‘He was a great man’ – Kieran McGeeney’s joy at Armagh win overshadowed by death of uncle

Kieran McGeeney’s joy at guiding Armagh to their first All-Ireland semi-final appearance since 2005 was overshadowed by the death of his uncle Peter Kelly on Friday night.

“He was a great man, a great character. He would have been roaring and shouting at the TV,” said an emotional McGeeney.

A minute’s silence was observed before the Armagh v Roscommon quarter final in memory of the Mullaghbawn native.

“Mum and dad didn’t tell me last night. It was only this morning there – it was tragic circumstances. Peter was a good man – his son would be one of my best mates.

“So this morning was a bit rough to be honest. They were supposed to have a surprise party for his sister tonight.

“There were four brothers on my mum’s side – they all played. Raymond would have played for Armagh. Peter and Pat would have hit you harder than the other two but they always followed us over the years, especially myself. We’d great support from all the Kelly household. A close family. It’s a tough day,” he said.

While delighted with the result having lost the previous two All-Ireland quarterfinals via penalty shoot outs McGeeney did suggest his team didn’t play well.

“It was probably our worst performance in Croke Park, but I suppose from the fellas’ point of view it probably shows how far they’ve come on and the way they can play. We’ve played much better; our skills were poor. Going forward we missed a lot of chances.

“With the extra man we could have made it a lot easier. In saying that, Barry McCambridge, TJ Kelly, Oisin Conaty – a lot of good ones in that regard. I’m delighted for the fellas; they’ve got the monkey off their back and hopefully they’ll go out the next day and really express themselves.

“We were just giving the ball away a bit easily when we didn’t have to. The emotions are a wee bit raw at the minute. It has been a tough 24 hours,” he said.

McGeeney acknowledged how important it was for his side to finally win a quarter-final at HQ.

“It’s just wanting to be there. It’s hard for the fellas; no matter what they do, they struggle to get the credit. I think we had five [All-Ireland semi-final appearances] in 130 years – so it’s a big step for this team.

“It’s an indication that they can step up to that. Even in the other years we were beaten on penalties, but we definitely showed we could live with [other top teams] in terms of football. It is a big step, there is no doubt about that. It’s relief there and you’re hoping they can express themselves a wee bit more.

“It’s hard out there. Roscommon went down a man but defensively that doesn’t really cause any problems, it’s offensively and because they have three or four really good scorers it probably helped us. A lot of good and bad today.”

Regardless of who Armagh are pitted against in tomorrow’s draw – they cannot face Donegal if Jim McGuinness’ side account for Louth – McGeeney said they will be underdogs.

“As we have pointed out before we might think above our station at times, but this is a good team. They have shown that over the last number of years. We are not saying they are the best team out there at the moment, but they are definitely a good team.

“As I said we have some class footballers and hope we will see them out there on a good day and really go at it,” said McGeeney who previously managed Kildare in an All-Ireland semi-final in 2010.

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