- Thanks For The Memories!!
My first memory of Casement Park was as a nine year old watching Antrim beat Dublin to win promotion to Division 1 of The National Hurling League for the first time in our history. I don’t remember much about the game but I do remember the singing and the atmosphere on the pitch after the match. If you take time to think back Antrim hurlers have had some sensational victories in Casement against many of hurling’s top counties over the years and top of the list has to be the win over the reigning All Ireland Champions Kilkenny in the first game of The National League in 1993. If my memory serves me correctly the only two teams who would be considered part of hurling’s aristocracy that I haven’t watched Antrim beat at Casement Park would be Tipperary and Cork and that tells its own story. Kilkenny, Clare, Limerick, Waterford, Wexford, Offaly and many others have all been slain over the past twenty five years. The Casement atmosphere during these games was phenomenal with the tin sheets at the rear of the stand proving an ideal make shift drum to accompany the chants of “ANTRIM…ANTRIM…ANTRIM.” I’m sure the younger hurlers, maybe even today’s minors, wouldn’t believe you if you told them that in the 1990’s Casement regularly hosted crowds of over 10,000 to watch Antrim V Down in Ulster Hurling Finals. Those of us who were there to see the likes of Paul Mc Killen, Gary O’ Kane, Paul Jennings, Sambo Mc Naughton and Jackie Carson do battle with Martin Bailie, Danny Hughes, Marty Mallon, Kevin Coulter and Noel Sands often wondered why more people didn’t come to watch the games.
As a club Ruairi Og will also have many fond memories of the old Casement Park, the three in a row of Antrim Championship wins in 1991-92-93 will live long in the memory. This was a period when Ruairi Og beat all comers and with final victories over St. John’s(1991) and Ballycastle(1992 &1993). Cushendall had well and truly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in Antrim and Ulster. Five more senior titles have been won since those heady days, 1996, 1999, 2005, 2006 and 2008 recorded in history as years when Ruairi Og were crowned champions of Antrim. There have been Ulster titles won at Casement as well with the likes of Ballygalget, Portaferry and Dungiven put to the sword.
However other titles have been won in Casement Park and just because they didn’t make the back pages or the six o’ clock news didn’t make them any less important or enjoyable for the players or Ruairi Og as a club. A fantastic performance in the minor final of 1993 brought the title home to Cushendall after a gap of thirty years. Ruairi Og entered that game as massive underdogs but a first half blitz of five goals, three from Aidan Mort and one each from Michael Kearney and John Woodhouse put the game beyond the reach of raging hot favourites Loughgiel. Further minor titles were added in 1997, 2005, 2006 and 2010 and importantly these minor teams provided many players who would go on to represent Ruairi Og with distinction at senior level. Michael Mc Cambridge, Declan Mc Killop and Kevin Elliott from the 1997 team backboned our seniors for over a decade and from 2005 and 2006 Neil Mc Manus, Paddy Mc Gill, Shane Mc Naughton, Aaron Graffin, Conor Carson and Marty Burke have all made the grade. The winning captain from 2010 Paddy Mc Naughton also features regularly for our seniors.
Various other underage titles have came our way below the old stand at Casement Park and the grand old arena has proven a happy place on many occasions for the Gaels of both Cushendall and Antrim. We look forward to the redevelopment and future successes at the new stadium but we will never forget the good times that were had on the grass verges and in the stand of the old Casement Park. Thanks for the memories!!!