The Antrim Curse

Kevin Armstrong, Harry O’Neill, Tony Best and Joe McCallin. To punters under the age of 60, finding the link between those names will leave them flummoxed. If you add to that Paddy O’Hara, Mickey Darragh, Sean Gallagher and Ray Beirne, you have over half of the last Antrim side to left the Anglo-Celt Cup, back in 1951. Antrim were a decent side then and a relative heavyweight in Ulster . They’d won the title in ’46 and reached the finals of ’47 and ’48. So, unlike this year’s final, they were no potential flash-in-the-pan. What is remarkable though is that it would take another 19 years before they reached the final again. That day, in 1970, also represents the last time they walked behind the parade for the Ulster Senior Football Final. So how did it all go so wrong?

You’ll not find this in any official yearbook or compilation of results. But I’m a man who knows more than your average scribe. There are a few secrets I’ll carry to the grave but I didn’t think I’d see the day when Antrim could contest another Ulster Final. The reason for that goes right back to the night of the 1951 title celebrations. Having beaten Cavan in that decider, and with Cavan being All-Ireland contenders at that time, hopes were high that the Saffrons would make a breakthrough on the national stage. Their footballing adviser was a unique Meath fellow called Herbie Hynd, a man who dabbled in the spiritual side of sporting preparation, a bit like Brother Ennis or Fr McAleer. However, Hynd’s powers were regarded as going a little beyond that. He could heal, like herbalist Sean Boylan, but it was often said that he could dabble in the dark arts too. When they defeated Cavan in the final that year, the Breffni full forward was clean though in the last minute with an empty net in front. Inexplicably, he capsized head-over-heel and threw the ball back to the Antrim keeper. Hynd was said to have been on his knees at the time, bent over with his head pressed to the ground although there is no photographic evidence to back this up.

His native county, Meath, were also on the rise as a power and had as recently as 1949 defeated Cavan in the All-Ireland final. There were strong rumours that Hynd would return to his native county to help turn them into the super-power that Kerry became in the 70s. He made no secret that his heart lay with the Royals but still showed tremendous loyalty to Antrim during his spell there. He had been called in after the ’46 All-Ireland semi when Kerry bullied Antrim into submission, despite being an inferior outfit to the Saffrons. Hynd brought that bit of self-belief and general all-round steel. Things were rosy that Ulster title day in 1951. Antrim had regained the title and were about to commence an assault on Sam Maguire, meeting Meath in the semis.

It all changed that night. The stout was in full flow in the Casement clubrooms as the Anglo-Celt was passed around the Gaels of Antrim. The merriment was a tremendous sight. Hynd, not being a drinker, frowned a little on the alcohol abuse but was prepared to overlook it as long as it didn’t get out of hand. Unfortunately it did. One thing led to another and before long the poteen and ether were produced and the rows broke out. Men from the glens were boxing city lads and there was general mayhem. Hynd sat at the back of the room, shaking his head in disbelief. He had preached the need for discipline and self-respect yet here were his charges and their supporters violently revelling in an Ulster title, when there were bigger prizes on the horizon. In the early hours of the following morning, and when the fighting had died out, the Saffrons found common ground when they decided to sing unfavourable songs about their next opponents, Meath, forgetting it was the home place of their spiritual leader.

Hynd listened to a couple through gritted teeth but it all became too much for the guru when they sang to the air of that famous Orchard ditty, ‘There’s One Foul County in Ireland , the county of An Mhi .’ Harmless stuff indeed but Hynd’s passion for the Royals was much deeper than most knew. At 4am, having listened to three full verses of the above mockery, he exited the building and walked straight into the middle of Casement Park . There, he dropped to his knees, reached his arms to the Gods and uttered an unmerciful howl followed by a few words in Latin. Being a scholar of all languages, I was fully aware of what he was concocting. He put a curse on the county that they’d never win another Ulster title in his lifetime, or if they played any of their championship matches at Casement after that.

At the time I was sceptical of his powers such was the talent in Antrim’s panel. As it turned out, the Saffrons would only appear in one more Ulster Final in the 58 years until now. Last year, I read the sad news that Hynd had passed away in his native Meath at the age of 107. Antrim have yet to see Casement action in this year’s championship. The ingredients are there for the lifting of the curse. However, that night in Casement in 1951 contained one final detail. Hynd claimed that the Antrim curse could only finally be eradicated by hitting three goals in an Ulster final. I’ll be there this Sunday. The Saffrons know what they have to do or Hynd’s legacy will continue to drape its shadow over Casement Park . The Tyrone full back line stand between a half-century curse and Antrim lifting their 11^th title.