Former Garrymore team-mates go head to head in Dublin final

Ger Flanagan

WHAT price would the bookies have given for the likelihood of two former Garrymore team-mates coming up against each other in a Dublin Senior Club Football Championship final? Pretty high, I would imagine.
Well, punters all around will certainly be kicking themselves as next weekend, Morven Connolly, now of Castleknock, and Enda Varley, now of St Vincent’s, will line out on opposing sides in the hope of claiming the same silverware.
The last time these two ex-Mayo footballers played championship football with each other was in their former club’s quarter-final defeat at the hands of Breaffy last year.
Although they still remain in close contact, Connolly admitted that he will be keeping well away from his former team-mate this week as he gets ready for next weekend’s much anticipated showdown. And although Connolly admits his new club will be heading into the final as major underdogs, it is another recognisable figure in the St Vincent’s team he is worried about.
“I am still in contact with him and I was only talking to him a few weeks ago but I probably won’t this week,” Connolly laughed as he spoke to The Mayo News.
“When you’re looking at Vincent’s now, they’re some team. You’re going to have your work cut out when your against Diarmuid Connolly and the likes, but we’re such a young club and a young team, so we are in bonus territory really.”
Connolly took the decision to transfer to Dublin last June after the years of commuting finally began to take its toll. Living in Finglas and working as a teacher in Longwood, Meath, all whilst trying to juggle life as a husband and father (with another child on the way), forced him to make an extremely tough decision.
“It was getting to the point where the commute was difficult,” he admits.
“I had committed to Garry’ at the start of the year but while the mind wants it, the body and the circumstances just can’t do it. I did it for years and I loved playing football in Garry’. It was a hard time to leave because there is a great team there.”
Castleknock are this year’s big surprise in the Dublin Senior Football Championship. Having only been formed as recently in 1998, they’ve since been on a steep ascent up the ladder in the Dublin club scene, Connolly candidly admits to being surprised at how far they have gone.
“They [Castleknock] started out in Division 10 back in 1998, and it has been remarkable since. Most of the team are older than the club. When I transferred it was just for football – you would have been mad if you thought Castleknock would get to a county final this year. But now, someone has to win it, so hopefully it will go our way.”
It was never going to be easy for a Mayo man living in Dublin after this year’s All-Ireland final replay. But Connolly says that from his own dealings with his new adoptive county men and women, it wasn’t as bad as you would think.
“I certainly didn’t get much sympathy but it wasn’t too bad,” he laughed.
“You are fighting the pride up here by yourself, but the transition was really easy, and they are really nice people, to be fair. So they made me feel very welcome.
“Dublin people have a lot of respect for Mayo. They look at Mayo and think they are one of the only teams that can consistently put it up to them. I honestly think if Mayo were in the final against anyone else then they would shout for them, I don’t think they would begrudge that. There is a deep respect there.”