STEELSTOWN BRIAN \u00d3GS were crowned All-Ireland intermediate champions yesterday, the Derry club etching their names into history in Croke Park.<\/p>\n
They became the first Derry side to lift the intermediate title, and the first Derry city club to win an All-Ireland after\u00a0triumphing against Trim of Meath on a scoreline of 3-14 to 2-5. (Three clubs from the south of the county have won senior titles before in Bellaghy 1972, Lavey 1991 and Ballinderry 2002.)<\/p>\n
Founded as recently as 1987, captain\u00a0Neil Forester gave the full background of Steelstown Brian \u00d3gs in a simply superb acceptance speech.<\/p>\n
Full of passion and emotion, Foreseter also referenced tragedies that have impacted the club through the years,<\/p>\n
Brian \u00d3g McKeever died in 2009 at the age of 17, after a battle with leukaemia. He had captained underage teams at the club and was also a Derry minor player. Steelstown changed their name thereafter, and retired the number five jersey in his honour.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Charlene Griffiths was another huge club figure, who passed away three years later.<\/p>\n
\nFor those who missed it, or those who want to watch it again and again – Neil Forester's winning speech. That'll ring out for years to come. https:\/\/t.co\/1nVzbJ5pHK pic.twitter.com\/CzejrstbR5<\/p>\n
— Orlagh Mullan (@OrlaghMullan) February 7, 2022<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Neil Forrester\u2019s speech in full:<\/p>\n
\u201cTo Croke Park, the GAA, AIB, this is an incredible competition. It really is the crown jewel in the GAA calendar because you can see how much it means to the parishes and communities of Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re a young club. We were founded by Anthony McGurk, Mickey Doherty, Philip Devlin. They were told there was no Gaelic football in the city, but they did not listen. They planted the acorn, it was nurtured by people like Brid Kelly-McElroy, Andy Barr Senior. They were told there was no Gaelic football in Derry city, they did not listen. To you, our coaches, administrators, parents, you nurtured us more. The oak tree grew. Gaelic football is alive in Derry City.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt hasn\u2019t been easy. We\u2019ve faced serious adversity. We\u2019ve never won a league or a championship on our men\u2019s team, now we have three. Adversity wasn\u2019t just on the pitch, it was off it. We lost people that we loved; people like Charlene, people like Brian \u00d3g McKeever. He\u2019s the true captain of this club, it should be him climbing these steps, he\u2019s the captain\u2019s captain. It wasn\u2019t to be, so instead, we named our club after him. Even though he was only 17 years old, that\u2019s the type of man that he was.<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight, everybody will know his name and our club\u2019s name, because Derry city belongs to Steelstown Brian \u00d3gs.\u201d\n<\/p>\n