Antrim Football Final: Curses, resilience and family - Cargin's story
It's almost hard to believe about a club fancied to land a sixth Antrim Football title in eight years on Sunday but Cargin used to be renowned for losing county Finals.
When they take to the field at Corrigan Park against a St Mary's Aghagallon who have never won the title, it will be the Erin's Own outfit's 21st Antrim Final in 35 years.
Looking back at those deciders since 1987, Cargin lost seven of their first eight finals before securing back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000 with victories over St Paul's - the second of which we will have to elaborate on later.
Geordie McGuckin, the former club secretary whose tenure included being the man delegated to eloquently explain the occasional playing field indiscretion to the prying press, has seen them all and a lot more.
After the Toome club won their first Antrim Championship in 1974, they didn't reach another county decider until the 1987 defeat by St John's and four further final reverses occurred before they got their hands on the 1995 title.
It hasn't quite gone down in legend like the infamous Mayo curse but there was a tale doing the rounds that somebody had put a spell on the Cargin team during the 21-year famine.
"People listened to silly old craic about somebody cursing Cargin," recalls Geordie. 
"Some guy, I can't remember who it was, said Cargin would 'win one silver [Antrim title] and one alone'."
And even after the Toome men broke their losing sequence by beating St John's in 1995, further final reverses followed in 1996 and 1998 against St Paul's and the Johnnies.
Irish News' match report from the 1996 finalexternal-link detailed a half-time scuffle involving "players, substitutes, officials and even a few spectators" as the west Belfast club edged a 1-11 to 0-13 win.
But that outbreak of hostilities was small beer compared to the infamous 2000 decider at Casement Park against St Paul's which ended in chaos as personnel from both clubs and spectators waded into each other out on the pitch for close to five minutes.
When the brawl broke out in the fifth minute of injury time, Cargin were 0-9 to 0-5 ahead and while they were initially declared winners, disciplinary chiefs stripped the Erin's Own outfit of the title, although that decision was overturned years later and the record books now document the Toome club as 2000 champions.
"I was having to go to the disciplinary board quite often," recalls McGuckin of that turbulent but successful period in Cargin's history.
With players and the clubs both receiving bans, the 2000 final and its aftermath did no favours to Antrim manager Brian White, whose side - replete with Cargin and St Paul's players - had earned the county's first win in an Ulster Championship match in 18 years four months earlier before taking Derry to a replay in the provincial semi-final.
"2000 caused a big rift with the Cargin players all walking away from the county. Brian White was hugely miffed about it all," says McGuckin.
A year later, St Gall's won the first of their remarkable sequence of 13 Antrim titles in 14 years which was only interrupted by Cargin's 2006 final win over Lamh Dhearg.
St Gall's period of dominance, which included landing the Ulster and All-Ireland titles in 2009-10, saw them overcoming Cargin in four Antrim finals before the Toome men had long-awaited revenge by beating the west Belfast club in the 2016 decider, which followed their 2015 triumph over Lamh Dhearg.
re was to be one final instalment in Cargin's rivalry with that great St Gall's team in an 2018 Antrim semi-final as Tomas McCann's last-kick 13th-metre free to the net saw the Toome men snatch a dramatic one-point victory in a moment that became a YouTube hit.
A few weeks later, neighbours Creggan were edged out in a dour and low-scoring final with further triumphs following against Lamh Dhearg, after a replay, and Creggan once more as the Erin's Own clinched their first Antrim three-in-a-row two years ago.
"Cargin is a resilient place and the club is all about the family and the family connection," adds McGuckin.
"If I was to name Sunday's team, they would nearly all have connections to previous Cargin teams down through the years."
majority of the club's players have their secondary education at gaelic football hotbeds St Patrick's Maghera, St Mary's Magherafelt or St Pius' Magherafelt, which McGuckin says has been a crucial factor in Cargin's success.
And the production line seems set to continue as four Cargin boys were part of Kevin Brady's St Mary's Magherafelt squad which won this year's MacRory Cup, with the Erin's Own manager Ronan Devlin able to see the quartet's progress at close quarters given his involvement in Brady's backroom team.
mas McCann was back to his last-ditch heroics in the semi-final a couple of weeks ago against last year's champions Creggan as his point secured a dramatic one-point win which prevented the game going to penalties.
After that game, McCann's first thought was for the family of club stalwart Paddy 'Punk' Devlin, who had passed away that week after a brave and long battle against illness.
Paddy's own son Brian Og is part of the Cargin squad but has been out of action this season because of a dislocated shoulder while his brothers Brian and JC are club stalwarts, with the latter the club's senior manager for a time.
As for Sunday's game at Corrigan Park, Pat Shivers' availability after having his semi-final red card overturned is a boost for Cargin but McGuckin is refusing to having any truck with suggestions that the Erin's Own are racing certainties to win the club's 11th Antrim title.
"I remember going in really hot favourites against Rossa in 1989. Some of the Rossa people made an absolute fortunate because Cargin were completely and utterly unbackable favourites and an old Rossa team beat them handily," recalls Geordie.
"There is no complacency about Cargin. We have had the scars of too many defeats," he insists.
WEEKEND CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES/RESULTS
Friday
Armagh SFC semi-final
Crossmaglen 3-15 Maghery 1-6 
Saturday
O'Neill Derry SFC semi-final
Newbridge v Glen, Owenbeg, 18:45
Mannock Fermanagh SFC semi-final
Derrygonnelly v Enniskillen Gaels, Tempo, 16:00
LCC Tyrone SFC quarter-finals
Clonoe v Donaghmore, Edendork, 13:00
Carrickmore v Loughmacrory, Pomeroy, 15:45
Sunday
Northern Switchgear Antrim SFC final
Cargin v Aghagallon, Corrigan Park, 15:00
Armagh SFC semi-final
Granemore v Killeavy, Athletics Grounds, 14:00
Michael Murphy Sports Donegal SFC final
St Eunan's OFF Naomh Conaill
Derry SFC semi-final
Lavey v Slaughtneil, Owenbeg, 18:45
Morgan Fuels Down SHC final
Ballycran v Portaferry, Pairc Esler, 16:00
Fermanagh SFC semi-final
Kinawley v Erne Gaels, Derrygonnelly, 16:00
rone SFC quarter-finals
Omagh St Enda's v Dromore, Loughmacrory, 13:00
Errigal Ciaran v Dungannon Clarkes, Carrickmore, 15:45