YOU CAN ONLY BE THE FIRST ONCE

Boss salutes Madden's resilence to bounce back from dark days to seal their maiden county championship

- BY PADDY TIERNEY

AS a player and as a manager, Mark Harte has experienced the joys of winning a senior county title with his native Errigal Ciaran.

On Sunday, he guided Madden to their first ever Armagh SFC title at the expense of Cullyhanna alongside his clubmate Adrian O'Donnell.

The duo have managed Madden for the last two seasons, during which time the club have suffered unimaginable loss with the tragic deaths of Patrick and Ciera Grimley and their friend Ciara McElvanna following a car crash near Markethill.

Ciara’s husband, former Armagh player Kevin McElvanna, is part of Madden's backroom team while Patrick is the brother of current Armagh star Niall.

While the Grimley and McElvanna families were uppermost in the minds of everyone at the Box-It Athletic Grounds on Sunday evening, Harte paid tribute, not just to the heroic players who defeated St Pat's by 11 points, but to the entire community of Madden.