As they prepare to embark on an Ulster Club Championship campaign, Glenariffe captain Conor Patterson opens up on how the team have dealt with the tragic passing of Antrim minor star Eunan Harvey
The grief is still palpable in the tight-knit community of Glenariffe. Just two months have passed since they laid young Eunan Harvey to rest.
A talented dual star, he played hurling for Oisin’s and football for Con Magee’s, Glenravel and was on the Antrim minor hurling squad this year.
His untimely passing in August, aged only 17, shook the north Antrim club to its core.
As is often the case, people found solace in sport. And deep in the heart of the Glens of Antrim, there’s only one sport worth mentioning.
Somehow through their heartache, the hurlers of Glenariffe secured their return to the senior ranks by winning the Intermediate title, courtesy of an impressive 2-18 to 0-10 win over Randalstown in the decider.
Speaking at Monday night’s launch of the Ulster Club Hurling Championships, captain Conor Patterson says they carried Eunan’s memory with them through the campaign.
“We tend to not shy away from it at all really to be honest. It’s very much in the air at all times,” said Patterson.
“We have numerous photos up of him and we have flags that has his name on it and things like that that we keep around all the time.
“There’s a photo that will stay permanently in our changing room for him. It’s just crazy times. One minute he’s there, the next minute he wasn’t.
“We trained on Sunday morning and we took the cup out to his graveside on Sunday. His minor manager, Mickey Gettens, basically said to us, ‘you have won the Antrim Championship for Eunan, go and win the rest of it now for yourselves’ – that’s the plan now and we’ll have Eunan in our minds at all times.”
The Antrim champions, who won Ulster back in 2005, begin their provincial campaign against Down champions Liatroim, themselves Ulster winners as recently as 2022, on Saturday afternoon at Loughgiel (throw-in 1.30pm).
Indeed, the Ulster Intermediate Hurling Championship is as competitive as ever with previous winners Middletown (2011 and 2017) and Lisbellaw (2012) as well as last season’s beaten Ulster finalists Swatragh all back for another crack at provincial glory.
Patterson knows the Antrim champions were always rated as the team to beat at the grade, but says they cannot take anything for granted against a Liatrom side with experience of playing in the Down Senior Championship in recent seasons.
“We played them (Liatroim) last year in a friendly and I think we just pipped them by a point or two,” said Patterson.
“I’ve played against a lot of their players at Mageean Cup level too for Cross and Passion when they had the An Dun team in the competition.
“Liatroim are a great side, there’s no doubt about it. They’ll definitely get the respect they deserve off of us. We’ve been preparing accordingly.
“We probably thought we had missed out slightly last year and then we actually went back to training a bit earlier. In November time of last year, because we just felt if we got the jump early on it might have made a difference in the finishing end of the season.”
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