involved in a team or in the administrative side of Galbally Pearses, but he has simply enjoyed watching the 2022 story unfold.

“I'm delighted Galbally have done so well this year,” Kelly says. “Our main thing was to get back senior because we believed we were a senior club in everything, but name this year.

“We are back to senior football next year and we have the right age profile. Joe McMahon and Paddy Crozier have come in this year, they have pushed us on, everyone has bought into it. That is what it is all about. When you get a management team in, everybody has to sing from the same hymn sheet.

“That has happened. A key thing is that we have had no injuries and hopefully that is a trend that will continue. It is a football mad place, like a lot of places in Ireland, it is the heart and soul of the community.”

Galbally Pearses have invested time and energy in the underage structures. Footballers are being crafted. “Over the last 10 or 12 years or more there was a big emphasis put into youth football,” Kelly explains.

“Over the last 12 years we have won five grade one titles, including an U21 grade one championship in 2017. Then this year our club minor team was in grade two, we won the double, league and championship. Our U13s, playing in grade two, they got to a league final and the championship final. We have a lot of good youth players coming through.

“Our U11s played in numerous tournaments this year, I think they won something like five or six within the county and outside the county. The age profile of our senior team at the moment is pretty good, the majority of them are in their mid 20s.

“You are hoping that in the next few years boys from that minor team and other younger teams will come along, to just keep the whole thing ticking over. No matter how good you are or how good you think you are, you have to have youth players coming through challenging. It is keeping the conveyor belt going.”

Kelly speaks about the impact made by Mickey Murphy during his career with Tyrone and Galbally Pearses and how the club continues to provide able players for inter-county teams at different age grades. That has helped, but to win the Tyrone intermediate title, defeating star studded outfits in a highly competitive environment.

“Growing up around here, we were in a country area, there was nothing, it was football all the way,” Kelly acknowledges. “We are in a country area, but our club membership is up on 900 which is unreal as we are only half a parish. The appetite is there.

“A lot of good work has been done by a lot of people in the club. The youth structures are well set up. The minor team getting success, those lads will be looking at the boys on Saturday night thinking in another year or two that they will be playing alongside them.

“We have nobody in our senior team at the minute the other side of 30. It is just about driving it on, the club is in a good place at the minute. It shortens the winter, it is hard to believe you're going into December 10 with an Ulster title to play for.

“There was football formed in the area way back in 1905, we are going 117 years, that Tyrone title this year was only our third adult championship title. You have more bad days in football than good so you make the most of it.”

Kelly can appreciate that more than most. As part of the well regarded Teamtalkmag.com that provides in depth coverage on all matters Tyrone GAA, Kelly relishes the games.

“It is just unreal,” Kelly says about how the site has progressed. “We have three of us involved, Noel McGinn, Damian Harvey, and myself. We try our best to cover everything, right down to underage football, boys and girls, we try to do hurling and handball, everything.

“We had our annual gala last Friday night in Bundoran, there was 500 at it - a black tie event. It just continues to go from strength to strength. We present player of the year awards at all different grades - ladies football, mens football, handball, hurling. We pick 15 All-Stars for the club season. It is just something we are very proud of. It is our 10th year running the event.

“In that time with our patrons we have charity envelopes out on the tables, we choose two or three charities every year. It is unreal to think that over the 10 years we have given out 55,000 pounds to charity.

“Our three charities this year were for cancer, down syndrome, and another - we went for it last year - we donate money to foodbanks in the five major towns in Tyrone - Strabane, Omagh, Dungannon, Coalisland, and Cookstown. You'd like to be able to give more, but we give what we can do each one every year. At least we are giving something back. It is something we love doing.”

The passion for Gaelic Games endures. Kelly, though, just enjoys being involved. “We are all fanatical,” he laughs. “It is something we enjoy doing.”

That is what sport is about.