Kieran McGurk

[Orior]

Great moustache, great player.

RIP.

[RealSpiritof98]

RIP, great player,

also Joe Houlihan father of Gerard has passed also this week RIP

[Radda bout yeee]

A Great Man! Legend in our part of the world!!!
He played for Kildress at youth level and for a year at senior whilst still in his late teens early 20's I believe. He then came back to the Tones in the twilight of his career as he always said he would and became player/manager then continued as a player under Tony Scullion for few years! Unbelievable player even at that stage of his career (I remember a hat trick he scored in Aghyaran of all places) - glad to have seen him play.
Our senior team of the last 10-15 years owe him alot as he came in and helped a very good young team make the step up to become an established senior team for a number of years!

THE MAN IS A LEGEND!

VERY VERY SAD!

RIP General!

Well said Radda... RIP General..was a pleasure to have played for and with you....An absolute gentleman

Sad Handling New Devil! Proud to call him a Kildress man!

[HiMucker]

His brother James and his family are members of our club, very sad news.  My thoughts are with his family.

[Ulick]

His point at 2.55:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cDjq6dLqIk&

[bennydorano]

RIP

Always made it onto my 'best ever' Armagh teams.  Best penalty taker I have ever seen in my life, I dont believe I ever saw him miss one?

[balladmaker]

Very sad news, deepest sympathies to the McGurk family, friends and all who knew Kieran.

As was said, the best penalty taker I've ever seen, I'm sure he must have missed at sometime, but I never seen it.  Everyone was always waiting to witness the first Kieran McGurk penalty miss, it was a talking point at each penalty he stepped up to, but he delivered time and time again.

He played a powerful, fast brand of football, and was one of the standout players of his era.  I seen him not so long ago and remarked that he looked as if he could still play.  Very sad to hear this news today.

May he rest in peace.

[Radda bout yeee]

He missed one from what i'm told and apparently that day he hit the post!

[new devil]

Yes that's true Radda think it was against cookstown in the Jim devlin cup

[Newbridge Exile]

RIP Kieran, without a doubt one of the finest footballers to come out of Armagh, one of my abiding memories of him was the Ulster Club semi of 1990 when lavey edged Sarsfields out in an Ulster semi at Ballinascreen , he was a true leader on the pitch.

[regal]

An exceptional footballer who was always a joy to watch. Played midfield for Armagh in the 1987 Ulster final and full forward in the 1990 Ulster final. He would have been a crucial player in any county team and was one of my all time favourite players. His performances for sarsfields always seemed heroic.

[RealSpiritof98]

Very sad news, deepest sympathies to the McGurk family, friends and all who knew Kieran.

As was said, the best penalty taker I've ever seen, I'm sure he must have missed at sometime, but I never seen it.  Everyone was always waiting to witness the first Kieran McGurk penalty miss, it was a talking point at each penalty he stepped up to, but he delivered time and time again.

He played a powerful, fast brand of football, and was one of the standout players of his era.  I seen him not so long ago and remarked that he looked as if he could still play.  Very sad to hear this news today.

May he rest in peace.

Did he not miss one in the national league final v Meath in '94, I was only 11 so it is vague in the memory.

[Carbery]

KIERAN McGURK
My good friend on the journey

By Brendan Tierney

Time seemed to stand still on Monday afternoon all around Armagh and Ulster as people became aware of the tragic and premature death of former Armagh footballer Kieran McGurk.
Former clubmate and Armagh manager Brian McAlinden summed the man up perfectly yesterday when he described him as "a colossal person and player".
Kieran's impact on everyone associated with Armagh, both at club and county level, was immeasurable.
I wouldn't pretend to know him any better than anyone else, but in the six or seven years I played with him, and in the time since his retirement, I have never heard anyone utter a negative or cynical comment about this popular and amiable character which, in today's society, is quite remarkable.
In my first training session with Armagh seniors, on a cold night in Ballymacnab in 1989, I remember changing in silence and, being just a raw 19-year-old, I was somewhat in awe of all the household names around me.
As was the case in those days, the first 10-to-15 minutes of every training session was taken up by the dreaded four-lap warm-up. I nestled quite easily at the back of the pack, which incidentally was the position I was to assume for most of my Armagh training sessions, I remember feeling out of place and isolated as the players, who all knew each other, chatted and joked freely.
Then I saw one break away from the group and join me at the back. He was instantly recognisable to me with his perfectly groomed moustache and mullet.
It was Kieran McGurk.
"Well young Tierney, don't be too embarrassed when I stick a few past you tonight," he said.
I watched him take it upon himself to welcome and babysit every new recruit or rookie on their first night of county duty for years to come in his unobtrusive and casual manner.
I christened him 'The Grinder', which was the nickname of Cliff Thorburn – a snooker star of that era – because he resemembled him so much and because he could control a ball with his sublime left foot as well as the Canadian world champion could do with a snooker cue.
Away trips to Kerry and Cork in those days were so much craic and fun and Kieran played his part in the socialising department with aplomb – he loved that aspect of being a county player as well which is frowned upon nowadays.
It was my ambition on those away trips to be accepted into the revered but dangerous, poker school with players (crooks), which always took place in either McGurk's room or Marty Toye's and consisted of Jim McConville, Martin McQuillan and Houli (Ger Houlihan), all men who knew how to bluff in more ways than one.
I was always reticent about playing poker with these men because, quite simply, I was a student and precious little dough.
However I was accepted unanimously along with the 20 punts which was also supposed to last me the whole weekend.
I think it took nearly three minutes before I was out of the game, bereft of my money which Jim McConville had pocketed, laughing a bit too heartily for my liking as he bade me farewell in my maiden, and all too brief, poker venture.
I went off to my room cursing my ill fortune and bad investment and was asleep long before Kieran, who I was rooming with, left the smoke-filled gambling den.
When I woke up the next morning I got dressed and started to prepare myself for the daunting task of playing in goal against Cork.
I was still smarting from my financial debacle the night before when I reached into my pocket and found two 10 punt notes.
Bemused, I asked Kieran if he knew anything about it and he just smiled and said he didn't know how they got there.
I knew where they had come from, as did he, but he wanted neither thanks or publicity – that was the measure of the man.
Don't get me wrong, he was no angel and he and Martin McQuillan formed an unholy alliance between north and south Armagh in practical joking and prank department.
I was the intended target on some of them, and others I aided and abetted.
One of the most memorable was when he and McQuillan replaced Jarlath Burns' hair gel with a new freeze gel which was supposed to be used for treating injuries.
The gel worked by first cooling down the injury only to gradually heat up to quite a level to help treat the required area.
Jarlath, who at that time was quite fond of other people's toiletries, took three liberal scoops and styled his considerable mane, only to have us rolling about the floor for the next 20 minutes as his scalp received third degree burns.
As a footballer, Kieran was an exceptional talent, not blessed with pace but an abundance of natural ability. He was also probably the best penalty taker I ever faced. He used to tell me it was his natural body swerve that confused goalkeepers but, to this day, I think he was only trying to confuse me more by saying that.
He was a physical, but fair, player. And while I wouldn't label him a hard man, you always felt a lot safer and more protected when he was in the vicinity.
He gave a lifetime's dedication to Armagh in an era when success did not come as frequently as it has in the last decade and was a huge influence in terms of his skill, leadership and positivity.
Three years after Kieran retired, Armagh won their first Ulster title in 17 years and he appeared in the changing rooms, more excited than any player that day, with two Clones stewards hanging off him.
They failed miserably and I suppose therein lay the humility of the man – even though he was no longer part of the set-up his unwavering loyalty and unbridled joy, when many could not even have faced going to the game in his situation, was obvious.
When us 'oul has-beens who represented the Orchard county meet and look back on days gone by we reminisce about player who were not as lucky as us and did not bet out of football what they put in.
Three names are consistently mentioned: Neil Smyth, Martin McQuillan and Kieran McGurk.
Liam Sheedy spoke recently at The Irish News Ulster Allstars. He said that, for a lot of county players, their careers are about the destination and not the journey.
Well, for me, looking back it was all about the journey and that journey was made all the better and more enjoyable for meeting Kieran McGurk, an absolute gentleman who influenced all who knew him.
To his wife Geraldine, daughter Ciara, son Ryan and extended family, and to the Highmoss Sarsfield's GAA club, I offer my sincerest condolences on the heartbreaking loss of Kieran who, as a footballer, gained huge recognition but, as a person, contributed so much more.
Ar dheis De go raibh a anam.

The Irish News
Wednesday September 28 2011 


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[junior9]

well written

RIP Kieran

[Rufus T Firefly]

I would hazard a guess that one of Kieran's best ever days coincided with one of my worst - the 1990 County Final, when Kieran captained Sarsfields to victory over ourselves. Despite that disappointment for me, my memories of Kieran McGurk would be as a hard, skillful and committed footballer with a cultured left foot. Kieran was a member of that Armagh team of the early nineties that promised so much but inevitably fell just short on a number of occasions. The six game odyssey of the 1993 Ulster Championship and the 1994 run to the National League Final (see photo below) are two years that come to mind. That Armagh team was sprinkled with great players who could have adorned our great team of a decade later. Kieran was one of those great players, and his Railway Cup medal is surely evidence of that. Despite the disappointments back then, that era holds wonderful memories for Armagh supporters who witnessed those occasions, and that is down to the efforts of people like Kieran.

Kieran's passing at a tragically early age must be a devastating blow to his family, friends and clubmates at Derrytrasna Sarsfields. My deepest sympathies to them all. His memory though will live on beyond his friends and family, amongst the thousands of Armagh supporters who followed him in the orange and white.

May Kieran Rest In Peace.