By Niall Gartland

Paul Courtney wouldn’t have envisioned seeing out his playing days in Trillick.He’s a native of Ballyhegan Davitts, one of the oldest and most historic clubs in Armagh, but the love of a good woman has brought him to the home of the Tyrone Senior Champions.

Paul is married with three children to Elaine Donnelly, elder sister of Mattie and Richie, and they had a decision to make during the height of the pandemic.

Having lived together in Dublin for the guts of a decade, it was time to nail down permanent roots. Either they’d stay in the capital or pick up sticks and move to Elaine’s home village back in Trillick – and there was only ever going to be one winner there.

So he’s a Trillick man now. Well, at least in a footballing sense. Paul, who is now 38, had retired from Ballyhegan at the end of 2021 and was tiding himself over with Crossfit and Trillick’s ‘Dads and Lads’.

He’s a former club captain and footballer with Armagh and the question invariably arose – why not give it a crack with Trillick? And so it came to pass.

Paul said: “We were building a house in Trillick and I was training away on my own and playing Dads and Lads with Trillick, and a few lads suggested I’d try out for the seniors.

“Jody [Gormley] rang me one evening before the start of the 2023 season, it was around Christmas, and said ‘look, no pressure, if you want to come in and think you can add something to the group’ and it was more or less as simple as that.”

“It’s been good, I played a few Senior League games this year and Reserve Championship but I’ve carried a few knocks and niggles here and there.

“Whenever you get to my age you really have to manage your body carefully and that’s one of the best things about Jody, he doesn’t take any risks with players if they’re hurt. You don’t play through being hurt, you don’t train through being hurt and I think that’s why we’ve managed to have so many players fit at the most important time of year.”

So what makes Trillick tick? They’re on the cusp of a fourth O’Neill Cup triumph in a decade – not to mention the elusive back-to-back – and Courtney is well-positioned to have his say on the matter. He believes a lot of it comes down to the efforts of club coaches and volunteers right down the age ranks.

“I’ve a wee boy called Jack, he’s six, a four-year-old called Holly, a two-year old called Lily and another one on the way in January.

“Jack is absolutely Trillick-mad and that’s sort of ingrained in them. There’s a red day at school coming up, he’ll be in school wearing his Trillick gear and he’ll be pure psyched out of it!

“If you look at the coaching side of things, even at that U8 level there is an amazing set-up. Joe Maguire, the Trillick goalkeeper, he’s a club coaching officer, he’s not even 30 years old and the level of commitment he’s put in over the years is mad.

“I’ll give you an example – in some clubs at U8 level you’d struggle to get a couple of people to help out. In Trillick, there’s about 16 or 17 wee lads on the team and there’s six people helping out with the coaching.

“Going back to the question of why Trillick have been successful, a lot of it comes down to the support of parents and other people in the club who want to help out, for example you have four or five people helping out mowing with pitches at different times.

“My father-in-law [Liam] is the chairman, my mother-in-law [Claire] is the treasurer, Raymond Monteith is the secretary – it’s the people who ultimately drive the thing on.

“Last week there must have been 10 or 12 people putting up the bunting in the town with the rain lashing down. There’s a real drive within the community and the players get a buzz out of it too. Trillick’s on the very western side of Tyrone, it’s a typical small rural community in that sense but it’s a place with a lot of heart. One thing I’ve found since I’ve moved in is that there’s a lot of people in Trillick who really want to help you.”

Paul has also developed a kinship with Mattie and Richie Donnelly, two of the mainstays of a generational Trillick team. Knowing what he knows, he expects that they will make for top quality coaches further down the line.

“Richie and Mattie are massively committed and you could say the same for that core group, I’ve never seen anyone as committed as these guys, between the extra gym sessions, the yoga, getting to training an hour early and so on.

“These guys are willing to put in a mammoth amount of time and effort and you think back to Mattie’s recovery from the injury he got at last year’s Kilmacud Crokes tournament.

“It was just pure dedication to get back on the pitch – he broke it all down and did exactly what he had to do.

“I also saw a different side to Mattie last season in terms of him assisting the management team – seeing wee things in training that they mightn’t have seen and having a wee word in players’ ears.

“Both him and Richie have incredible football brains and I think the two of them will make great coaches when they do retire. That won’t be for a few years yet hopefully.”

Not everyone can make the starting 15, especially in such an ultra-competitive environment, but that doesn’t mean that everyone can’t add value in their own right. Courtney says that all involved in the push for another championship crown bring something to the table.

“If you’re outside the top 24, it’s about getting into that top 24. If you’re in the 24, it’s about getting in the top 20, those first five subs. If you’re one of the top subs, you want to break into the team.

“It’s all about taking small steps and there’s no point in putting pressure on yourself to go from being number 35 to getting on the starting team.

“Jody’s great at breaking it all down for us, it’s about trying your hardest and recognising that we’re all singing from the same hymn sheet.”

He continued: “For example if I’m marking Richie or Liam Gray in midfield in training, I’m not doing those boys any good if I’m not trying my hardest. I’m near the end of my career, so I look at what I can contribute, be it a bit of advice or experience. I do enjoy the craic before training as well, but when you cross the white line it’s full focus and everyone feels they have a role to play.”

Whatever happens on Sunday in their latest showdown with Errigal Ciaran, the ball will keep on rolling down the hill. Courtney hasn’t been around a life-time at the club, but he’s been there long enough to know that Trillick have all their ducks in a row.

“Football’s the only show in town and there’s no excuses in terms of ‘I can’t do this’ or ‘I can’t do that’.

“Everyone is massively committed and a lot of that comes down to tradition first and foremost. Then there’s the commitment to the team, but also to each other and their families. There’s five sets of brothers on the team which speaks for itself.

“There’s also a serious amount of talent coming through, both boys and girls. The ladies had a brilliant year, they were just pipped by St Macartans in the semi-finals of the championship by a couple of points, so the youngsters have their idols to look up to.

“In terms of dedication, we have boys going up and down from Belfast and they don’t even question it, even though it’s about an hour-and-a-half each way. In the first half of the year, Jody’s really flexible with those lads and then during the championship season it’s up and down the road and they’re more than happy to do it.”

“It’s just a good group of lads and it goes back to that All Blacks ‘Legacy’ book years ago, that culture of having no egos. They’re all there for the cause, and the cause is to win games and to win championships, both for themselves and their families, and everyone is on the same page.”