The Seanie Johnston story begins on November 13th, 2011. The Cavan sharpshooter has just received a phone call from the Cavan manager at the time, Val Andrews. Axed. As sudden as that, Johnston’s time with Cavan was brought to an abrupt close due to Andrews’ desire to breed youth into the team. Much to the bewilderment of a 25 year old Johnston, entering his prime years to spearhead the Cavan attack. A whirlwind few months were to follow for the Cavan native.
The Culture Background
The GAA has a longstanding tradition of a ‘brothers in arms’ attitude. You play for the local club, the area you grew up in and the club you played for since underage levels. If you’re lucky, the inter-county scene is similar, with far more intensity and commitment. It is the ultimate sacrifice in hope of the ultimate reward; leading your county to glory.
Is this where the disgruntlement and disdain stemmed from? The fact that the Cavan Gaels man went against the grain, a grain that few have chosen to challenge. The fact he chose to further his intercounty career with Kildare, initiated a sense of anger in many, unaware of the facts behind the story.
The Choice
Johnston was a graduate of DCU, where he worked with coach Julie Davis, coincidentally Julie worked with the Cavan footballers for a period of time before a prolonged stint with the Kildare senior footballers. This is where Johnston’s link to Kildare began. The idea had been floated to him about joining the Kildare footballers, once he was cut from the Cavan panel.
Cavan born and bred and a previous captain of his beloved county, Johnston spoke to the BBC’s GAA Social podcast in 2023:
““It was all I ever wanted to do was play for Cavan. I had put so much time and effort into it and I had got to a stage where I felt I was a pretty good player and I was captain of the team at the time and I was hurt, I was badly hurt”
The move to Kildare was as whirlwind as the media coverage surrounding the football’s most high-profile transfer. As the former Breffni captain said, the move “spiralled”. The indecisiveness was evident. Aware that this decision will live with him for life, the move to the Lilywhite’s, he sought the advice of his club companions. The eight fellow club men of Cavan Gaels backed the move for their fellow teammate, reiterating the aforementioned ‘Brothers in Arms’.
The Move
Kieran McGeeney was at the helm in Kildare at the time, a legend of the game and an All-Ireland winner with Armagh in 2002 and the same again as a manager, 22 years later. Geezer was more than aware of the scale of the move. Johnston spoke of McGeeney with fondness
“He did a lot for me, he helped me out when he knew I was struggling”
“If I was to pick a manager that does more for his players outside of football, I’d say you’d get it hard to get someone better than him.”
The initial transfer request was rejected by the Central Appeals Committee, before a new request was submitted and eventually accepted. In order for the now Kildare man to line out for his new county, he was required to play in a Kildare club championship game. Absurdly, he made a cameo appearance in the hurling championship for Coill Dubh.
Contrary to rumours, Johnston received no financial benefit from his move to Conleth’s Park. After seeking residence in Straffan, Johnston was renting a room there, travelling to Cavan for work and travelling home five or six nights a week for training. At this stage, he was invested in the Kildare senior football team.
July 15th 2023, Kingspan Breffni Park
Almost nine months today after getting the chop from the Cavan panel, Johnston was back in Kingspan Breffni Park, donning the white of Kildare, as luck would have it, against his beloved Cavan.
The All-Ireland qualifiers had drawn the two sides to face each other as 15,000 fans packed into the stadium to witness the Cavan man turned Kildare man feature. Johnston’s parents left the country the week of the game to avoid the media frenzy, camera crews following home from work, arriving at his parents house and even setting up in the middle of the golf course in the hope of getting a glimpse of the 25-year-old in the media’s eye.
As the clock ticked towards the 60th minute, Johnston made his Kildare debut as boos echoed from the home crowd, only to be countered by a thunderous cheer from the large visiting supporters.
The game was well and truly over by the time of his introduction, with the forward splitting the posts to kick a point from a dead ball as Kildare trounced Cavan on a scoreline of 3-20 to 1-9.
The Return
Johnston’s heart and passion for his county lived on throughout his two years in Kildare. A true Cavan patriot, he admitted it was the wrong move.
“I think the most important point for me to say, and it’s probably something I haven’t been forthcoming enough with, is to say that looking back now, I was wrong in a lot of things I did and it’s probably taken until, well, it’s taken me until nearly 2023 to admit it.”
He returned to his true colours in 2016, a league game vs Meath where he kicked six points for his home county. His county career continued for three years before concluding in 2019. Make no mistake, akin to his club name, Johnston is a true Cavan Gael. A man devoted to his county, he was later involved in the Cavan management set-up in 2021, before continuing his coaching career with Monaghan side, Ballybay
The GAA Pulse 
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