Fulham Irish manager Lorcan Mulvey.
By Cian O’Connell
A dozen years later, Lorcan Mulvey is still working for the Fulham Irish cause.
The Cavan native moved to England in 2011, helping to earn Fulham Irish’s first London SFC title in that campaign.
Mulvey is manager of Fulham Irish, who face Ballina Stephenites in Saturday’s AIB Connacht Club Championship Quarter-Final at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park.
Another match to be added to the collection. Similar to others, it merely is a lifelong season. A selector in Michael Maher’s London senior team set-up, Mulvey will always find time in a busy schedule for football.
“It is class,” Mulvey says about the enjoyment derived from Gaelic Games in London. “Travel wise over here it is probably a little more difficult, it isn't five minutes down the road like most clubs at home.
“It is definitely something I'd like to always keep involved in, it keeps you close to your roots at home as possible.
“It is highly enjoyable, especially when you start winning things and the club is a little bit successful, and the excitement at getting a juvenile team up and running.
“It is a good hobby to have in the background, you have to be half mad to be at it all the time, but it is definitely something that has its rewards too.”
The increasing emphasis being placed on nurturing homegrown talent is critical according to Mulvey. “Definitely, I think it is the aim for all of the clubs over here to get as many England born players in as they can,” he replies.
Lorcan Mulvey in All-Ireland SFC Round Four Qualifier action for London against Cavan at Croke Park in 2013. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
“Hence the reason Fulham are trying to move forward with the juveniles, getting them started over the last 18 months is a credit to the people involved in it. Other clubs like St Kiernan's, TCG, Tara, Parnells, they have all gone in that direction, they are doing very, very well.
“You see that through the London panel with seven, eight, or 10 guys that are English born involved every year. We are all about developing the games across wherever we go, so this is a step in the right direction.”
So to is the fact that Mulvey continues to remain passionate about the Fulham Irish cause. “I came across in 2011, we won the Championship for the first time that year, we have won it in '17, '20, and this year again,” he says.
“We have done well, I was involved in London in between to keep it going all year round. We had a few interesting years with London and a few sad ones too. It is good to have it when you're away from home, it is definitely something that keeps you involved with a group of guys.
“It is the same as everybody at home, I was with Cavan for seven years so it is no different to what I've been doing since I was a teenager. Everyone at home is at the same, it is no different over here.
“The London team are beginning to regroup for another year, getting gym programmes. It rolls over into another year, everybody does it, you have to love it to be at it, but that is why we are all involved, I supposed.”
That drive and desire matters deeply. Logistical hurdles need to be cleared. “It is difficult, there is no point in dancing around it,” Mulvey says. “Getting a bit of land in a central part of London for a sport that isn't English is a very difficult thing to do.
“We are lucky we have two pitches in a park beside White City. We've had use of them for years now, but when the evenings get a bit darker, lights then become a problem.
"While we have our own makeshift lights, when you're preparing for semi-finals and finals and obviously on to Connacht at the minute, you need a better lighting facility.
In recent years Fulham Irish have started an underage section.
“That is where we have to lean on our rugby friends to give us pitches when we can. Generally, at the start of every year we will come up with a bit of a plan to plan out our year with the optimism of being in a county final.
“So, we try to plan to have that organised at the start of the year, every club over here is generally in the same boat.
“We do need to call on our buddies in different sports to help us out from time to time. It all costs money, there is a big crew of people behind every club, including our own, who keep it on the straight and narrow.”
There isn’t any shortage of sporting ambition. Mulvey featured in London’s stirring 2013 Connacht campaign under Paul Coggins. It was a remarkable time, hinting at the possibilities that existed.
Now London club teams enter the provincial rather than All-Ireland quarter-final stage of the AIB Championships. “It is only a matter of time before somebody breaks the duck and actually gets across the line in that game,” Mulvey says.
“Obviously, we will be hoping it is us on Saturday, but if it isn't us, it definitely will be some of the clubs from here in the relatively near future.
“I think playing in an All-Ireland quarter-final was always a very difficult task, playing a team at the height of their powers after coming through a provincial set of games, having a London team waiting 10 to 14 weeks to play that game.
“Trying to get challenge matches and keeping guys together was difficult, but now that it is straight after a county final, you are in the same boat as everybody at home. The excuses everybody has been making for years are running out, we need to go to win one now, to get it done.”
Still passionate and purposeful, Mulvey is making a rich contribution to Fulham Irish and London.
