CIARAN McCabe thought he had seen it all during a couple of decades in the green of Castlewellan, but the view from the other side of the line has opened his eyes to another world.
As a player, McCabe was a natural; all baggy jerseys and blond shaggy hair, his hours were spent on the field rather than in the gym at a time when the maverick could still cause mayhem.
Back in 1994, a last action hero act in arguably the greatest game the Ulster Championship has ever seen remains McCabe’s calling card, whether he likes it or not.
Just 23, and in his first year on Pete McGrath’s Down panel, it was he who was sent into a Celtic Park bearpit as the Mournemen trailed reigning All-Ireland champions Derry by two.
With six minutes left super-sub McCabe wrote his name into the history books, running off Mickey Linden’s shoulder before lashing high past Damien McCusker, his instinctive windmill celebration the defining image of an unforgettable day, the first – and most treacherous - rung of Down’s ascent to the All-Ireland throne that September.
Fast forward 30 years and McCabe, having hung up his boots towards the end of the Noughties, is part of the Castlewellan management team alongside Barney Cunningham. But donning a bainisteoir bib wasn’t necessarily something the younger man might have seen in his future.
“Hmm, I don’t know,” he laughs, “it’s not something I aspired to or was desperate to do. Some people are maybe more suited to it than others… underage is kind of easy, you can make excuses for them when they make the same mistake over and over again.
“When you get to senior level and they’re doing it, it’s a different matter. You can only try and give them the advice, what they do with it is up to them…”
As bar manager at the popular Quinn’s on Newcastle Main Street, finding the time to fit it all in can be a challenge. In a few weeks’ time the Irish Open, spearheaded by Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry et al, will come to the seaside town, putting all hospitality staff behind the eight ball.
But that is a conversation for another day. On Thursday night, Castlewellan and Mayobridge get this year’s Down SFC up and running when they clash in Burren.
The ‘Bridge come into the game with Ronan Sexton and Shane O’Hare having taken over the reins following Bernie Murray’s departure last month.
So while the spoils were shared in their two league meetings, the presence of a new management duo on the line brings a different dynamic.
As for McCabe and Cunningham, the aim is to provide a bit of stability after a run of different managers in consecutive years, but familiar issues are ever-present. Unlike a few miles out the road in Kilcoo, where football is king, Castlewellan are trying to balance their resources with players’ hurling and soccer commitments.
Indeed, with the town’s soccer side on an upward curve in the Amateur League, Gaelic football sometimes has to accept second spot. Having played both back in the day, McCabe understands the situation better than most, allowing for a reasoned and realistic approach.
“The difference between Kilcoo and us is night and day at the minute.
“Kilcoo have said it themselves, it’s football and farming, where we have hurling to contend with, soccer… we would’ve played soccer during the winter but, for myself anyway, Gaelic came first all the time.
“You’ve boys now and soccer is maybe their priority, and I understand that too. Castlewellan soccer team’s going well at the minute, so it’s not hard to understand why boys might prefer that and having the chance of winning.
“But the workload is probably the difficult part, they’ve been playing two matches a week this last number of weeks, Saturday-Tuesday in the run-up to the championship, so you just have to be careful… you can’t overwork them, if you do that then sure they’re no good for the soccer or us.”
This time last year – McCabe and Cunningham’s first at the helm - Castlewellan came into the championship on the back of promotion from Division Two. Everything was sunshine and roses, for the most part.
But life at the top is tough, with some harsh lessons meted out as they dropped straight back down this time around. Yet, while there were only two league wins, both came in the latter part of the campaign, while most defeats came about by the finest of margins.
However, with the fruits of a few decent underage teams on the way through, the future offers some promise. Indeed, among that emerging crew are McCabe’s two sons, with 18-year-old Luke featuring regularly throughout the league, while 21-year-old forward Matthew - not long back from a spell in Asia - hoping to force his way into management’s thoughts for Thursday’s game.
“Last year in Division Two we were winning matches, everybody was happy, but this year was a bit different. Obviously it’s a massive step up, there was matches we were unlucky, injuries and all, but sure everybody has that.
“We lost a couple with a goal with the last kick of the game, and then as the season goes on, the more you’re losing, the harder it gets. That’s when the heads can go down… you just have to keep going and hope you get a break.
“Ultimately, in Down, you have to win a game to stay in the senior championship, so that would be your first priority, and then anything after that’s a bonus.”
