My Club and I: Jamie Clarke
My Club and I: Jamie Clarke
In this week's 'My Club and I', we speak to Armagh forward Jamie Clarke about his club Crossmaglen Rangers.
By Arthur Sullivan
Few could legitimately grumble at the assertion that Crossmaglen Rangers are one of the greatest, if not the greatest, GAA club of all time. A quick glance at their history and honours list bears compelling testament to such a notion.
The success of the south Armagh club over the last two decades has been such that at times they have appeared unbeatable. Their record is truly astonishing. They have won 17 out of the last 18 Armagh Senior Championships, 10 Ulster Senior Club Championships since 1996, and six All-Ireland Club Championships since 1997.
No other club in Ireland has come even close to matching that relentless record of success in that time. They won every Armagh and Ulster final they contested in that period, and lost just one All-Ireland final - the 2009 decider against Kilmacud Crokes.
Their success has secured legendary status for many residents of the town, situated at the southern tip of Co. Armagh, right on the Co. Monaghan border. Oisín McConville, Francie Bellew, John and Tony McEntee, Paul Hearty, Joe Kernan and his sons - they are all nationally recognised football men of distinction.
The town of Crossmaglen itself has a population of just under 1,500, and is the largest town in the parish of Upper Creggan. It is situated almost equi-distant from Belfast and Dublin, and can easily be accessed from the M1 motorway, about eight miles away.
The club play their home games at St. Oliver Plunkett Park in the town, a venue which has often hosted inter-county games, and which is currently being re-developed, with a new pitch being built as well as plans for a new clubhouse.
While Crossmaglen's name has truly been made over the last two decades, the club has a long record of success in Armagh. They have won 41 Armagh Championships in total, including at least one in every decade since the 1900s, with the exception of the 1950s. Their longest run without a county title since 1906 is the 13 years that passed between the titles of 1947 and 1960.
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The Crossmaglen GAA club was founded on October 1, 1887, and added the 'Rangers' to their name, as well as taking on their famous black and amber colours, at a meeting in the town in 1909.
Jamie Clarke is one of a number of Crossmaglen players currently playing with the Armagh senior football team. Aaron Kernan, Kyle Carragher, Paul Hughes, Paul McEntee, James Morgan, Paul McKeown and Johnny Hanratty are just some of the Crossmaglen players who have played with Armagh in recent seasons.
For more, visit www.crossrangers.com
Q: Where is Crossmaglen?
A: I think everyone knows where it is! It's in the heart of south Armagh. There's a strong tradition. Times haven't always been good but in recent years, especially over the last two decades, our success on the pitch has been second to none. From an underage level, we have a good underage set-up there. We're growing and we have the structure in place that success is going to continue. We had an U16 team there that won the Paul McGirr trophy, which is the equivalent of the Ulster Championship, and hopefully in the next number of years there will be at least seven or eight of that team coming through again.
Q: Of all clubs that we could possibly profile, Crossmaglen are probably the one whose name commands the most respect nationwide. The club's record is incredible - how, if you can possibly explain, has it been possible to achieve so much?
A: It's that winning mentality. Once that structure is put in place...I think it was the first three or four were won back in the mid 1990s, and once the first one was won, it's like the domino effect. There was just that growing tradition of winning and that winning habit. Crossmaglen is a town that is a football town. There's not really anything else. People live for football in Cross'. Once we got that first All-Ireland, I think people said, 'This is what we want. This is what we are all about.' Again, it's just that tradition of winning. There are teams all over the world that are just associated with winning. And that is the underlying factor.
Q: You were born in 1989, so you were eight when Crossmaglen won their first club All-Ireland. Can you remember it?
A: I do. I remember the first All-Ireland clearly. The main thing you think is 'I want to be there'. When you're growing up...like I grew up watching Oisín playing. Not many people would have seen the games because they would have been a lower level in the county championship, but I was watching Oisín consistently putting on a show. Growing up, that was the standard that you were watching and therefore the standard that you were set yourself.
Q: What are the club's facilities like at the moment?
A: There's a new redevelopment at the club at the moment. A new pitch is being built behind the main one, and then we'll have three pitches there. The new pitch will be a training pitch, a Prunty pitch. There's also plans for a new clubrooms too. That has come from the fact that the game itself has moved on and I think it's important that Cross recognised that, and that we know we are not going to be left behind in terms of facilities.
Q: Who are the people who have driven Crossmaglen's success?
A: Without being cliché about the thing, there are those people within the club that just do everything. For example, Tim Gregory, the youth officer of the club - he would have had the McEntees, Oisín, Francie Bellew coming through at underage. He had myself, Paul McKeown, Kyle Carragher - all these young guys coming through and he is in charge of the U16 team that are winning at the minute. I think it is just that success breeds success. Once it first happens, it just continues. And within Cross', everyone wants to help out. It is that 'family' tradition about it.
Q: Francis Hanratty scored two goals in the 2012 All-Ireland final win, and afterwards, he said something along the lines of, in Crossmaglen, he felt it was either play football or go to the pub, and he wanted to play football. Is there something to this?
A: I think there are 14 pubs in Crossmaglen. It is an old, traditional town. He's not too far off. He's probably a bit naive in saying that, but he's not too far off. When you're in Crossmaglen, it really is all about the football. He had a good day that day.
Q: What are your memories of your first days at the club?
A: I can remember going back to primary school days, the Cross' primary team. We won the McGreevy Cup - that was an U11 competition. We played the final in the Marshes in Newry. Seven or eight of that team are still playing at senior level. Another important thing is that seven or eight of us on that team were all friends and we all came through together. So we were pushing each other on as well. Guys like Johnny Hanratty, David McKenna, Kyle Carragher, Paul McKeown, Stephen Finnegan, Frannie Hanratty, Aaron Cunningham.
Q: There are no shortage of big names in Crossmaglen. Who were your heroes as a child?
A: The likes of Oisín. Then when Armagh started to do well, it was the likes of Steven McDonnell. I used to play in the back garden back then, and at that time, Galway were successful and I was always a fan of them. Michael Donnellan, Pádraic Joyce. I was also a big fan of Enda Muldoon (Derry) too. I played for INTO mini sevens in 2001 at Croke Park, and I was playing that day for Derry. I was near a Derry man at that stage! That's why I took a shine to Muldoon. But I remember watching the games all the time in Croke Park, and players like Ollie Murphy, Trevor Giles (both Meath) and lads like that.
Q: Did you have many underage coaches who were well-known figures?
A: It was actually mostly the guys I mentioned, Tim Gregory, who has been there for numerous years. I don't know how many. He's the main man that everyone talks about, and he has been so associated with underage football and for bringing those players through. So nothing has changed.
Q: What is the happiest day you can recall in a Crossmaglen jersey?
A: The first All-Ireland in 2011 against St. Brigid's. I was Man of the Match and got the goal in the All-Ireland final. That was massive for me. My first year on the Crossmaglen team was in 2008/2009 and we had got to the final and lost it (to Kilmacud Crokes). So to finally get that one over me was massive. This team at the minute, we don't look beyond the next one.
Q: Pat Gilroy said, when talking about St. Vincent's, that no-one is ever allowed to get too big for their boots at the club , no matter what they have achieved. Is that also the case at Crossmaglen?
A: The thing about Crossmaglen is, it's not really adapted, but there is that "No assholes" policy, that everyone is treated equally. Again, there's a saying at Crossmaglen, you go into the changing room and you leave your feelings at the door.
Q: Crossmaglen have a reputation as a tough club - the club of the McEntees and Francie Bellew - so being a light, technical player, how did you blend in at the club?
A: Tony (McEntee) and Gareth (O'Neill) adapted a new system (when they were managers). I'm not the only one who isn't the biggest. We have a fast and mobile team now. So Tony and Gareth really influenced the style of play to suit us and suit our needs. I suppose that's probably where it came from.
Q: When you were really at your peak as a team a few years back, it was a common, informal discussion topic as to whether you would be able to beat county teams. What's your opinion on that, having playing for Crossmaglen and Armagh?
A: There was a stage in the third year (going for three-in-a-row, the 2012/2013 season) where we had won Ulster with ease. That was my fifth Ulster with Crossmaglen, I still have never lost a game in Ulster with the club. But there was a stage when we just felt we were unstoppable. And in the end, it was that small thing that actually killed us. That was the year we lost to St. Brigid's (All-Ireland semi-final), and stopped us winning the three-in-a-row. Looking back at that game, we weren't great but we still probably should have won the game. If we went out to play St. Brigid's again the next day, we could have beaten them by 10 points. We were just complacent and that's what got us beat. It's one of them that I will never forget and I'm sure no-one else on the team will ever forget. Three-in-a-row was thrown around so much and ultimately we didn't get it.
Q: So in spite of everything you have won, that still sickens you?
A: Yeah. It's one of them things, it is what is. You move on and you go again.
Q: For most club players, winning a county title is the often unattainable dream. Crossmaglen have won 17 out of the last 18 Armagh Championships, so what does an Armagh title mean to Crossmaglen now?
A: The first thing Oisín told me was 'Enjoy it'. Don't get complacent about it, take it all in because it will fly by. I look at the last four or five years, they've just flown by. You play football to enjoy it and to win. You enjoy it while you do win. We do take the county championship very seriously and that's probably why we win it so much. It's one of the things we always look for, and we never ever look beyond it.
Q: Is there a link between the fact that the Crossmaglen pitch is so closely located to a British army base and that the club is so tight-knit and determined?
A: It just goes back in history. The British Army occupied the area and there were times when games were stopped because of different things. I remember playing matches and having a helicopter coming in not too far above your head. I was too young to understand what it meant or what was going on. But look, times have changed. Looking back, it is probably one of the reasons why we are so close as a club but again, throughout Ulster, there were similar clubs and stories. But now at the moment, the most positive thing is that Crossmaglen is known for football and not for the Troubles.
Armagh v Cavan, Athletic Grounds, Sunday, 4pm
