Wee Johnny McGurk points the way for Derry Man of the match in the All-Ireland final, scorer of the winning point in the semi-final, little Johnny McGurk has really shot to prominence in the last few months as one of the key figures in Derry's march to the Sam Maguire. The Lavey man now has a well-deserved inter-county medal to add to honours won in the All-Ireland Club and Minor Championships. Possibly the most surprising aspect of Johnny McGurk's performances this year has been his scores which have come at vital stages in Derry's campaign. Last Sunday week against Cork he registered his side's first point when the Munster champions were threatening to pull away in the opening minutes. At that stage Cork led by 1-2 to no score before McGurk struck with his deadly left foot. He got his second point of the game with just six minutes to go to stretch his county's lead to two points. Following the controversial first half sending-off of Cork's Tony Davis, it was Johnny McGurk who was given the 'free man' role and he was extremely effective in carrying out his task, doing enough to win the man of the match award. "That was a great honour for me but I'm just glad we won. Anyone on the team could have got it." McGurk's early point settled his side down following a bad start in which they seemed to be over-awed by the occasion. So were they suffering from big-match nerves? Johnny claims he himself wasn't anyway. "Nerves don't really affect me at all. From about 10 or 12 on the morning of a match I would be nervous but once I get to the pitch the nerves go." What really brought the Derry men back into the game was their goal in the 15th minute which came from the first time in the match. "I'd say Seamus Downey's goal was the big turning point. We really needed a major score and we got it and it brought us back in to it. We were playing with the breeze but got a very bad start and were up against it before that goal. "The major talking point of that first half was of course the dismissal of Cork wing-back Tony Davis just before half-time for a charge on Dermot Heaney. Some in Cork camp argued afterwards that they would have won if Davis had stayed on the pitch but, naturally enough, the Derry wing-back doesn't agree. "Personally I think it had a major effect on the game. I think we'd have won it anyway." Derry ended up winning the final by three points but it was tense stuff in the last few minutes as Cork threw everything into attack in a bid to get the equalising goal. For the Ulster fans the final whistle didn't come a moment too soon. Johnny felt the same mixture of relief and elation as everyone else. "When the final whistle went I was more relieved than anything else. The last three or four weeks were hectic around here and I just wanted to get out and play the game." So were Derry afraid of Cork levelling the scores near the end? "We felt that we would hold out and I just knew it was going to be our day." Since that glorious victory, the celebrations haven't stopped in the Oak Leaf County as the GAA supporters get to grips with Derry's first ever senior All- Ireland win. The scenes of jubilations in Ulster came as something of a surprise to the Derry camp as people from all over the North are celebrating the Sam Maguire Cup coming into the province for the third year in succession. "The way the other counties have reacted to it has been amazing", says the speedy half-back. "We've got support not only from our own people but the other countries as well. The crowd in Maghera when we got back was fantastic." From the start of this year, Derry had been one of the favourites for the All-Ireland as people started to recognise how strong football in Ulster has become in the 90's. The Derry players and management themselves were aiming for success from an early stage but were taking nothing for granted and were ignoring all the media hype. "We were confident all year, not of winning the Sam Maguire but of giving a good account of ourselves. We had five matches to win and each one was a step along the way and we did it". Along the way to the title, Derry had to defeat 1991 champions Down, 1992 champions Donegal, '89 and '90 winners Cork and also Dublin. That semi-final against the Leinster champions was arguably Derry's toughest assignment as they had to come from behind in the second half to record a one point win. The match-winner came from Johnny McGurk's left foot with just two minutes left to play, an unexpected source for what was an exceptional score, taken with a coolness which suggested he was doing it all his life. In fact, the Lavey man lined out up front in earlier days, playing as left corner-forward when he made his senior inter-county debut with Derry in 1985 along with Enda Gormley. The first appearance in the top grade came in a National League match against Antrim but Johnny had starred for the minor side some years before that and was at left corner-back on the All-Ireland winning 1983 team. That year they convincingly overcame Monaghan in the Ulster final, winning by 14 points, and then defeating Cork by two points in the All-Ireland decider. Playing alongside the young McGurk were present stars Dermot McNicholl and Damien Cassidy and in opposition for Cork were Barry Coffey, Teddy McCarthy and Mick McCarthy, all of whom lined out in last Sunday week's final. "I played football from as early as I can remember, from when I was tall enough to kick a ball!" On the club scene, Johnny plays on the same team as Henry and Seamus Downey in Lavey, who have enjoyed plenty of success over the year. They've won three Derry Championships in Johnny's time but the highlight came last year when he captained them to victory in the All-Ireland Club Championship. "I was captain of Lavey and it was a great honour to lift the cup but we lost to Skibbereen this year in the semi-final and that was a disappointment." The Derry championship was delayed due to the county team's exploits so Lavey have been nominated to represent the Oak Leaf in the Ulster Club Championship and on Sunday they take on the Cavan standard-bearers, Kingscourt in the first round. As reigning Ulster Champions, Lavey will be favourites for that match and while Johnny says he is confident, he's not being complacent about it. The McGurk clan is well represented in Lavey football as Johnny's brothers Kieran, Colm, Paddy, Hugh - Martin, Seamus and Anthony all play for the club. Another brother, Joe, is manager of the Loughgiel Shamrocks hurling team in Antrim so it's definitely a very strong G.A.A. family! All will be pretty quiet on the inter-county front now for a while, following the Championship climax, but the National League will be soon starting again and the Derry players will have to lift themselves up again for that and try to get back into the swing of things. "I'd say Eamonn Coleman will use the league to give the rest of the players a chance. When you're involved in big matches all the time it's hard to give everyone a run but we'll need all the players to challenge again because the team can't stay the same". There's sure to be great support for the county during their league campaign anyway, as the All-Ireland win will have created a surge of interest in Gaelic football. It was said by many that the victory is just what the sport needed in Derry. "This definitely gives it a massive lift", says Sunday week's man of the match. "The county needed an All-Ireland much more than Cork it will mean a lot. I think it gives everybody something to aspire to." The question is will the G.A.A. in Derry city flourish now following the final or will it continue to struggle in the popularity ratings. Around Derry city soccer was more or less the game played and this will give it a boost. I don't think the rural clubs were suffering as much." Down won the Sam Maguire in 1991 and last year Donegal took it but neither managed to retain even their provincial crown in the following year, so it's going to be very difficult for Derry to be any different. "I think the present team is young enough and strong enough to survive for a few years. I'd hate to think this will be a flash in the pan." If Derry are to retain their crown, the hardest part will possibly be getting out of Ulster which seems to become more competitive by the year. "Everybody in Ulster is a threat." So does Johnny McGurk feel that the Oak Leaf can do it again? "It will be even tougher next year and we'll be the side that everyone will be trying to knock out", he says cautiously. Written by the Hogan Stand Magazine 01/10/93 Tweet

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