Gilligan hails Moran factor after Kilcoo success

Sitting in the press room underneath the Hogan stand on Saturday night, Ballinderry legend Conleith Gilligan gave a rare and honest insight into the emotions involved winning an All-Ireland club title as both a manager and a player.

Twenty years ago this St. Patrick's Day, Gilligan starred in Ballinderry's historic All Ireland win as a player and reflected on those days against what he felt on the final whistle this weekend with Kilcoo.

“Ah look it's lovely symmetry, 20 years and so much has changed.

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"It's funny, at the final whistle, just by chance the first person I met after we won was my father and the same thing then, supporters weren't allowed onto the field. 

" Thurles were very strict and I nearly got stabbed over barbed wire trying to get to him. So it was emotional from that perspective.

“Maybe because so many people tight with me that maybe aren't here, and mummy is of an age now where she couldn't travel down. 

"In a minute like that, when you think back to that, it does kind of choke you,” admitted the former Derry sharpshooter.

Reflecting on the contrast between winning it as a player and a manager Gilligan added

“It’s so special and it’s so enjoyable, but you’re a wee bit detached because even though you feel part of Kilcoo, you’re still coming from somewhere else. You’re nearly watching it in an outer-body experience.

“You’re doing it so they can have that. I was very lucky that I was born in Ballinderry and came in with a savage group of players older than me, that I was able to win it, and win Ulster and stuff.

"I just knew how special it was and what it meant. It’s 20 years on, but still people would randomly stop and ask me about it. 

"And no matter what happens in life, you have this. You may never win another game, if you never go to another match, this is how you remember it."

The eyes of Ireland were sharply focused on Kilcoo manager Mickey Moran on Saturday. 

The Glen man is widely respected across the country and Saturday night's win was the first All-Ireland title of his management career, having suffered four final defeats previously. 

The quiet Moran remains an enigma to many as Gilligan explained.

“He doesn't want the limelight, he doesn't want people talking about him. He doesn't want to be the story. How often have you ever seen captains take a manager up to lift the cup? 

"But the boys all knew what it meant to Mickey, even though it was never mentioned during the week. 

"He gives so much and asks for so little, especially the older players, they just really wanted to do it for him and I know that's a cliche but it was really true as you can see from the emotion of it at the end. 

“The bit that people don't realise about Mickey is that he's very witty. He's a very dry humour. Somebody will say a comment and he'll mention something and boom! Everybody will look and go, is he serious? And then they'll realise he's joking. He's got a real dry wit.

“You think in sport that everybody has to be nailed on and hard and nasty all the time. Mickey throws that on his head because he's not.

“In changing rooms, he would never ridicule an opposition player or an opposition, everything is about his own team and performance. The one thing you would always say is that it's never personal, it's always about performance,” said Gilligan.

Saturday's win means the Derry duo have written their names into the history books of Down as well as their native Oakleaf county, and no doubt will continue to do so for years to come.

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