Derry's 1975-76 Ulster heroes to reunite this weekend

Walsh’s Hotel in Maghera is the place to be for local gaelic fans new and old this weekend as the Derry team which won back-to-back Ulster titles in the mid-1970s will reunite, just shy of the 50th anniversary of their historic achievement.

Frank Kearney led Derry to back-to-back Ulster triumphs with memorable victories over Down in 1975, then Cavan at Clones in 1976. Captain Peter Stevenson lifted the Ango-Celt Cup on behalf of a Derry team and management full of Oakleaf icons that would blaze a trail for the generations that followed.

Now, the Ulster heroes are set to reunite for the first time in a long time to reminisce over the old days in the wake of the current Derry team finally following suit with back-to-back Ulster titles of their own earlier this year.

After needing a replay to get past Monaghan in the Ulster semi-final, the Derry team of 1975 was imperious in the Ulster final defeating Down by 1-16 to 2-6 in a display that helped garner All-Stars for Anthony McGurk, Peter Stevenson and Gerry McElhinney. How Tom McGuinness didn’t get an All-Star that year remains a mystery to Stevenson to this day, but nonetheless, the former Derry captain has great memories of a golden age for Derry GAA.

“We had exceptional footballers,” he recalls. “Frank Kearney was the manager and Frank introduced some very, very talented young players to the squad, name Gerry McElhinney, Mickey Lynch, Gabriel Bradley and Brendan Kelly. These lads joined us older folks and we did okay. We beat Armagh in the first round and we beat Monaghan in the semi-final after a replay.

“The drawn match against Monaghan in the semi-final was a personal favourite of mine because Derry were three points down with about two or three minutes to go. Eugene Laverty was brought down inside the big square – penalty – I went up and scored the goal and that was that. We went back to the replay and we beat Monaghan in the replay and then we went on and we beat Down in the final in ’75. There are good memories.”

‘Impossible to answer’

How the 1970s Derry team compares to some of the great teams which followed is a question that Stevenson and his team mates have no doubt been asked a thousand times over, but he believes it remains impossible to answer.

“It’s an impossible question to answer,” he laughed. “We were pretty good footballers. The game has changed so much so you can’t compare the two. They were great lads to play along with. I played against most of those lads at club level and we had great respect for one another. We hit hard, and we went on about it and we laughed afterwards and shook hands and away we went and we met up in training again on the Tuesday night.

“I was sitting back in January when I thought of this and I was thinking of some of the lads who have died – Seamus Lagan has died since, Frank Kearney, the manager, has died, John O’Connell, Hugh Niblock has died, and I thought to myself ‘Let’s get together’. I rang Malachy McAfee first and he said ‘Sure it’s not a 50th anniversary’. I said ‘Sure I know it’s not, but can we not have a night out anyway? If someone wants to organise a 50th, we can go out then too.’”

Special reunion

With Malachy McAfee in Australia for the past few decades, and Gerry McElhinney living in England, and all the rest spread throughout Ireland, reunions between the group are few and far between, making this night one to look forward to for Stevenson.  

“I’m looking forward to meeting the lads again,” he admitted. “Frank Kearney organised a night around 2002, guys who played under his management towards 1977 and 1978. There was a big crowd at that, but this is specifically for people who played in 1975 and 1976.

“There are great memories but there are great disappointments too; we were beaten in the All-Ireland semi-finals in both years, but the joy and the camaraderie, all that was much greater than the disappointment we endured on a couple of occasions.”

Today’s Derry team became the first Oakleaf team to win back-to-back Ulsters since that 1970s team, and Stevenson believes there is no reason why the current crop can’t write their own history by winning it again next year.

“It’s great to see Derry doing back-to-back again. It’s marvellous to see,” he agreed. “I can’t see much in Ulster to stop them making it three in a row. Who’s going to stop them? Tyrone aren’t the team they used to be; Armagh might pose a problem, but apart from Armagh I can’t see anybody beating that Derry team. They have some terrific footballers. The style of play they play means they aren’t knocking up scores they should be knocking up. But that’s the way things are so who am I to judge it? But there’s nothing to stop them doing three in a row.”