From Dublin to the wilds of north Meath unscathed

Back in 1959 the great Irish Times GAA journalist Paddy Downey reported that Dessie 'Snitchy' Ferguson was about to leave the capital. Even more sensational, he was leaving Dublin to take up a teaching post in Oldcastle. In an extensive piece Downey wrote that this was a “bombshell†that hit Dublin football and hurling with all the force of an exocet missile. The shock news left those involved with Gaelic games in the captial wondering if they had lost one of their most gifted sons to the wilds of north Meath. What would be the fall-out for the game in Dublin? Could it be true that one of the most talented footballers and hurlers in the country was about to swap the light blue of his native county for the green and gold of their great rivals? It was and it wasn't - true. While Ferguson did indeed make the change from Dublin to Oldcastle before finally settling in Kells, he continued to play for St Vincent's and Dublin for a time. When Dublin won the 1963 All-Ireland with Ferguson on the team he was already very familiar with the highways and by-ways of the Royal County. He did go on to finish out his playing career with Gaeil Colmcille although by then his best days as a footballer were behind him. Downey's piece was among the many other reports that festooned the walls of the Kells GAA centre on Saturday night. As part of Ferguson's tribute event the organisers had gone to the trouble of exhibiting various journalistic pieces about the man who won two All-Ireland SFC medals in the sky blue. There was plenty to read for those who took time out to have a look at how he performed in the 1958 and the 1963 All-Ireland SFC finals or the 1961 SHC decider which Dublin lost to Tipperary. Or, for that matter, any of the numerous other big games he took part in. There were the usual encounters with Meath in Leinster championship games or NFL ties. The man who did more than most to ensure Ferguson picked up his second Celtic Cross in '63 was also in attendance on Saturday night. Kevin Heffernan had, even by the early 1960s, done much to transform the fortunes of Dublin football. He helped introduce a new style of play based on speed and motion rather than the more traditional catch and kick. In 1955 - under Heffernan's guidance – Dublin used their new style to win the All-Ireland, shocking the GAA world in the process. By '63 Heffernan was a selector. While Ferguson had retired by then Heffernan felt he had more to give. Heffo travelled to Kells to ask Ferguson to return. Legend – fuelled by a story in Tom Humphries' book 'Dublin v Kerry: The Story of the Rivalry That Changed Irish Sport' – has it that Ferguson was asked to come back. Twenty four hours later he played against Kildare in the Leinster final. On Saturday night Heffernan was adamant that the game was against Laois and it was considerably longer than the day beforehand. “I asked him would he come back. There was no messing about it, he said 'Okay, I'll play.' Dessie was a great ball player, he had great hands and was very quick. As a forward he had the skill and the experience to bring young players into the game,†Heffernan told the Meath Chronicle on Saturday night. While the 300 guests at the GAA Centre sat down to dinner they could watch a video clip (put together by Frank Kerr) of big games that Ferguson took part in including that 1963 final victory. There were a number of Dublin personalities also in attendance including Jimmy Gray who encouraged Heffernan to take over the Dublin team in the early 1970s. Heffo duly transformed them from no-hopers to All-Ireland champions in 1974. All Dessie Ferguson's sons played Gaelic games, but it was Terry who made the biggest impact winning All-Ireland SFC medals in 1987 and '88 as well as an All Star award. In another county Terry could also have made a big name for himself in hurling, the game his father preferred the most. “The GAA was something I grew up with, he never made any particular rule that we had to play hurling or football, it was just something that we took up,†recalled Terry. “There was always hurling sticks, sliotars and footballs around the garden at home, but mostly hurling, we were a hurling family even more than football. My preferred game would have been hurling.†There was a tragic touch to the Ferguson family story when one of the family, Ronan, passed away. “That's 40 years ago now and they say that Ronan was more talented that any of the rest of us, he was a very gifted player,†added Terry. Because of his involvement with Sean Boylan's team Terry Ferguson had to make a choice and he opted for football. One of Dessie Ferguson's former team mates present on Saturday night was Norman Allen who was on the great Dublin teams of the 1950s. He described Dessie Ferguson as “a great talent.†There was no-one around the Kells GAA Centre on Saturday night who was disagreeing.