Captain Gorry very conscious that he is living through unique times for Ballinagar

IF Jack Gorry ever wants to find out about what times were like in Ballinagar when they were not at the races, he just has to ask his father David.

Captain of the Ballinagar team that is playing Tullamore in the Offaly Senior “B” Football Championship final on Saturday next, Gorry has grown up in a very special time for Ballinagar.

He was part of a golden generation of Ballinagar player that started with Cumann na mBunscol success when young children, enjoyed championship wins with Na Fianna minor club up through underage ranks, culminating in the Minor Football Championship in 2019.

Those teams were backboned by Ballinagar players and they have continued their remarkable ascent in adult ranks. They completed a junior and junior “C” football double in 2022 and Jack graduated to the first team a year later. Now just 23 years of age, he has won an Intermediate Football Championship medal in 2024, Leinster Junior Football Championship the same year and was just a minute away from making an All-Ireland junior final in Croke Park with An Ceathru Rua of Galway pipping them at the post in the semi-final in Roscommon.

He played in a senior B final last year where Clara proved too strong and is now back for a second bite of the cherry. Ballinagar's rise up the ranks has been one of the biggest stories in the modern Offaly GAA era and they look well equipped for the final step up into the top flight.

It is an extraordinary time for the club who had only won one adult title, the 1988 Junior Football Championship, before the current decade and they floundered badly as the 1990s wore on, in the 2000s and 2010s. There was a time in the 2010s when they were in danger of going back to the fifth tier, junior “B” football and the club was in survival mode for several years before the wheel turned with the emergence of an exciting, very talented young crop.

It has been a great time for these young players but David Gorry will be able to tell Jack to cherish it, not to take anything for granted and to make hay while the sun shines. He played football for Ballinagar for nearly two decades from 1990 on and was their best player in this time but for most of them, he was playing uphill and into the wind as Ballinagar ranged from mildly competitive to non competitive. He bowed out with a great individual performance in a narrow junior football semi-final loss to Killeigh but Ballinagar slipped back to mediocrity after that.

Chairman for a few years in the 2010s into the 2020s, David Gorry's son Jack has been in great form in the Ballinagar defence this year and he knows that they are privileged to be part of the current run.

“Since 2022 when we won the junior and junior “C”, there has been a great buzz around the village especially. Winning is great and there has been plenty of new lads coming through. A lot of lads mad to get back playing football as well. There are great numbers around training and things have been going well the last few years.”

He spoke about their development from national schools' level up and the importance of success with Na Fianna, especially the 2019 minor win. “There was a glimpse of hope there and to be fair to the older lads who were there, they got us down training when we were 16-17. We got to know the lads and it made that integration that bit easier.”

He made the junior squad in 2020 when a draw with Kilclonfert put them out in the group stages while they lost a quarter-final in 2021. “It has been a gradual rise and junior is a tough grade to get out of. All grades are hard but it was great to get out of junior because we were in it for so long.”

While 2022 junior was important, the 2024 Intermediate Football Championship final win over Raheen was the most important in their current run. It was a local derby against players they had played with at underage level and a myriad of complicated family connections and ties – Jack's first cousin Dylan Hyland was Raheen's star man while David Gorry grew up in Geashill and also played with Raheen.

“It was massive going in that day. No one knew what way that game was going to go. It was great for us to get over the line that day and Raheen are pushing strong again, they are in a county semi-final and I wish them all the best, they are a great club. It was a massive day for the club when we won that, it was great.”

The Leinster Junior Football Championship win later in 2024 was the icing on the cake and Gorry described their final win in Navan against Meath's Dunsany as “one of my best sporting memories. “You relish those days and you would do anything to live them back. It was a wonder day for the club.”

He still grimaces when reminded of the chance missed in the All-Ireland semi-final. “It still sickens me to this day when I think of the way that game went but you win some and lose some. That was definitely one that slipped through our hands. Even to get to Croke Park and say that Ballinagar played in an All-Ireland final would have been massive but you have to take the good with the bad. There has been a good bit of good and a small bit of bad and you have to take it on the chin and keep going.”

Gorry agreed that Ballinagar made last year's senior B final against the head and had no complaints at losing to a “very strong” Clara.

“We were probably still a bit green and another year at senior B did us the world of good,” he declared.

He has been happy with this year and their consistency apart from a spectacular malfunction in the second half of a group defeat by Daingean and the concession of a shocking seven goals. He has no explanation. “It was a freak game but Daingean were well drilled that day and they were out for blood. We leaked a couple of goals and they kept the hammer to the floor. We lay down a small bit for them but fair dues to Daingean, they put down a big marker in the championship that day.”

Gorry knows all about Tullamore's ability to win finals. “They are a young team, athletic and know how to play football. They have that mixture of experience and youth. Them boys are in training with senior As and Stephen Rochford and they have everything going for them. It will be one hell of a battle.”

Ballinagar won their junior and intermediate finals in O'Connor Park, have played other big games there and some players seem to visibly fatten at the venue.

“Yeah some lads love the space, there is plenty of space in there. It suits some lads and it doesn't suit everyone. Hopefully it will suit everyone on Saturday.”

Ballinagar's age profile is excellent with the majority of their squad under 25 and you would imagine they will remain strong for a few years but Gorry agreed that their window of opportunity to make senior could close very quickly. Rock solid defender Diarmuid Finneran only returned from Australia days ahead of the semi-final win over Tubber while Adam Joyce has plans to travel next year – emigration and injuries hang over every club team in Offaly at the moment.

“I was told that myself the other day, that when you get opportunities, you have to take them with both hands. These opportunities don't come around too often. We are at that stage now where lads go off travelling. You never have the same group of lads every year and you have to make the most of it. Relish the moment when you have it and try and take the opportunities when you can.”

Gorry is a “home bird” himself with no travel ambitions. “I just love football in Ballinagar and I would hate to be away for a season. It is the highlight of the year every year for us.”

Gorry's passion for football is obvious and he has worked hard at his own game to progress from junior C in 2022 to a starter in defence. He has put in long hours on his fitness, pace and ball retention skills, which have really improved this year.

“Back in 2022 when we won junior C, I knew myself I wanted to go further. I put my head down, did a good bit of work on my own game and looked at my fitness. My ball skills, handling wise and my decision making wasn't up to scratch. If I wanted to get to that grade, and I wanted to, I had to put my head down and work on my own game. I am happy enough at the moment but there is definitely more there.”

He is conscious that they are history makers in Ballinagar and that there were a couple of generations before him who never sniffed a medal. He has spoken to his father about this. “You know my father and he is a quiet sort of a man. He doesn't let on to know but when that man speaks, you listen. The joy when we came home last Saturday, he was delighted for us all. There is lads like my father and certain lads around the village and they just do it for Ballinagar. They don't want it to be known about but they just do it for the love of Ballinagar and they want to see us go far. It is great for the whole village and around.”

Ballinagar's success story has affected locals in a profound way. Under the stand in Navan before the 2024 Leinster final win, there was a great gathering of locals drinking coffee and trying to hide their excitement at what was unfolding. Former chairman Iggy Daly, former secretary Martin Brophy and former players Liam Kirley and Pat Geoghegan were among the elite group and sadly two of them are no longer with us: Martin Brophy and Pat Geoghegan.

Jack Gorry knew both men well. He grew up right beside Martin Brophy, who was his godfather, and worked with both Brophy and Pat Geoghegan. He was glad they got to see those successes.

“When you look at them men and what they did. Days like next Saturday, you would be thinking of them men and what they would do to be here in this moment. They are always in the back of our mind and if there is anything to drive us on, it is the memory of men like these. It is tough but unfortunately these things happen and you have to deal with it.”

The local excitement can be both a positive and a negative. As a group, how do ye insulate yourselves from this and not be listening to stuff that ye don't need to hear in pubs etc.

“Yeah, you go to the shop and you listen to it as well. We have all spoken about it and you just have to try and block out the outside noise, to focus on the task on hand. Focus on your own job and game. One thing we have always been told and bought into is never take any team for granted. Tullamore are great teams in finals and are a club going places. The best thing to do is just worry about yourself and block out that outside noise. Just worry about what you have to do and hopefully get over the line.”