COMMUNITY SPIRIT Ballyglass FC and supporters are pictured with the cup after winning the Premier Division title in 1991.
The start of the glory days
Joe Reapy has fond memories of Ballyglass’s first league title win
Feature
Daniel Carey
BACK in the days when Manchester United were still in the wilderness, Ballyglass were teaching teams a thing or two about title run-ins.
In March 1991, they won the Mayo League Premier Division for the first time after winning five of their last six games. That day 20 years ago when they clinched the title with a 2-0 away win against Straide and Foxford United was special for all involved – none more so than the man handing over the cup.
“The chairman of the Mayo League was Michael Keaveney, the Lord have mercy on him,” Ballyglass midfielder Joe Reapy told The Mayo News.
“He presented the cup that day to James Prenty. Michael was an absolutely brilliant guy. He started up the club in Ballyglass. Imagine how emotional it was for him that day?”
Having been carried off in the 3-1 win over fellow title contenders Swinford, Reapy was on crutches for the second last game, a 4-3 victory in Manulla, and “should have been out for about a month”. Instead, physio/guru John Noonan “put some stuff on my leg” and not alone did he play, but he scored a cracking goal after a 60-yard run.
“I remember Michael John Mullin gave me the ball, which was amazing – he actually passed!” Reapy says with a laugh when recalling the goal. “But it was too far for him. He’d never have ran 60 yards! But Michael John was some player.”
Kilmaine man Mullin had a trial with Aston Villa in his younger days, and got the other goal after pouncing on a rebound. Still ribbing his former team-mate, Reapy recalls: “He got a header from about two inches. Liam Niland hit the crossbar, but Michael John was deadly. Deadly from that area – maybe inside two yards! Ah, Michael John was a great player.”
There was great excitement afterwards and, says Reapy with a smile, “we were very good at celebrating!”. Swinford had gone five points clear at the top of the table by the end of January, and only needed five points from their last four games to win the competition. They only got two, however, and Reapy says he “felt sorry” for the East Mayo team, although Ballyglass were poised to take advantage.
“We always said that the turning point of our season was [when] we played Claremorris and got beaten,” he adds. “I remember myself because there were three lads from Ballindine (including myself) playing for Ballyglass at the time, and there were three playing for Claremorris as well! They beat us, but we went unbeaten after that.”
Victories over Castlebar United and Achill Rovers was followed by a draw with Urlaur United before what Reapy describes as a “torrid” game against Swinford.
“We ended up with nine players! John Newell was sent off. I was carried off. John Tracey was carried off. It was a tough game. I remember Pat Coleman scored a cracker of a goal.” Reminded that his fellow Davitts GAA player (and noted free-taker) Liam Niland was brought into a defensive role that day, Reapy laughs: “He was brought back because he could kick the ball longer than anyone else!”
Coming from two down, they went on to beat Manulla 4-3, Reapy’s replacement Joe Glynn getting the winner. Glynn held his place for that last game in Foxford as young Martin Vahey was playing for Ballinrobe Community School in the Connacht Colleges Senior ‘B’ final.
A golden era
VAHEY became a star of the side which won titles in 1996 and 1997, and Reapy, Declan Prendergast and Ray Prendergast were all still involved for those back-to-back successes. The likes of Michael Kelly, Paul Connolly and John Noonan – “really brilliant players” – had watched from the sideline in 1991, “and it was great for them to see that the club could win”, he recalls. “Once we won that first league, lads had different mindsets [and] believed in themselves more.”
Remarkably, Ballyglass were relegated in the 1991/92 season, but returned to leave their mark on the top flight. There were great days – a run to the semi-finals of the FAI Junior Cup which included an astonishing 11-10 penalty shoot-out win over Wexford’s North End; and sustained Connacht Cup campaigns, two of which ended in final defeats.
Not winning the provincial crown is Reapy’s “biggest regret” from a soccer career which began during the era of winter seasons and finished playing “two games in the one day” as Ballyglass and Davitts vied for his time. They took it seriously when the whistle blew, but had plenty of craic too – “We used to love getting drawn away from home in cup competitions. We’d make a day of it – a day and a night, maybe!”
He joined Ballyglass for their first season in the Premier Division, 1989/90. His new team-mates were targeting survival in the top flight. Reapy – who didn’t know a lot about the Mayo soccer scene – thought: “It’s the beginning of the league – why don’t we try to win it?” But having stayed up “very comfortably” in their first season, “the next year we were out to win it”.
And win it they did, showing “great spirit”. Seamus Burke’s side were “hard to play against” and “gave it everything”. The club was also a focal point of the local community. “Everyone knew about the soccer team and everyone knew the results,” says Reapy.
“We’d train on a Tuesday night and myself and the lads would go in and have a pint after training in The Squealing Pig or The Old Ground. There’d be old men there and they’d be talking about the game the Sunday before. They were great times.”
Ballyglass (v S&F United)
Declan Prendergast, Noel Burke, Pádraig Heverin, Ray Prendergast, James Prenty, Pat Coleman, Joe Glynn, Liam Niland, Joe Reapy, Michael John Mullin, John Tracey.
Other players who featured that season: Seán Gilligan, John Newell, Kevin McDonnell, Pádraig Burke, Martin Vahey, Richard Duggan.
Did you know?
THE three players who started all three of the games in which Ballyglass clinched league titles – in 1991, 1996 and 1997 – played 1082 games for the club between them. According to ballyglassfootballclub.ie Ray Prendergast won’ 439 ‘caps’, Declan Prendergast 337 and Joe Reapy 306.
