WHEN the London footballers take to the field against Carlow in Cullen Park tomorrow night, Michael Maher’s world will begin to make sense again.
“For us playing in Division Four on Saturday is as good as playing in an All-Ireland final, that’s the truth,” says Maher.
While everyone felt the damaging and demoralising impact of nationwide lockdowns over the past two years, no team suffered more than London.
It will be exactly 23 months to the day since the Exiles played their last competitive game – against Wicklow in the truncated 2020 NFL Division Four campaign – before the global pandemic struck.
Initially, Maher thought everything would pass by the time the 2020 Connacht Championship was scheduled to take place. But the months tripped by and London’s hopes of competitive football evaporated.
Due to the erratic nature of the virus and the unchanging travel restrictions, the landscape couldn’t have been much worse for Maher and his squad.
Their 2020 League campaign remained unfinished. Worse, their 2021 season never got started.
Where would this leave London football? How many years would it set them back?
“I guess when we got that call in March 2020 reality kind of dawned in terms of where things were going,” says Maher, the first London-born manager of the Exiles who took over from Ciaran Deely at the start of the 2020 having assisted him the previous year.
“Gutted would have been the best word to describe it but we understood the situation. But you were thinking it would be six weeks or 12 weeks and that we’d be in the Connacht Championship.
“And then our thoughts turned to 2021 and you were thinking who’s going to be in the panel; who’s going to be still here? Some lads lost their jobs, some were told to work from home, people moved back home in some cases and others found work in other parts of the world...
“Then things took a turn for the worse here last December 2020 when we went into a nationwide lockdown. We knew that was curtains for 2021 – the National League was gone and it was made clear at an early stage that we weren’t going to be part of the Championship.
“There was nothing that could be done. Croke Park wanted all the counties outside of the country to be competing in 2021 but it wasn’t possible with the restrictions on travel and everyone’s safety being paramount.”
Around September/October of 2021 there was finally light at the end of the tunnel. But just as hopes were raised, the Omicron variant threatened to dash them as quickly.
To everyone’s relief it transpired to be a less virulent strain of the virus and with travel restrictions lifted, Maher could finally start putting together a squad of players.
Maher, who also carries a UEFA ‘A’ Licence, retained a dozen players from his last squad in 2020.
“Over the past 10 or 12 years retaining 12 players for a new season would have been seen as a success.”
London have managed to pick up a few players of inter-county standard. Cahir Healy of Laois has moved to London and has quickly become a huge asset ahead of their daunting Division Four campaign.
“Cahir is a tremendous addition to have in the changing room,” says Maher. “He’s been in situations that we will find ourselves in this year. That kind of experience is invaluable.”
Enda McCormack, who was a star performer for the Donegal minors in 2016, has also hooked up with the Exiles in 2022 with Maher insisting the Termon clubman will “definitely have an impact on inter-county football over the coming years”.
Evan Wynne, who was on the fringes of the Galway seniors in recent years, is another who has thrown his lot in with the Londoners.
“That’s the great thing about London, you pick up these guys that may feel they didn’t get a fair crack of the whip with their counties at home and it’s like a second opportunity for them.”
Still in the throes of trimming his squad at their Grasshoppers Rugby Club base in west London, Maher acknowledges that there are quite a few “unknowns” as London return to National League action tomorrow night.
Throughout the pandemic, Maher never once considered walking away from London.
“I was always going to make sure I was still going to be there whenever that call came back. It was something I wanted to do for a long time. It’s a big challenge being London manager but it’s a great one.
“It’s a real journey for us as we haven’t been involved for two years but the hunger and desire is sky high amongst the management, the players and county board and hopefully the people of London will get behind us in the weeks and months ahead.
“It’s going to be tough. We’ll be looking at small increments and breaking games down – where will we be at half-time against Carlow? Where are we with 10 minutes to go? That’s the approach we’re taking. If you break games down into manageable periods especially when you’re coming back into a level of sport you haven’t been at for a long time, it’s a lot more achievable for players.”
Asked how he will feel as the ball is thrown in at seven o’clock tomorrow night, the PE teacher says: “Excited, full of anticipation - and praying that we get the first score!”
