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| Peter McGrath with the Down Senior Team before the Ulster Final 1974 |
"Success of 60s were my
inspiration and sustenance" - Peter McGrath
THE SUCCESS of the Down teams of the 60s provided the inspiration for senior county manager, Peter McGrath.
"Those three All-lreland victories were undoubtedly major influential forces on any young boy growing up in that period, who had any ambitions to play Gaelic football at any level.
"And so it was for me. I was only seven when the initial breakthrough was made in 1960, so the impact of that first All-Ireland triumph on me was marginal.
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| Down Team manager with the Sam Maguire. |
"But when the third title was captured in 1968, I was playing under-age football for my club, Rostrevor, as well as for my school, St Colman's, with the result that I could understand more clearly the enormity of what had been achieved. The fact that I had a brother, Hilary, on the 1968 panel also gave me a personal connection, of which I was very proud."
Peter McGrath recalled how many of the players on the 1960/61 teams had assumed a God-like image, "especially the four survivors from that squad, - Joe Lennon, Paddy Doherty, Sean O'Neill and Dan McCartan. As a 15-year-old with nothing in his head but football, I had no need to look very far for heroes or role models to emulate.
"It was most definitely during this period that my enthusiasm and love for Down football took off in a big way. It is something which I have retained and, indeed, It has been a source of sustenance to me as manager of the Down team when things perhaps get a little rocky.
The 60s for Down football were a golden era, a time of adventure, excitement and achievement. I look forward to re-living and experiencing again the momentous and memorable events of that decade through the pictorial and written record which this book presents," said the county senior team manager.
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