'We are playing for our neighbours, our friends and family and all that is very important'

One of the stories, the sub-plots if you like, of Meath GAA in recent years has been the decline and resurrection of Curraha; their rapid descent from the senior to the junior ranks in the matter of two years and their re-emergence as a force to the point now where they are just 60 minutes away from making the jump back up to the intermediate grade.

Not that you need to remind Conor O’Farrell about that – because he has lived and played through it all, pulling on the green and gold jersey as the club battled, it seemed on an annual basis, to retain their senior status.

Then the inevitable happened and the trapdoor opened. That was, at one level, to be expected. What wasn’t expected was that they would experience the same sinking feeling last year when they tumbled down into the junior ranks.

O’Farrell only started to established himself in the Curraha team in 2018 (they won the IFC the previous year) and since then the club has certainly felt the slings and arrows of outrages fortune. A reality that makes this year’s undefeated run to Friday night’s JFC showdown all the more sweeter.

Winning, it is said, can change everything in a club and the upturn in fortunes has certainly generated a more buoyant mood around the east Meath outfit.

“It was a tough time for everybody involved we just needed to reset,” explains O’Farrell. “We had a lot of young players coming through but I think we are in a really great spot now, the atmosphere going to training is absolutely brilliant, everyone is together, everyone is pushing towards the same direction and yeah, it’s really exciting after a couple of tough years.”

A number of factors, he asserts, have combined to ensure Curraha are back moving in the right direction. Among them is the way the management duo made up of two great Curraha clubmen, Gavin Coyle and Stephen Morgan, have driven the team on. “They remind us that we are playing for our neighbours, our friends and family and all that is very important.

Another big factor is the camaraderie, the esprit de corps to be found among the players, an intangible element that has certainly taken a battering in recent years but appears to have remained strong and resilient.

“You are playing with friends since the age of 10 and when the hard times are there, they are the ones that stick with you. They are the ones who are still there by your side.”

Added to all that is the support provided by others. O’Farrell reminds us that a winning football team is something that is created by more than just players and mentors.

“There is a sacrifice to be made by a lot of people, your family, friends and partners, it’s all very much a group effort, it’s not just about the players. We are all very fortunate that our families, partners and friends have bought into it as much as we have this year and hopefully we’ll be able to share a bit of success with them.”

To savor that success Curraha must first defeat Ballinlough, a hard fact that makes O’Farrell wary of any predictions that make Curraha strong favourites.

The 27-year-old, who works in marketing, has sat in too many dressing rooms in recent years after cruel defeats to take anything for granted. Wariness and caution are not hard sells in Curraha these days.isDuring the course of the campaign O’Farrell himself has experienced significant changes. He started the year as a wing-back but is now full-back. He loves how even as a number three he can bomb forward and help the forwards. He loves playing in a game transformed by the new rules.

O’Farrell looks to the big win over Carnaross and the semi-final triumph over the gritty Slane as an example of his team improving, going places.

He also recognises that Curraha’s undoubted progress achieved this year will count for nought if they don’t defeat Ballinlough. “Our job is to focus on what we have set out to achieve,” he adds with meaning.

The ‘Ha and O’Farrell have gone through some hard times all right, but they are now just 60 minutes away from a taking a big step in the right direction.