The possibility that checkpoints might return to the world of those living in Crossmaglen as a result of Brexit comes up. It had to considering the village is located just a few miles from the border.
"Cross had its troubles in the past but it's becoming more vibrant," says Oisin O'Neill, speaking at the launch of the AIB Club Championships.
"There's more shops opening up, most restaurants, more coffee shops.
"We don't want to go back to the days that we would have had in the past. We feel like we've moved on.
"Even in our team, a lot of the fellas would work in Dublin. We wouldn't want to see anything change that would affect daily life."
That is a life obsessed with football. On Sunday, O'Neill scored 1-5 and his brother Rian two points as Crossmaglen won their 45th Armagh senior title, coming back from five points down with 20 minutes play against Ballymacnab as they eventually by nine.
The Crossmaglen club is one populated by legends. In next month's Ulster quarter-final against Clontibret, they will come up against one of their own. The Monaghan champions are managed by John McEntee. For O'Neill, it will be strange. McEntee was his first senior manager along with his uncle, 2002 All-Ireland winner Oisin McConville.
"There's no rugby, soccer, we don't have a swimming pool, we don't have anything else," says O'Neill of Crossmaglen.
"If you are going to play sport, you're going to play Gaelic football and you're to be down the football field.
"It's probably something that works to our advantage in a way, that we don't have the distraction of other sports.
"That bears fruit. Our underage structure is good. We have good organisation there. A lot of people do a lot of good work and that would help us.
"Even on Sunday, after the match on the pitch and then when we back to the club, the amount of kids there, it was great to see.
"It's not too long ago, fo a lot of us, we were those kids running around looking for Oisin, John [McEntee] or Aaron [Kernan] to sign our jersey."
Crossmaglen Rangers and Armagh senior footballer Oisin O'Neill poses for a portrait at the launch of the AIB Camogie and Club Championships. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
O'Neill finds himself in a better spot following this year's Armagh championship than he did in 2018. In last year's semi-final against Cullyhanna, he ruptured three ligaments in his ankle.
He played on for a further six weeks as Crossmaglen exited the Ulster championship at the semi-final stage to Gaoth Dobhair. That decision to play through the pain ultimately disrupted his chances with Armagh. He watched on as Rian had a season to remember, one which saw him nominated for the Young Player of the Year award.
"I needed an operation, I just couldn't keep going anymore. I got that at the start of January. I probably missed 15 weeks after surgery.
"I was sort of only getting back to full fitness as Armagh were in the championship and I probably hadn't the same work done that the rest of the lads had to be able to feature for Armagh.
"It was a frustrating season but I could fully understand why Kieran (McGeeney), Jim (McCorry) and the rest of the Armagh management team didn't probably trust me enough to put me in.
"I probably didn't have the same work done that the boys had but hopefully now I'm in a better place for the 2020 season."
Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile
