Joe Kernan, Eamonn Coleman and Jordan Morris all bring added flavour to another Gowna clash with Kingscourt

2023. 2025. Now 2026. These pair are getting rather familiar.

“It probably is 50/50. Kingscourt have improved even from last year and I think we’ve improved too, but they beat us well last year.”

So reckons Gowna’s Sean McGahern. A broken collarbone earlier in the year limited him to a sub’s role in 1988.

That was Gowna’s first ever Cavan title. Senior since, they’re on the hunt for a tenth on Sunday.

“I’m not being coy, it’s Gowna’s to lose. They’re on a revenge mission from last year. They’re the form team, they made the league final and they let it slip against Cuchulainns, but no doubt the championship has been their main prerogative all year.”

So reckons Jim McGovern. Last year his adopted Kingscourt were completely written off. His grandson, one Jordan Morris, struck nine points as Gowna were left stunned.

There’s three sides to every story. The truth will only be unveiled when the war of words and shadow boxing pales in insignificance.

On Sunday evening, every blow will have been traded. Complaints few. Begrudgers none.

66 years young, McGovern proclaims the last year has been the best of his life. The Mayo man and pioneer proclaimed in this paper last year that when the Green and Red took home Sam, he’d drink his very first drop.

A charity event was organised in M&Fs in Kingscourt town, five weeks after Jack Coyne climbed the Hogan Stand.

For years, he shipped slagging about the elusive first pint, defeat after defeat. He who laughs last laughs longest, for it was a Kerry man to serve him, but not what you might expect:

“There was a box for Kingscourt Cancer Fund. I said anyone that wanted to buy me a pint could put it in that box. We raised €1700 in the end for a bit of nonsense!

“I took a pint of Guinness 0.0 and asked the Kerryman to put a head on it. Johnny Walsh is his name. I made sure to tell him the game was replaying on the TVs!

“I looked at the pint for two hours. I held it half the night and I didn’t even like it. 66 is not a great time to start. My wife told me I wouldn’t enjoy it. She was right.

“Sean tried to hand me a half one and I said: ‘I’m not drinking it.’

“He says: ‘It’s 0.0 whiskey.’ I started to pour into the other. I could see people were looking, thinking: ‘What is he at altogether?’

“I’d say they thought I was twisted. I drove home after.”

In the other corner, Gowna’s McGahern is the father of Kevin, the presenter of the 2026 Irish News All-Star awards, also of The Traitors Ireland and Hardy Bucks fame.

Kevin’s brother Derek’s playing days are behind him, but he remains an avid volunteer for the club, having taken on PRO roles and more, following in his father’s footsteps, a former chairman.

Youngest son Ryan is 31 now. The semi-final win over Crosserlough was more comfortable than many expected. Cavan star Paddy Lynch was red carded, but the writing was on the wall at that stage.

Ryan was only subbed on in the last ten minutes, having battled injury in 2026. His father laughs as he says: “He used to be Paddy Lynch’s mentor.” ‘Mentor’ is taken with a pinch of salt.

Particularly so when he adds:

“I was never blessed with pace. My forté was ignorance. ‘Smiler’ (Eamon O’Reilly) is my wife’s brother and Ryan’s uncle. We used to kill each other in training.”

When prodded, he laughs again at the suggestion that the apple may not fall far from the tree, but the laugh is enough to safely assume.

While McGahern senior’s club career was dwindling out after the breakthrough in ‘88, Gowna’s hunger wasn’t for waning, though Kingscourt proved a bogey team:

“I was probably hanging on in the 90’s. We met Kingscourt in the semi-finals in 1991 and 1992, and the final in 1993. They beat us in all three.

“We won the double in ‘94, and we were sh*t hot favourites in ‘95. Baileborough beat us. That one kills me. We had a right good team, and we firmly believe we would have won an Ulster title that year.

“Baileborough should have won that final against Mullaghbawn.

“After that I went for chairman. We went on a hunt for a new manager. Eamonn Coleman’s name popped up and you might have well have said Mick O’Dwyer.

“He was living in Westmeath, coaching Longford, and we met him four times in Edgeworthstown.

“Each time you left, you felt you were getting further away. He was a hard man to read. The last time we took Dermot McCabe, Bernard Morris and a few more, and he agreed to come.

“We won ‘96, ‘97, we were caught in ‘98, won ‘99 and 2000. He left and came back and won it again in 2002. Eamonn went on to Cavan soon after.

“If we got him in ‘93, we’re convinced we would have at least one Ulster. In 2007, we took in Mick McCormack, and Eamonn had agreed to come in and help.

“The poor divil, he got sick and died.”

Following on his legacy, former Monaghan boss Vinny Corey is now the man at the helm. While Cavan-Monaghan remains a fiery rivalry, Gowna shares a parish with Longford’s Mullinalaghta.

The Clontibret man, a school principal by trade, likely wasn’t long teaching his new people a geography lesson:

“When Vinny came first two years ago, Scotstown were down in Gowna selling tickets. A gang of Gowna people bought them, assuming it was Vinny’s club!”

Colin Kelly remains at the helm of the Stars, meanwhile, who McGovern admits ‘got a right fright’ in their quarter-final against Cavan Gaels, going in 0-8 to 0-3 behind at the break, admitting they’ve been guilty of playing in ‘fits and starts’.

The return of Padraig Faulkner from New York and Morris from Boston undoubtedly steadied the ship, the latter wearing 30 for their opening win over Ramor, but was on after 16 minutes ‘still jetlagged’, according to his grandad.

If his native Mayo have taught him anything though, it’s that anything is possible, as life keeps on giving:

“I had a conversation with Jordan about how Jack O’Connor used Kerry’s defeat to Meath last year as a stick to beat them with. I think a lot of Mayo’s year centred around being 11 points down against Meath this year.

“I certainly didn’t see the All-Ireland coming, after all the years I did see it and was left devastated. We came out of Castlebar after the Roscommon game lifting our feet high, for fear we’d step on our hearts.

“It’s been the best year of my life by a country mile. Mayo are All-Ireland champions, and Kingscourt are county champions, until Sunday at the very least.

“It has the makings of a great game.”

And it’s the words of the great Joe Kernan that spring to mind for McGovern before the conversation draws to a close:

“Success is a whole lot of little things, but success is no little thing.”