By Niall Gartland

IF Malachy O’Rourke leads Glen to Ulster Championship glory, it won’t be the first time he’s completely transformed the fortunes of a Derry club.

He led the Loup to only their second ever Derry Championship title back in 2003, bridging a gap of 67 years. They kept the heads down, and in their first ever provincial campaign, conquered Bryansford, Crossmaglen and St Gall’s en route to the title.

How did they do it? Club stalwart Brian Lavery, a key half-back on that team, is the first to acclaim the influence of O’Rourke, but the parallels with Glen don’t end there.

Lavery said: “Glen won four St Paul’s tournaments, and we won two, in 1993 and 1995. That was probably the backbone of our success in 2003.

“I was chatting to Enda Gormley on the Ormeau Road recently, and he pointed out it was ten years from the Loup winning their first St Paul’s to winning the Derry Senior Championship, and it was the same for Glen.”

A group of dedicated coaches, particularly Colm Rocks and Martin Gallagher, led the younger generation to great things at underage level, but it wasn’t an entirely smooth transition to senior football.

Under the esteemed Patsy Forbes, however, they reached a county final in 2002, but they were well beaten by Ballinderry.

They met again in the 2003 showdown, and this time there was a different outcome. It’s fair to say O’Rourke added a sprinkling of fairy dust, but they had some excellent players as well.

Lavery said: “We really got caught up in the emotion of getting to the final in 2002. The bunting went up, people were patting you on the back, there was a lot of chat about it. The second time around everyone was totally focused, what happened the year before couldn’t happen again.

“Malachy and Leo McBride had come in and brought a level of focus and professionalism that we hadn’t experienced before and thank God it all worked out. His attention to detail was phenomenal.”

The Loup is a tiny place off the beaten track on the Loughshore, so winning the Ulster Championship at their first attempt was not only an incredible achievement, but spoke volumes of the character of the team. Lavery says they were determined to give Ulster a proper lash.

“We had two days of celebration after winning the Derry Championship, and we were back on the field on Tuesday night.

“A defining moment for me was when Johnny McBride called us in for a huddle and he said, in more robust terms than is printable, we have the county title but I’m a greedy fecker and want more. I think that recharged everyone.

“We beat Bryansford by a point, and then beating Crossmaglen in the semi-final was a massive coup. Again I have to keep going back to Malachy, his preparation and attention to detail was second to none.

“We also had a lot of leaders on the pitch. Obviously Johnny and Paul McFlynn were star players, but there were leaders all over the changing room. There were no excuses and no acceptance of second best.”

The Derry club scene is notorious for its competitiveness, and it’s fair to say there’s no love lost between the teams. Nonetheless, Lavery is hopeful that Glen and his old manager O’Rourke can go all the way in Ulster.

“That’s absolutely the case, and I would hope and expect that the whole of Derry is behind Glen at this stage.

“I’ve a natural fondness for Malachy because of his connection with the Loup, but as a Derry man, I’m 100 percent behind Glen anyway. I’d be very disappointed if the rest of Derry wasn’t, as Glen are flying the flag for the county.”

Eighteen years have passed since the Loup’s day in the sun, and it’s a continued source of pride for Lavery.

“The Loup itself has one shop, one chapel and a pub and then Ballyronan is our neighbouring village. It’s amazing to think where the club has come from, we have brilliant facilities.

“I won a Thirds Championship with the Loup this year, and I’m involved with our u-20s team who got beaten in a final last week by Dungiven. I’m part of the u-7 management as well.

“I’m just trying to give something back, we were very lucky we had great men helping us when we were coming through and the very least we can do is try to do the same.”

SPECIAL MEMORY…Loup captain Johnny McBride lifts the Ulster title in 2003