CELEBRATING his eighth county championship winner’s medal on Sunday, James Laverty praised his team-mates for doing the “simple things in the hardest times” after Cargin completed three-in-a-row for the second time in seven years.
Laverty was slightly more praiseworthy of how Cargin negotiated their sixth championship win in seven years – after beating Portglenone 0-10 to 0-8 after extra-time at Corrigan Park - than manager Ronan Devlin who said they would have to improve significantly to make a splash in Ulster next month.
“You can be revved up as you want to be but as long as you’ve clear heads and boys know what they’re doing,” Laverty said.
“As a club we’re blessed with boys who do know what they’re doing. They do the simple things in the hardest times, and it was proved last year, the year before and now this year.”
Laverty added: “Portglenone certainly didn’t stand off us, they pressed us. There were times we were able to play around it and there were times we couldn’t – and that’s just championship football. I’ve never played a championship where everything goes right. Things go wrong but if enough things go right you end up getting results.
“We knew coming into the final that this was going to be our toughest battle – 100 per cent. Portglenone weren’t going to lie down and they threw everything at us. It could have gone either way, honestly, but we’re glad it went our way.”
During those county championship winning years, the Erin’s Own have warmed to the provincial task, claiming a memorable penalty shoot-out victory over Glenties in 2022 and falling to Derry champions Glen last year after being controversially reduced to 14 men in the first half.
“We make no apologies for it – we wanted to get back to Ulster this year,” he said. “Number one was winning the championship because you don’t get there without winning that.
“But our management questioned the life out of us and boys stood up - and it wasn’t the normal boys we talk about. I thought Eunan Quinn was phenomenal and people like Benen Kelly as well.
“That’s my eighth championship. Some of the older boys have nine. I don’t think I won my first championship until I was mid-20s and we have young boys at 19 or 20 who don’t know what it’s like to lose. They’re playing with freedom – those boys don’t care; they play with complete freedom.”
Cargin remain in fourth place in Antrim’s roll of honour - behind St John’s, St Gall’s and O’Donovan Rossa - having now won 13 championships with their first coming in 1974.
Asked whether he felt Cargin have got the credit they deserve having completed two three-in-a-rows in quick succession [2018 to 2020 and 2022 to 2024], Laverty said: “The only credit we get for winning is inside the club to be honest and our families. Other people can say what they want. We’re happy enough. Our record speaks for itself. We’ll enjoy every championship that we get because this isn’t going to last forever.”
Cargin face the winners of the Ulster preliminary round joust between St Eunan’s, Letterkenny and the winners to come out of Tyrone – Trillick or Errigal Ciaran who debate Sunday’s county final in Healy Park, Omagh.
