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Mullingar Shamrocks making an impact in Westmeath again

Denis Corroon remains an influential figure for Mullingar Shamrocks.

Denis Corroon remains an influential figure for Mullingar Shamrocks.

By Cian O’Connell

Gaelic Football is dominating conversations in Mullingar this week with Sunday’s Westmeath SFC Final top of the agenda.

Local rivals St Loman’s and Mullingar Shamrocks will collide in an eagerly anticipated decider sprinkled with interesting sub-plots. Ned Moore’s senior playing career with Shamrocks saw him feature in three decades accumulating seven titles and he is back steering the ship.

That Luke Dempsey, who featured in the Shamrocks shirt in his own career, is managing Loman’s is merely another story surrounding the game. The popular Moore has taken charge of several club teams since guiding Shamrocks to the 2007 Westmeath decider.

“I managed Shamrocks to the County Final in 2007, we were beaten by Tyrrellspass,” Moore recalls. “It was a very, very young team. We were after having tremendous success at the time at underage level, it was probably the youngest team that ever played in a County Final.

“After that I went on a journey managing different teams during the lean years when work was very scarce as well so it gave me a little bit more time. I always said I would never manage a team against my own club so I didn't manage at senior level in Westmeath.

“I travelled outside of that, but the experience I gathered to see how other clubs operated. The smallest team I had was probably St Brigid's in Croghan in Offaly, the smallest pick and smallest outfit, but what they are GAA wise is phenomenal.

“It made you think when you do get a big club how these other clubs, the pride they have in themselves, the motivation the people have in keeping their club in a good footing, you bring that back to your own club when you get a chance again.”

So Moore has relished the return to the Shamrocks hotseat acknowledging the significant efforts being made at underage level by loyal club stalwarts. “For 10 years from maybe 1998 to 2008 we were very dominant, we contested finals in all grades virtually every year,” Moore says about Shamrocks’ underage pedigree.

“In that term we were in every Under 21 final, but we were finding it hard to get that elusive senior title. We did get it in 2012, but our underage at the moment has lacked that bit of impetus which provides a bit of extra talent for our senior team. It is getting stronger.

“Huge work is being done by the likes of Pat Collins and others, who have been there for years at it. The man who trained me at underage is still there coaching, Terry Dowd, an absolute legend of the club.

“We will always have barren years, but you wait for the good years to come around and they come around if you keep working at it.”

Former Mullingar Shamrocks player Luke Dempsey is in charge of St Loman's.

Former Mullingar Shamrocks player Luke Dempsey is in charge of St Loman's.

That two Mullingar based outfits contest Sunday’s Westmeath showpiece won’t overly concern the players involved according to Moore. “For the people of Mullingar it is nice, but it will probably pass the players by because they will just be concentrating on their own games,” Moore states.

“For the banter around Mullingar and that local rivalry, of course it is a huge occasion. It is the first time that Shamrocks and Loman's have met in a final so it is going to be a big, big day.”

Both clubs have enjoyed pockets of supremacy during the past number of decades with Loman’s setting the standard recently. Now Loman’s and Shamrocks can be classed as strong outfits at the same time.

“It is true and everyone was talking about the demise of Mullingar Shamrocks, but we are a big club,’ Moore remarks.

“We have always looked at ourselves as a big club, it is something we pride ourselves on. St Loman's, of course, have been the dominant force in the last couple of years, but Shamrocks haven't been far off the pace either, we just had one or two bad years.

“The perception people had was that we were totally gone off the radar, but we are back in the final this year so hopefully they will look at it a little differently.”

Moore was a totem during an era of great success for Shamrocks, especially in the 1990s. “I won seven senior county medals, I made my debut in 1977 and I was injured for the final in 1979,” Moore says. “I missed one after that in 1986 when I was working in America, it took a little bit of time to get back into the team.

“After that we had a very good team for 10 years when every year we were favourites or winning the Championship. It was a hugely successful period in our clubs history. I was lucky to be a part of it.”

Crossing the white lines in the Shamrocks jersey always mattered deeply and that is why Moore is proud to lead his club into battle. “For me personally it is nice, but a lot of people make it more about the manager, maybe because myself and the Loman's manager played on the same Shamrocks team years ago and they think that is a rivalry,” Moore adds.

“The rivalry has nothing got to do with the managers, it has to do with the players. Everything I do is about that: it is the players time.

“My time was there when I played and there is no better place to be than on a football field. Managing is okay and it is good to be involved, but nothing beats playing football.”

The passion still burns in Moore and it is one of the reasons why Shamrocks are relevant once more.