Featured photograph: The All Saints U16 Football team who defeated Tir na nOg in Toome in the club’s first ever trophy winning success in 1977 featuring Maurice McQuitty (Back Row-5th from right)

In All Saints 50^th Anniversary Year the Saffron Gael speaks to former player, Maurice McQuitty who was a member of the clubs first football trophy winning team in 1977

One of All Saints most famous sons, Maurice McQuitty made a visit to Ballymena last week. Maurice was a member of the club’s first ever trophy winning team when he played his part on the side who won the South West U16 league back in 1977, two years after the launch of the Ballymena club.

Maurice moved to Ipswich in 1985 to work for BT after completing his university degree but has kept in touch with All Saints and returns regularly to Ballymena where he always visits his club.

I caught up with him at Aghagallon where he had travelled to watch All Saints take on the local St. Mary’s in an ACFL Division 1 encounter where the home side were leading by three when the referee blew to halt proceedings with two minutes remaining.

Maurice played at wing-half for All Saints and was a tenacious tackler and brought a high level of skill and intensity to his game. He recalled with fondness his career at the club and here are some of his recollections:

“I joined the club in the very early days when Gaelic Football started (1976/77 I think) – they did focus initially on hurling. The very first football team was the U16 team and the Manager was Tim O’Kane. He was ably assisted by Sean Gallagher, Francis Scullion and Brian McLarnon. I don’t remember a huge amount of specific games in those days and scores. I remember going to a match with Tim (he drove a Volkswagen Beetle) and being stopped by the army at a checkpoint and finding it hilarious that the army went to search his car at the back (The boot was in the front in a beetle).

I remember getting to know the McCann’s and Raymond ‘Jumbo’ Shannon and a few others like Paul McGuckian in the early days. The McCann’s mum, Francis, treated us like extra sons and we were around their house all the time. We spent most of the week talking about the previous game and excited about the next match – meeting up after mass on Sunday to discuss the coming game.

We took it seriously and frowned upon fellow players who ever let us down – I can remember Paul McGuckian going somewhere (think it was fishing) one day instead of turning up to play – we let him know after how unhappy we were.

I don’t remember much about that U16 final. We believe it was against Tir na nOg in Toome.The weather was bad and I’m not sure we played that well but we still won. I was always confident we could beat anyone at that early stage of my career.

Enda McCann was magnificent. He undoubtedly would have gone on to be a future star had he not received a career ending knee injury. I believe I played left half back in the match. I was not as skilful as some of the other players but I made up for a lot of that by being very fit and of course quite prepared and determined to run through walls to win.

Sadly Tim O’Kane didn’t make the final as he was otherwise disposed but his assistants, Sean Gallagher, Francis Scullion and Brian McLarnon did a fine job in preparing us for the final.

Anyway after winning the first trophy for All Saints – quite a few of us went on the play for the senior team which I believe started around 1980. Our first match was a friendly – I think it was in Randalstown. I wasn’t picked and was on the subs bench and remember being very upset at that.

I’m sure I doubled down after that in training to get myself into the team. I think around this time Gusty Reid became manager – assisted by yourself. I believe he was one of the older boys who was brought in for the first match – but I might be wrong – he certainly played a few times before he was manager.

Anyway – we started winning some games and slowly but surely improved. We won the league I think in 1981. I was very proud to be Footballer of the year that year and then went off to University to play with the Ulster Poly (as it was then). I think I was also the very first U12 football manager for the club having some fantastic players within the ranks – including Michael O’Neill – I like to tell people I taught him how to be a manager.

I’m not sure what year that was. Once I remember travelling to a match and accidentally crashing into the back of Brian McCambridge’s car at a junction. Not a scratch on his huge Peugeot 405 but it ripped the wing off my Ford Escort and the kids had a good laugh. I was gutted – cost me a fortune to repair. 

Anyway while at University I continued to play for the team travelling up to play in matches and to training as often as possible. Frankie Delargy was also with me at University.

On my placement year from Uni in Winchester (South of England near Southampton) I was lucky enough to get a few free flights back home from the company and used them all and other trips by train to Stranraer to come home to play in matches.

That was in 1983.  I also have a trophy from 1983 for the South West Antrim Junior League. Anyway as you know we went on to win the Junior Football Championship in 1984 and had the joy of winning it in the centenary year and as a result pick up a rather nice medal that I still have.

Maurice has retained most of the trophies he won in a short but very successful playing career with All Saints in cluding the Junior Football Championship medal he won in 1984

That game was against Glenarm at Casement Park and we finally got over the line against a side that we suffered a number of defeats to in previous years.

As with the U16 final I can’t remember a great deal. I remember being very confident we would win – we were a great team with a good mixture of young skilful players and older hands who you could rely on in a battle. By the time we got to half time in the match that confidence was beginning to wane a bit. We didn’t play well and were under par on the day. One player that I remember had a fantastic game was Kevin Quigley – I really believe he helped pull us younger players through it. We had a great celebration in the changing rooms captured in a fantastic picture.

During the years around this great victory we travelled to many carnivals around the county winning or finishing runner up in many of them.

Sadly in 1985 as a result of completing my degree I moved to work for BT in Ipswich and worked for them for 32 years retiring in 2017. During those years I’ve come back to watch the team and taken an interest in results and kept fairly up to date with the excellent coverage from the Saffron Gael – thanks to all the work that you guys do Paddy. 

I do regret sometimes not staying on in Ballymena to continue playing. I was gutted to miss out on the new pitch and facilities and have never played on it. My time was exclusively limited to our wonderful pitch at Hugomunt for which I will always have fond memories.

I’m so glad to see in a recent trip that our old tin hut has been preserved at the new pitches for storage 😀 and it’s great to see a lot of old faces still around the club from my days. Labelled I believe as VIP’s.

The club has continued to thrive with great facilities and there have been many fine players to have gone on to play for the club and county. Many were young kids when I left – like the much younger McCann boys (John, Peter and Paul) and sons of players in my era – like Sean McVeigh – some may have even come from my first U12 team”

Maurice finished modestly “Great players like Timmy Connolly who were only just breaking into the team when I left. I would have loved to have played with them all – I may not have been good enough and I probably would have had to step up my training to a new level – but I would have had a great time trying”.