Gaffney: 'Bringing joy to the parish motivated us'

Ulster Club JFC final reaction

If ever a football team represented so much more than just a set of jerseys and a panel of players, it is the current Denn squad. Their parish has endured numerous tragedies in the last two years but the footballers have managed to put a smile on some faces again with their county final success and, now, their victory in the Ulster Club JFC final.

Captain Bernard Gaffney summed it up when asked for his thoughts after the match this afternoon.

“In the parish of Denn, it can be a tough place sometimes, we have had a lot of tough times but one thing that we do have is people with such a positive attitude. They always keep going, they look at the bright side of things,” he said.

“We made a huddle one night in Crosskeys last winter and we knew that we had the capabilities to bring a little bit of joy back to our parish so what would motivate you more than that?”

Gaffney referred to “our journey”. They have now reached their destination but a new journey will start in January with an All-Ireland quarter-final against Manchester club St Brendan’s.

“It’s hard to believe it really. When we set out on our journey back in January 2020, it was the last thing that was on our our minds, to be bringing an Ulster club back to Denn but yeah… we’re bringing it home to Denn now so it will sink in in time.

“We knew coming here today we had to bring our A game and I suppose for us coming into Ulster football, our first goal that night in January was to win Cavan and after that we just went and expressed ourselves. We just wanted to play football how we wanted to play and we did that.

“We didn’t worry about how other teams set up, we just went and improvised whatever way we had to and played football in our own style.”

Gaffney paid tribute to the performance of Tomás Corr.

“Mossy is just a true clubman, he gives it everything he has to give, day in, day out, good game, bad game, he gives it everything he has to give. Down through the years we have had leaders, guys who really pulled us along, and they are a great inspiration to have in a group.”

Asked how the management approached this match, the Denn captain revealed that they put a lot of trust in the players to read the game themselves and respond to situations as they arise on the pitch.

“Coming into the game, the management pretty much made sure we were fit and focused and got the basics right and after that, play your own game. Improvise whatever way we feel on the field.

“Obviously we have to set up a certain way and have little bits of game plans and things like that bit it’s about keeping boys focused. It’s been a long two years non-stop, not always playing football but we were preparing for a junior final that went on into eternity, running the roads.

“It was hard to keep lads interested but at the end of the day, we were coming here to represent our parish, the same people who backed us in all walks of life so we were never going to step off the road anywhere.”