SEAN Smyth, the man who won an All-Ireland minor winner with Armagh and went on to guide Down to three Ulster finals, was a “wonderful human being” says Mourne county double All-Ireland winner Ross Carr.
Smyth, who passed away on Wednesday, was a native of Maghery and won an All-Ireland Minor title with the Orchard county in 1949 before his teaching career took him to Down. He rose to prominence there firstly as joint-manager of the great Bryansford team of the late 1960s early 1970s and then enjoyed two spells with Down either side of a successful stint with Clonduff.
He helped to guide Bryansford to the first-ever All-Ireland senior club championship final in 1971 before taking the reins of the Down senior team for the first time and leading the Mournemen to Ulster finals in 1974 and 1975.
In 1980 he was appointed manager of Clonduff and quickly brought an end to ‘the Yellas’ 23-year run without a championship title. One of his early decisions was to bring a talented “young red-headed fella” (Ross Carr) onto the senior squad and that marked the start of a lasting and successful bond between the pair.
“Clonduff weren’t going too well when he came in,” Ross recalls.
“Burren gave us an awful hammering in Hilltown and then we played them in the championship that year. People recently have talked about 1994, Derry and Down being the greatest game ever but the greatest game I ever saw was Clonduff and Burren in 1980 in Rostrevor.
“It had everything – points, goals, blood, missing teeth… everything. It was like a scene from Gladiator.
“Anyway, after that I got on to the senior panel at the club and a few years later (1985) Sean took over the county seniors again and he gave me my start.
“He was a wonderful human being. He was infectious, so intense and in my opinion he was a coach way before his time.
“His daughter Mary was a very good runner and he brought a lot of that training into Down. The kind of stuff that strength and conditioning gurus are getting paid fortunes for now, Sean was trying to implement 35 years ago.
“I remember when he took over the Down team he asked me; ‘What position do you want to play?’ I said midfield and he says: ‘Ok, I’ll meet you in Clonduff Park.”
Ross arrived at Clonduff Park for what he knew would be a gruelling test of his fitness and watched as Smyth set up a drill using cones to map out a clock on the pitch.
He wasn’t prepared for what happened next:
“He says: ‘If you want to play middle of the field, here’s what I expect from my midfielders’.
“I had to run from the centre cone to each of the numbers on the clock and back with a rest of 10 seconds in between each one. I didn’t make it to five o’clock… So he says: ‘When you can complete this drill, you come back to me and we’ll see can you play midfield.
“He knew about the athleticism required to play at inter-county level, especially in midfield.”
Smyth was denied the Anglo-Celt triumph he deserved when, with the help of a hotly-disputed goal from Plunkett Donaghy, Tyrone won the 1986 Ulster final 1-11 to 0-10.
Five years later, after dropping out of the Down panel because of injury, Ross was recalled to the inter-county scene by new manager Pete McGrath. It wasn’t long before he got a phonecall from his mentor.
“In 1990 I wasn’t in the county panel,” Ross explains.
“I had had a few injuries but I was brought back in in 1991 just after the National League. Sean phoned me and asked: ‘What sort of shape are you in?’ I says: ‘I’m ok’.
“He says: ‘Alright, I’ll meet you in Clonduff Park’. He came down and he took me for two or three weeks’ training.”
Ross Carr was the leading scorer in the Ulster Championship that year and of course Down went on to beat Meath in the All-Ireland final.
“Sean was a massive influence on my career,” he said.
“He was a wonderful man. He was worried about the important things: How you carry yourself, how you behave, your responsibility towards your team-mate, your opponent, the people who are coming to watch you, your family and your club, the people you represent…
“He was gem, a really great bit of stuff and he’ll be sorely missed.”
Statement from Down County Board:
Coiste Chontae an Duin and the family that is Down GAA are saddened to learn of the death of Sean Smyth, a former County Senior Football team manager.
A native of Maghery in Co Armagh, Sean won an All Ireland Minor medal in 1949 with his home County. It was though with his adopted County of Down that Sean came to prominence firstly as the manager of the great Bryansford team of the late 1960s early 70s.
Sean had two spells as Down Senior team manager guiding the team to Ulster Senior Finals in 1974 and 1975 and then again in 1986.
An Anglo Celt victory was to elude him but he helped provide many memorable days for Down supporters during his terms as manager.
A man who was passionate about the game and who was a great exponent of coaching, it was often said that indeed Sean SmySmithth was a man ahead of his time.
We in Down GAA extend our deepest sympathy to his wife Mary, his daughter and sons and the entire Smith family circle. To the Gaels of Bryansford we also extend our sympathy at this time.
Ar dheis de go raibh a anam.
