Morgan Fuels Down SFC first round: Kilcoo v Loughinisland (Saturday, Liatroim, 7pm)
IT shows the far-reaching impact of Caolan Finnegan’s cause that, even as the finer details are nailed down ahead of Kilcoo’s latest bid for the Frank O’Hare Cup, the Crossmaglen man was right at the forefront of Aaron Morgan’s thoughts.
The 20-year-old passed away in the early hours of Friday morning, a year after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer.
Finnegan played in Crossmaglen’s county championship success last year, with Armagh boss Kieran McGeeney saying that, but for his illness, he would have been part of the Orchard’s momentous All-Ireland triumph.
The young man’s loss is one of those that, despite the high-profile campaign to raise funds for his extensive treatment, makes no sense at all. It may never do.
Morgan went to St Colman’s College, the same as Caolan Finnegan, and has followed his journey every step of the way, praying – like everybody – for a positive outcome. When such devastating news drops, it is felt in every corner of the GAA community.
Although one of the most seasoned campaigners in the Kilcoo ranks, appointed joint captain alongside Daryl Branagan by boss Karl Lacey, Morgan has never been given to interviews.
Across a 13-year senior career when the club have won and done everything there is to do, his voice is likely the least heard of all those to have donned the black and white jersey.
Yet, for almost half an hour on Wednesday afternoon, he talked away about all things football – before putting every last bit of what he had just said into clear-headed context at the conversation’s end.
“Football is great, but it’s a drop in the ocean in respect of what’s going on in the life of Caolan Finnegan and others similar…”
With those few words, the nail was hit on the head.
But, as in Crossmaglen, football will always be the glue that binds. Just as it was such a huge part of Caolan Finnegan’s life, so it is for Aaron Morgan and his Kilcoo team-mates, who cross the white line against Loughinisland on Saturday evening.
In Lacey’s second year at the helm, the Magpies go gunning for a 12th county title in 13 years, a run only disrupted when Burren lifted the Frank O’Hare Cup in 2018.
Morgan has been there for them all, mostly operating around the half-forward line or midfield, from where he was probably Kilcoo’s best player last year. But below the radar is always been what has suited him best.
“I wouldn’t say unsung hero at all… ach I dunno, I suppose there would be people sometimes who would be more into this type of stuff.
“You know yourself, sometimes it’s not all about what people say and do. It takes a group of everyone to go forward.”
And he has been an integral part of that.
A substitute on the Caolan Mooney-inspired St Colman’s side that swept to the 2011 MacRory and Hogan Cup double, Morgan was stood on the sideline when the levy broke two years earlier, Kilcoo finally ending a 72-year wait for the Down crown.
Coming through from the same crop that produced co-captain Branagan, they could never have imagined the riches the following years would bring, with two Ulsters and an unforgettable All-Ireland triumph buttressing their Down dominance.
It is only now, at 31, that the significance of all they have achieved is starting to sink in.
“You only sort of realise at this stage.
“When I was in my early 20s and the older players were saying to you, ‘you don’t realise what’s going on, don’t let the years go past you’ – it’s only when you get to 30 odds that you’re one of those men who’s maybe saying those things.
“Karl came in and put me as one of the captains, so you get that sensible head about you very quick, then you realise how fast it goes.”
Morgan missed that 2018 campaign, a bilateral pars defect forcing him to play a waiting game before eventually making a return to the field.
“It’s a wee fracture either side of your spine that takes time to heal because of where it’s at, the bone wasn’t fit to join together.
“It was just one of those things that required time, it wasn’t career-threatening or anything like that, it just needed a bit of time and effort to get it right. Even now it’s something you’d just sort of keep on top of.”
He had been around the Down panel before that too, brought into the fold by the late Eamonn Burns. But, since coming back from injury, county commitments – even with club-mate Conor Laverty overseeing the Mourne resurgence – have slipped further down the pecking order.
“Not to be disrespectful to Down in any way, it’s not really something I was thinking of or aiming towards; I was just enjoying football in general.
“The year I got back was Mickey Moran’s first year so you just wanted to get back playing under him. With regards to going back with Down, I’m not quite sure… I’m busy with work so I don’t know if it’s something that would be for me.
“We [Morgan and Laverty] just always be chatting, but there’s a good Kilcoo contingent there, they’ve done very well so I think they’re going in the right direction.”
For now, therefore, getting the Magpies back moving is all that matters.
Eyes are never allowed to look any further than the next game, and the challenge posed by Loughinisland. But there is a renewed hunger heading into this campaign following the disappointment of last year’s Ulster exit to Scotstown.
Three ahead going into the last 10, Kilcoo would manage just one more score as the Monaghan men roared back, Rory Beggan burying a monster free to help seal the deal.
Those crucial last moments have traditionally been the Magpies’ domain; that’s why the Scotstown loss hurt more than most.
“Winning with a couple of minutes to go, it shows you can still be beat on any day, no matter what you’ve won.
“It’s nearly that the club’s got to that stage where everyone’s putting a big emphasis on it and putting a lot into it – it means a lot to everyone involved, as it does with every club.
“Maybe when you’re building and building, then with the nature of that defeat, it does sort of be gobsmacking. When you give everything you can to get there and you fall short, it does take some time to get over.”
But, even in Kilcoo, football is still only that.
When they run out at Fontenoy Park on Saturday evening, club legend Paddy Morgan – who passed away last week – will be in the thoughts of young and old for everything he gave during those days before trophies became a regular fixture at Pairc Eoghan Rua.
But so too will Caolan Finnegan because, irrespective of rivalries and rancour on the field, such shocking reminders of life’s fragility show us all what truly matters.
