NAME: Denis Hollywood DATE OF BIRTH: 8/10/70 HEIGHT: 5'7" WEIGHT: 11st 7lb CLUB: St. Michaels, Newtownhamilton COUNTY: Armagh HONOURS: 1 Sigerson, 1 Ryan Cup, 1 Freshers, 1 Combined Universities, 1 County Championship, 1 County League, 1 MacCauley Cup PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: Presently studying an M.S.C. Computer Science at Queens TOUGHEST OPPONENT: All opponents are tough FAVOURITE GROUNDS: Oliver Plunkett Park, Crossmaglen, Co. Armagh FAVOURITE POSITION: Left half forward SPORTING AMBITION: To represent my county at senior level DO YOU PLAY ANY OTHER SPORTS: Squash, racketball and snooker BOYHOOD HEROES: John Egan (Kerry) FAVOURITE PLAYERS: Cathal Jones, James Mullen (St. Michaels), Anthony Tohill (Derry), James 'Og' McCartan (Down) BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON CAREER: My father, Dermot Dowling WAYS OF IMPROVING THE GAME: Increasing the time and effort spend on players while at primary school age DISLIKES ABOUT THE GAA: Poor standard of refereeing at all levels BEST GAME SEEN: 1977 All-Ireland semi-final - Kerry versus Dublin PLAYERS WITH A PROMISING FUTURE: Michel Rocks (St. Michaels); Aidan Lloyd (St. Patricks) HOPES FOR 1993: To have a successful year with my club YOU WERE RECENTLY A VITAL PART OF THE SUCCESSFUL QUEEN'S SIGERSON CUP TEAM: Winning the Sigerson of this year was a dream come true. After tasting defeat in the final of 1992, it made this year's success all the more sweeter. Playing on a Queen's tea, is a great honour, as many great players have passed through this university. Each and every one of the players on the panel deserves credit as each has played his part in this success NO SCORES IN THE FINAL FOR DENIS HOLLYWOOD, BUT 3 IMPORTANT POINTS IN THE SEMI FINALS: The semi-final match was against the Poly. Everyone knows of the rivalry between these two teams. The talk about this match was unbelievable, as both sets of supporters openly gave their view as to the outcome. The match itself was a poor one, with Queens emerging as winners by two points. It was great to score in this match, but the winning of it was more important YOU HAVE PLAYED MINOR AND UNDER 21 FOOTBALL FOR THE COUNTY BUT HAVE YET TO MAKE YOUR DEBUT FOR THE ARMAGH SENIORS: I was a member of the 1987 minor team which lost to Down in the final of the Ulster championship, and again in 1988 when we were knocked out in the first round. I played Under 21 football with Armagh for three years with little success. I have yet to play for the seniors but who knows what the future holds? TELL US ABOUT YOUR CLUB ST. MICHAELS OF NEWTOWNHAMILTON: The club was formed in 1932. Success at that time was limited. In 1939, the club won the South Armagh League and Championship. The following two years, 1940 and 1941, saw the club winning the senior league and senior championship. In 1942, the club withdrew from competition football. The present club has been in operation since 1974. In 1980, the club won the County League Division 4. A Junior Championship was won in 1987 and the County League was again won in 1989. At present, we are an intermediate team residing in Division 2. I feel success on the field is possible again as we have some very good players coming up through the ranks ANY OTHER PAST OR PRESENT ARMAGH COUNTY PLAYERS FROM THE AREA: At present, two members of the St, Patricks team play for the county seniors, Martin McQuillen and John Donaldson. From my local club, Gary O'Keefe plays for the Under 21 team. During the 1940s, St Michaels had no fewer than ten players on the county panel, an achievement which never again will be emulated QUITE A NUMBER OF YOUR BROTHERS PLAY WITH ST. MICHAELS: At present, two brothers play on the team, Damien and Kieran. However in 1987, the year we won the championship, five brothers were on the panel with four of them in the first fifteen, Paul, Damien, Kieran and myself. We are a small club and family involvement like this is essential in order to keep the club playing football YOU WERE VOTED TOP PLAYER IN ARMAGH'S LEAGUE DIVISION 3 FOR 1992: This type of award has been given out to players in all the divisions in Armagh, for the past number of years. Some great players have received these awards and I was very proud to receive this honour in 1992 YOUR FATHER DINNY LINED OUT FOR CULLYHANNA (ANOTHER SOUTH ARMAGH CLUB) IN THE OLD DAYS: My father has been involved in our national game for over forty years. His first club was St. Patricks Cullyhanna, where he won a junior championship medal in 1964. He has been involved with St Michaels since they re-emerged in 1974 and has given years of commitment to the club. At present, he is the Chairman of the club HE IS ALSO THE ST. MICHAELS TEAM MANAGER: The club is basically run by about eight people and many people carry out many tasks. The management of the club is carried out by three people, with my father being one of the three WE ARE TOLD THAT THERE IS A GREAT LADIES FOOTBALL TEAM IN NEWTOWNHAMILTON: St Michaels and a local club, Derrynoose, formed a ladies football team in 1991. They entered the Armagh league and championship in 1992 and achieved similar success as the great Newtown team of 1940 and 1941, by winning both competitions. Members of this team have represented their county at senior level, namely Edel O'Rourke and Jacqueline Hughes ARMAGH AS A COUNTY FOOTBALL FORCE APPEARS TO HAVE MOVED BACKWARDS IN RECENT SEASONS. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE REASON FOR THIS DECLINE: Although Armagh have dropped out of the top division of the National League (the first time in their history), I do not feel that this is a reason to worry. The championship is the big one. Armagh played Down in the championship the last two years and were unlucky to bow out to a team that is enjoying great success of late. This so called decline may not be as big as people think. Armagh have got the talent and the current squad highlights this fact. I think a win over Fermanagh in Round One this year could increase confidence within the squad to go on to better things WITH SO MANY CLUBS IN THE VICINITY, THERE MUST BE A GREAT GAA RIVALRY IN SOUTH ARMAGH: This is true. There are so many teams in the vicinity and rivalry is great. In this season's league campaign, St Michaels will have to play no fewer than twelve out of fourteen derby matches. This kind of rivalry has helped football within South Armagh and many clubs are now enjoying successes either at underage or senior level THE DISPLAYS OF THE MINORS LAST SUMMER HAD TO BE A BIG BOOST TO ARMAGH FOOTBALL: The success of the minor team of last year was well overdue. The commitment shown towards the Armagh county minors over the last number of years has now reaped reward. This great minor team won the league and Ulster championship and were narrowly defeated in the final at Croke Park. Since then, the attitude towards football within the county has changed for the better with the belief that senior honours can be obtained soon THERE APPEARS TO BE NO SHORTAGE OF GOOD YOUNG TALENT IN THE COUNTY: Young talent within the county has now reached an all time high. This is mainly due to the excellent Leagues and Cup competitions that have been set up by the County Board. There is a youth policy within the county which starts at the primary schools and continues at under 12, under 14 and under 16 levels. This is why so many young footballers are beginning to appear THE QUEENS TEAM PLAYED WITH GREAT PRIDE AND COMMITMENT IN THE RECENT SIGERSON TOURNAMENT: At the beginning of the year, each member of the panel highlighted the winning of the Sigerson as his number one aim. Winning the Sigerson is not an easy task and it took many long hard nights training to achieve the success. The commitment needed to win Sigerson was clearly evident at those training sessions. Dermot Dowling (our manager) instilled a pride and determination within us and always told us to "wear the green with pride" SPIRIT AND COMRADESHIP WAS HIGH: The comradeship that has grown between the panel members will live long and will never be forgotten. Even though the players come form various counties and will play vital matches against one another in years to come, there will always be a friendship between one another. Those training weekends in Dublin with James "Mr" McCartan and Cathal "Fred" O'Rourke will always be remembered THE NORTHERN COLLEGES SEEM TO HAVE GOT A STRONGER GRIP ON SIGERSON IN RECENT YEARS. WHAT ARE THE REASONS BEHIND THIS DOMINANCE: One of the main reasons for this dominance is that the universities have now got belief in themselves. Football has always been good in the north but the belief that winning was possible was not there. This can be seen by the past two All-Ireland campaigns, with Down and Donegal reigning supreme. I feel that a Northern team will again win 'Sam' this year and that the Sigerson will remain here as well CAN ARMAGH SPRING A SURPRISE OR TWO IN THIS YEAR'S ULSTER CHAMPIONSHIP: As you know, Ulster Championship is probably the hardest championship to win, with any number of teams capable of winning it. Armagh play Fermanagh in round one with many people saying that that will be their only match. However, I feel that Armagh are capable of winning that match easily and from then on, who knows what could happen. A betting man would be tempted by the 12-1 price given in the bookies!! Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 16th April 1993 Vol 3 No 15 Tweet

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