Enda McAtamney All-Saints & Antrim Ace by Kevin Carney Enda McAtamney could be accused for finding his latter-day Railway Cup training sessions a lonely sort of existence. Charged by Ulster boss Brian McEniff with making the left half back position his own, the young Ballymena star is the bookies favourite to do just that. The lone Antrim player on the provincial squad, it's a sink or swim period ahead of him however. Not for the first time, there'll be no army of saffron-clad colleagues in support when the trials and matches are at there most competitive. Being a standard bearer for his sport, for his club and county is noting new to the Belfast based civil servant however. Ballymena is unlikely to ever figure in a list of G.A.A. heartlands and Antrim's best day's as a force in Ulster football had finished well before young McAtamney donned his first All-Saints club jersey in 1979. The lighthouse in a fog comparison is not something a twenty five year old likes to take on board, but there is no doubt but that he is likely to figure as Antrim's principal torch-bearer on the provincial and national stage for some time to come. Son of Tony McAtamney, the 'erstwhile Antrim star from Portglenon who struck gold with Ulster in 1973, Enda's character and temperament to succeed in the game of football is beyond question. Even last years bitter sweet taste of the first time involvement with the Ulster set up has not re-directed his B-line ambition to make it to the top in the Gaelic world. Surprised by his call up in 1991, disappointment was to following his demotion from the squad when McEniff cut his panel down to the minimum required to clinch back to back Railway Cup successes. One observer of the Antrim and Ulster football scene points to McAtamney's sheer dedication and commitment as the most endearing feature of his game. "Brian McEniff admires his game, there's no doubt about that but the respect is mutual. Enda would travel to Donegal at the drop of a hat for a squad training session if he was notified even at the last minute", enthused the Antrim county board officer. Commitment certainly, but the all saints stalwart has picked up Brownie points for his match performances too, our source confirms. A classic McKenna Cup match some three years ago saw the lanky Antrim flyer score 1-7 in his team's 1-8 to 1-7 victory over Armagh at Casement Park. A last second penalty converted by Enda sealed an unprecedented five-star display by an Antrim player in recent times. A product of the 1977- formed All-saints club of Ballymena and coached in his early days by Sean Gallagher and Alec McCormick, Enda McAtamney is a true blue clubman, having come up through the club ranks with the likes of his cousin Barney McCann, Tim Connolly and Hugh Kilough. Two under 14 league medals, one under16 and one minor medal helped stir his innate enthusiasm for the game. A past pupil of All-Saints primary school and nearby Saint Louis Grammer, "single and thankful" Enda was a very much a part of his young clubs flourishing development programme of the early eighties. It was a conscious effort to secure a niche for Gaelic games in the south-west, staunchly loyalist area, which was to reap surprisingly quick rewards on the field of play. The club was to win the Division 4 League title in 1981 plus the Antrim Division 3 League two years later in a whirlwind start during the clubs teething days. In '86 the County Intermediate Championship title became theirs and a year later the county South-West trophy was captured. From a budding underage starlet from a traditionally strong G.A.A. household, it was to be a perfect breeding ground for the speeding McAtamney. The local schools, copy book nurseries for the All-Saints club, added to Enda's self-propagating skills development period and brought success too. D'Alton under 14 and McLarnon Cup medals ended up on the sideboard beside his famous father's collection. A veritable speed-merchant, with or without the ball, it wasn't long after leaving secondary school that the call-up to his county's senior squad arrived. At 20 years of age, a debut in defence alongside Alex McQuillan and John Kiernan, over at Carrick-on-Shannon didn't startle the G.A.A. world but it was a milestone in McAtamney's career, another goal achieved. Favouring te half back position, the department of the Environment employee has not, as yet, suffered unduly from his own versatility. Employed at times by Antrim supremos Hugh Murphy and Eamonn Grieve in both defence and attack, the 6'1" Antrim regular is philosophical rather than confused about how others judge his game. "I prefer playing in defence but I regard it as an honour to play for Antrim, irrespective of where I am selected. Being on the team is what is important". Currently operating up front, the Ballymena ace hasn't done at all badly either in his second choice sector. The point is best illustrated by his five point tally in Antrim's recent challenge against Armagh. That draw has been followed up by matches against Monaghan and Jordanstown, games which have seen Antrim's Railway Cup representative consolidate his promising new year form. The county's two month long post-Christmas training programme has, according to reports has sharpened up not only Antrim's best but the entire squad as a whole. Enda, in an honest assessment of the team's prospects for '92 sums up such reports thus: "On our day, we can beat anyone. The talent is there in the team but it's a matter of clicking together on the one day. I only hope we don't flop like we did last year against Fermanagh". A former one time Philadelphia player (1988), and Chicago veteran (an illustration of the esteem in which he is held), Enda cites Down's Greg Blayney and 'erstwhile colleague John Trainor as his two most difficult opponents but there have been few attackers who have outshone the Portglenone athlete. Curiously the part of his game admired most by some is no longer an integral part of the McAtamney armoury. In recent times county team-mate Joe Kennedy has been handed the responsibility of slotting over the frees, a task readily performed by Enda since graduating to Senior county ranks five seasons ago. An excellent man-to man marking job on, firstly, Kerry's Tommy Doyle, and then the legendary Jack O'Shea in the National League play off stages of 1989 in Croke Park is listed by many Antrim supporters as his finest seventy minutes in the Saffron jersey but more ernest admirers of the Civil Servant maintain that his best is yet to come. Weighing in at thirteen stone on the button and a stylist in the modern sense of the game, the transition to the new rules has been like a piece of cake to the versatile ball-player. In addition, Antrim's traditional possession type game is tailor made for Enda and as such even though he is no longer grabbing the headlines by converting a hat-trick of 45's, the All-Saints clubman is adept at sallying through, cutting in from the wing and raising the white flag. One of the stars of the team who shocked future N.F.L. champions Meath in a National League match a couple of seasons ago, his ability to kick accurate, lengthy balls off the ground has no doubt been noted by the King of tacticians, Brian McEniff. A manager's dream panelist and totally loyal to his county, Enda's alleviation to interprovincial status has been well received right across Ulster. Viewed as a recognition by McEniff of his consistency and value as a team player, equally his fathers exploits on the Railway Cup team would be an appropriate tribute to Antrim's Mister versatile. Those who know of Enda's form inside out are at one with the theory that his star is beginning to rise. There is the added prospect too that by playing on the better quality Ulster teams over the years to come, Enda McAtamney's true worth will be highlighted to an ever greater degree with obvious benefits for himself and indeed his beloved Ballymena All-Saints Club. Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 28th February 1992 Tweet

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