MY first abiding image of Aidan Forker was him roaring into the face of Karl Lacey at the mouth of the Cusack stand tunnel as the Armagh and Donegal players made their way off the pitch at half-time of the 2014 All-Ireland quarter-final.
Forker was a relative newcomer to the inter-county scene and still finding his way – while Armagh were trying manfully to bridge the gap between themselves and Gaelic football’s elite.
A bit of contrived belligerence on behalf of Forker was probably a defiant act to show the 2012 All-Ireland champions that Armagh weren’t intimidated by them.
Armagh gave as good as they got in Croke Park that afternoon but fell by the narrowest of margins.
Donegal would go on to contest and narrowly lose that year’s All-Ireland final to Kerry.
Armagh, for their part, had to undergo a major and at times painful rebuild under new manager Kieran McGeeney.
Forker had shown enough quality in his performances, since making his Championship debut against Tyrone in 2012, to be a key element in that transitional phase.
He was studying to be a teacher at St Mary’s University when he had a missed call on his phone that turned out to be Paddy O’Rourke, the-then Armagh manager.
He remembers the conversation and knew O’Rourke was “sussing” him out.
Forker soon proved his worth and impressed on Armagh’s left flank.
I’d spoken to the Maghery man after a couple of Armagh games and met him for a proper sit-down interview in a Belfast coffee shop in March 2015.
Affable and mannerly, Forker couldn’t have been more different in personality than the image of him roaring at Lacey that was emblazoned across the big screen in Croke Park the previous year.
Forker was good company. Self-confident and curious. A deep interest in elite sport and self-improvement, on and off the field.
After our interview, he was meeting with renowned sports psychologist Dr Ciaran Kearney.
Back in 2015, he was a student teacher in Moy Primary School. He’s now vice-principal of Tullysaran Primary School.
In December 2022, he invited The Irish News to his school where the Sam Maguire was being brought.
Kerry were All-Ireland champions, and the link was Jason McGahan – a Tullysaran native – and a key member of Jack O’Connor’s backroom team.
Growing up, Gaelic football wasn’t Forker’s first love. Although he played minors for Armagh, he was cutting a dash at Irish League club Dungannon Swifts.
He was good too – good enough to be offered a week’s trial at Liverpool FC when he was 14.
“The Liverpool trial thing was a great experience,” Forker said during our 2015 meeting.
“I went to watch the first team train in Melwood. Robbie Fowler was still playing; Peter Crouch was there, [Djibril] Cisse, big Sami Hyypia… Football was my thing at that age.”
Two years later, Tranmere Rovers had him over. Kenny Shiels, formerly of Coleraine and the Northern Ireland women’s team, was heading up Tranmere’s youth academy at the time.
“Kenny was the first person to give me an insight into elite level sport,” Forker said.
“Before one game, we sat down and Kenny had the spreadsheet out and he explained what his preparation consisted of.
“It was unbelievable. He had written down all his tactics and what he was going to say. That was my first taste of analysis, tactics and all that craic.”
Once Paddy O’Rourke called him up from Armagh’s U21 set-up, soccer began to take a back seat.
It was clear during our chat in the coffee shop over nine years ago that Forker was a fiercely ambitious individual, in all aspects of his life – someone who keenly pursued excellence and was interested in the whole realm of leadership.
He never made any grandiose statements or predictions – Armagh were coming from a modest enough base – but you sensed that whatever potential he had in his mind and body, he was going to wring it out of himself.
It’s doubtful if Maghery would have won a second county championship in 2020 without his leadership and kicking ability.
Renowned for being one of the best attackers in the club scene, his role for Armagh couldn’t have been more different.
He was versatile and equally proficient in the differing roles handed to him by Geezer.
He went from being an attacking left wing-back to a brilliant man-marker. When you were man-marked by Forker, you knew about it.
Just ask Michael Murphy or Conor McManus. And you can add Damien Comer to that list now.
Forker became one of McGeeney’s most trusted lieutenants – a player who would eagerly sacrifice himself at the altar of the team, and it was no surprise he became Armagh captain.
If he preferred playing in attack, he never let it be known.
“If I’m a forward I pride myself on my kicking and my vision and being aggressive, running hard and tackling hard,” he said in 2022.
“But those are the traits I try to bring to the full-back line as well.
“We don’t look at it in terms of positions anymore; you’re lining out there but after that you’ve a job to do and that’s how I frame it.”
On that visit to Tullysaran Primary School in December 2022, Forker was still in search of meaningful silverware with his county.
In a quiet office during school dinner time, he still viewed the success of his inter-county career in zero-sum terms.
“I won’t get the fulfilment that I want unless we go on and win something and I know the boys feel the same.”
Last Sunday in Croke Park, Aidan Forker achieved the ultimate prize.
The Maghery clubman played and spoke like a leader on the greatest stage.
Never give up on your dreams. Aidan Forker never did.
The next time the Sam Maguire Cup will be in Tullysaran Primary School, it will be their vice-principal carrying it through the gates.
