Paddy O’Rourke

[Centre Half]

Paddy O’Rourke
Paddy O'Rourke's appointment in Armagh was met with disdain but after years of conflict, he's slowly winning his neighbours over.

SOMETIMES the story is the game. On Sundays like this one, the story is much, much bigger. On a morning when Paddy O'Rourke wakes up and drapes an Armagh tracksuit top awkwardly over his bull-wide shoulders and down his rod-straight back. On an afternoon when Paddy O'Rourke stands up from his corner and stares across the ring with his icy eyes only to meet the warmth of his beloved county staring right back. On an evening when Paddy O'Rourke tells himself he couldn't have lost no matter the result but knows deep down he could never have won either.

Before Sundays like this one, Paddy O'Rourke was Down right through to his marrow. It's where he won his National League title, his All Ireland minor and under-21 titles, his All Ireland club titles and his couple of All Ireland titles. And it's where, when he looked way, way down, he'd see his neighbours looking right back up at him and that was the way he liked it. Him up here. Armagh way down there.

Ask any Armagh man from the '90s for their memories of Paddy O'Rourke the player and they all tend to involve him setting the precedent for the day's physical ferocity by scuffling with Neil Smyth before he jogged back to his marker knowing he had come out well on top in the altercation and so would Down.

Shock. Horror. Disgust.

Ask any Armagh man from the '00s for their memories of Paddy O'Rourke the manager and they'll take you back to a weekend in 2006 when he faced the Armagh under-21s on the Saturday and the seniors a day later. After erupting before the first game, the whole place heard him spit out from the Down dressing room that he wanted to set Armagh football back a decade. That he ended up losing twice didn't take away from the ill feeling he left lingering next door.

Shock. Horror. Disgust.

Ask any Armagh man from any era what they made of his appointment as their new manager late last year and the sentiments were all the same.

Shock. Horror. Disgust.

"I came in and I was very conscious of the fact that it would be a fresh start and it would be a full stop at the end of everything that had gone on before it," he says. "I wouldn't be looking back, I only look forward and from day one I treated people the way I expected to be treated myself and that's the way it has worked."

He can thank Stevie McDonnell for being here. Not only for the 3-37 his star forward kicked to take the county into the Division Two decider but for the piece of paper upon which his star forward scribbled 'Paddy O'Rourke' late last year. With whispers of tactical leaks still hanging around from the summer, the county board took too long in appointing Paul Grimley and were left with nobody. They decided it was best to let the players choose the new manager yet after everyone in the panel had written down a suggestion, O'Rourke's name only appeared once. After that, a shortlist was drawn up with his name right at the very bottom and only a chance phone call between the player representative on the selection committee Paul McGrane and McDonnell led to the appointment.

Shock. Horror. Disgust.

"I didn't do anything to win everyone over," O'Rourke says when asked about the numerous club functions he attended in his early months in the job. "I did the same when I took over in Down. All I did was help out people that asked me to do things within the county so I was just being myself and I haven't made any particular efforts to be any different. I was asked to do the job and it was a very attractive county. They are very, very passionate about their football. On top of that I was looking for an honesty and a commitment from players to try and make this Armagh team successful."

Not in recent times had there been a more unpopular appointment in Gaelic games but O'Rourke quickly won the players over and the supporters would slowly follow. Back in his days as Down manager between 2003 and 2006, the feeling was his man-management was excellent but he was lost on the line. But in January he only needed the first part of that equation to get the squad on his side.

"His man-management skills have been better than anything I saw when I was working even with the IRFU," says his trainer Mike McGurn. "It was never about Paddy O'Rourke. It was always about the players. He cares about their welfare and what happens when they leave training. He is fantastic to work with. He wants them to relax and enjoy it and his big thing is if we are not having fun then we shouldn't be here. We leave with a smile on our face and that's the way it has been.

"Because of that the players have been training really hard since January. They enjoy the training, it's all done with the ball. The sessions are no more than 40 minutes, all very game specific. We train Tuesday and Thursday for 40 minutes, sometimes 30 minutes. And that's plenty. You recover quicker, you are fresher for the next session and then you get another good quality session in. You keep upping the ante."

Crucially, O'Rourke's philosophy of enjoyment helped get rid of the geographical cliques that had resurfaced in Armagh during the time of Peter McDonnell. Equally vital, his style of football got rid of the stagnation that had existed and saw the county slowly sink the past couple of seasons. Aaron O'Rourke moved to centre-forward to act as a play-maker and the half-forward and half-back lines have been filled with physical players, much like Down were in the early '90s. And with his team evolving, it was time for O'Rourke to evolve too. After all, his last major final was a 15-point hiding by Tyrone in the 2003 Ulster replay and he finished that day in an empty dressing room on one knee, tying a shoelace and telling the media that there'd be "no words today, no words".

"I think no matter what you do, you gain experience and as long as I was willing to open my eyes and learn, then I was going to be okay," he continues. "As a manager I learned a lot with Down. I am more experienced, I read situations a bit better. And I don't buy into this pressure thing. There doesn't need to be pressure on anyone. Football is not about pressure, football is supposed to be a release from pressure. I am trying to tell the guys that too, to enjoy the time they have a pair of football boots on them and just have a go. The reason they all started playing football was because they enjoyed it and I want them to continue to do that at this level."

Way back in 1978 it was James McCartan's father that first made O'Rourke a Down senior footballer. Today wee James and O'Rourke square off on the line and next Sunday the two get into a boxing ring for a charity night in Burren GAA club. Sometimes the story is the game. When you're Paddy O'Rourke representing Armagh though, the story is much, much bigger.

Sunday Tribune
25 April 2010

[Diarmi]

Funny how things change.

I cant help thinking of the comparisions with Jack Charlton. Maybe thats a thread in itself.

By the way, I will admit that I was not a fan of his appointment, although I wasnt in favour of Big Joe's appointment in '02 either and look what happened then.

Its great to have the county pulling together again last year was a low point that I thought we would take a long time to recover from.

[corn02]

, although I wasnt in favour of Big Joe's appointment in '02 either and look what happened then.

Just out of interest, why? Support of the two Brians?

[Diarmi]

Just out of interest, why? Support of the two Brians?

No, I felt that he had his chance with the county previously with no success.
I was also concerned that his gameplan with Cross was one dimentional and I didnt think he could replicate it with the county team. I mistakenly thought it worked with Cross because of the particular players he had at his disposal.
So there, that basicly means you can disregard any further analysis from me!

[corn02]

No, I felt that he had his chance with the county previously with no success.
I was also concerned that his gameplan with Cross was one dimentional and I didnt think he could replicate it with the county team. I mistakenly thought it worked with Cross because of the particular players he had at his disposal.
So there, that basicly means you can disregard any further analysis from me!

At least you'll admit, probably plenty with the same viewpoint who wouldn't.

[Rufus T Firefly]

Mike McGurn

His man-management skills have been better than anything I saw when I was working even with the IRFU," says his trainer Mike McGurn. "It was never about Paddy O'Rourke. It was always about the players. He cares about their welfare and what happens when they leave training. He is fantastic to work with. He wants them to relax and enjoy it and his big thing is if we are not having fun then we shouldn't be here. We leave with a smile on our face and that's the way it has been.

That's exactly the impression that I get with the current squad - there seems to be a real togetherness and enjoyment to their football. The contrast with last year could not be greater. I myself would not have been overly enthusiastic with the appointment, but to be fair to the fella, he has got an excellent back room team in and things are looking up. We have a very good team potentially, and the signs are good.

By the way - would some kind soul post Paddy Heaney's article in today's Irish News - missed it!!

[bigpaul]

I was shocked and bemused by Paddy's appointment but was given a fair degree of hope with the make-up of his backroom team,I was especially impressed with the speed he was able to get Donal Murtagh on board just a week or so after he had given a very critical interview about the selection process and his treatment during it,that alone spoke volumes to me on his man-management skills!

[sliothar]

I think that Paddy is just what we need he is his own man.

Too much politics involved in JK departure and also PMcD appointment/departure and also the possible continuing JK influence in the background???

Well done so far and all the best for Ulster even if we don't win it I think if he can get the current panel back to a QFinal it would be way above what we would have expected when he initially came into post.

[glory days]

I think that Paddy is just what we need he is his own man.

Too much politics involved in JK departure and also PMcD appointment/departure and also the possible continuing JK influence in the background???

Well done so far and all the best for Ulster even if we don't win it I think if he can get the current panel back to a QFinal it would be way above what we would have expected when he initially came into post.

Here here i thought an ulster final would be fantastic for this year but the last eight would be so good for the team 2011 would only get better