Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 29th November 1991

Kevin Carney profiles Gerry McCarville

Job Vacancy WANTED: Ambitious County seeks a reliable, brave and responsible full-back. Must be prepared to work hard and be adaptable. Applicants should be born leaders and possess a commanding physical presence. Apply immediately giving details of experience and honours won. N.B. Ambitions towards a long term management position essential.

There's a certain breed of footballer around whom a team is built. A charismatic and inspirational figure whose name and number are permanent statistics and the first to be pencilled in on the team-sheet. Such a player is as important to his team as carbon paper is to a team-sheet. The greatest challenge facing the Monaghan football selectors in the coming years is to find a carbon copy of one Gerry McCarville esq. recently retired.

The acquisition of back to back Ulster titles would be an easier task, one would imagine. The decision by the Scotstown Sweeper to make a clean break from inter-county football this year had presented the county team management with a monumental task. Finding a replacement to fill the job so expertly carried out by the Tydavnet native is one which will take up more energy and time than the county can afford as he tries to cling to the heels of the Down's and Donegal's of this world.

Did the Monaghan selectors prompt the McCarville's decision to retire however? There is a theory expounded in some quarters of Monaghan that those in charge of the Monaghan team erred in moving the versatile thirty five year old up to the forwards when clearly his experience was still needed in a defensive role. The relocation of a veteran defender into an attacking role (particularly in the twilight of his career) invariable hastens the player's retirement from the team.

Conversely, the excellent cover provided by McCarville's clubmate Gene Sherry in manning the full back berth on the Monaghan team minimised the effects of the switch and also established Sherry as a top-class central defender. In finishing his inter-county career in the full forward berth, Gerry McCarville's footballing days went full circle. A pledging powerhouse in a burgeoning Scotstown Championship winning side of 1974 and the youngest son of James and Kathleen McCarville, Tullyvogey, Tydavnet, Gerry made his Monaghan debut against Westmeath in a Division Three National League match back in 1977.

On that day, the then 21 year old revelled in the full-forward position and showed signs of fulfilling the promise he had earlier shown at county Under 21 level. The then trainee cabinet maker progressed two years later, under the guidance of Sean McCague, to command a midfield berth with Currin's, Hugo Clerkin "one of the best players I have ever played with and a very under-rated footballer."

Indeed, McCarville and Clerkin incorporated were credited for winning the battle in the midfield sector in the 1979 All-Ireland semi-final when pitted against Jack O'Shea and Vincent O'Connor of the Kingdom. At the end of 1979, the currently self-employed salesman had Ulster Senior Championship. McKenna Cup and Railway Cup medals hung up in the cabinet at home but more souvenirs were in the pipeline.

A five-in-a-row of Senior county Championships with his beloved Blues (1977-81) provided an opportunity to compete with the best in Ulster at club level. Four provincial club medals would follow over the years plus a coveted Monaghan Player of the Year award in 1980. By the time "Big Gerry" had helped mastermind Monaghan's 1985 National League victory, he had become a household name in the game and ranked behind only Mick Lyons and John O'Keeffe in the full back ratings countrywide.

Nevertheless, his no-frills style of play never endeared him to commentators and media people in general and their reporting of the incident in the '85 Monaghan/Kerry semi-final clash involving Gerry and Eoin Liston and which led to the Kerryman's dismissal harshly portrayed the Ulster full back as the villain of the piece. "Never received the credit he was due" could well mark Gerry McCarville's inter-county epitaph.

Married to Margaret (a member of the well-known McEnaney family of Corduff) his clever distribution of the ball and exhaustive work-rate were qualities treasured by successive team managers for whom Gerry toiled. One time Railway Cup supremo Brian McEniff describes McCarville's usefulness thus - "Gerry would never waste a ball and though he may have lacked a bit of pace on the turn, he had a tremendous football brain which atoned for any kink in his armour there's no doubt in my mind that he was-the best full back in Ulster for the duration of the 'eighties."

Despite his "no prisoners" cavalier style of play, Gerry McCarville has been described by one of his 'erstwhile colleagues on the county team as "one of nature's gentlemen" and there is no doubt that the current county Minor team manager is a perfect ambassador for both the Farney County and the G.A.A. "betting a kick from the game" is the stimulus which will ensure his continued association with the sport, on or off the field, for many years to come. It was in search of this buzz from the game that prompted his decision to assist Corduff's successful bid for the 1987 Dr. Ward Cup. From there to Latton, where the following year, he was to guide them to a Junior double, a feat followed up in 1989 by the clinching of a Father Hackett Cup victory. Players at the latter club remember Gerry as a "good motivator, but he nearly killed us in training, we did that much."

His election as the county Minor team manager in 1990 suggests a latent interest in rebuilding Monaghan's Underage nursery but it may also hint at an ambition to steer his county's fortunes at a more Senior level. A player's player, he has enjoyed the friendship and respect of each of the county managers that he has played under, form Liam Maguire through to Liam Stirrat. In addition, he has learned much from his days under the watchful eye of Hugh McCague, Jim Sherry, Sean Morgan and Sean McCridden.

To a large extent, Gerry McCarville's county football portfolio is complete. It is highly unlikely that he will be tempted out of his self-imposed retirement and a place in the dug-out has reaped significant dividends thus far as everyone at Drumhowan can appreciate. Another curriculum vitae is being unwittingly assembled by this genuine Monaghan folk-hero. Ironically in time, he may be charged by the Monaghan County Board with filling the void created by his departure from the county Senior team. 

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