Killeeshil dedicate league triumph to Enda Hamill

By Niall Gartland

KILLEESHIL veteran Packie McMullan says that their Division Three triumph is dedicated to the memory of their former teammate Enda Hamill, who passed away last October following a battle with cancer.

Hamill was only 29 years old and was diagnosed after working his way back into the senior panel on his return from time spent in Australia.

McMullan says that Enda has been on the forefront of everyone’s minds as they came through a busy run of fixtures in the last week, culminating in their richly deserved league final victory over Cookstown on Sunday.

“Enda was out playing with us last year, he was one of our teammates and he died right after the championship,” said McMullan.

“It’s been a big motivation for us – we spoke about it before the game on Sunday.

“That one was for him and hopefully it helps to honour his memory.”

Footballing matters pale into significance in comparison with such tragedies, but promotion into Division Two is still a big deal for Killeeshil.

McMullan, who is now 35, captained the side when they won the Junior Championship eight years ago, but they’d been mired in Division Three since 2015.

The way things have worked out, they’ll be playing their first Division Two game before the month’s end, and McMullan hopes their recent league wins over Kildress, Drumagh and Cookstown serves as the ideal preparation for the road ahead.

“I think we’ll be an advantage as we’ve had three good games there. Depending on the fixtures, hopefully we can gather up a few early points because the season’s always easier when you get off to a good start rather than being at the bottom looking for points.”

See today’s Ulster Herald for the rest of our interview with Packie McMullan