Naomh Conaill players, from left, Anthony Thompson, Odhran Doherty, Eoin Waide and Ciaran Thompson celebrate after the Donegal County Senior Club Football Championship final between Gaoth Dobhair and Naomh Conaill at MacCumhaill Park in Ballybofey, Donegal. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
By John Harrington
When Naomh Conaill defeated Cavan champions Gowna in the Ulster SFC quarter-final two weeks ago by scoring a goal with the last kick of the game, you could hardly say it was surprise.
That’s just the sort of thing Naomh Conaill do. There are few better at finding a way to win a hard-fought match no matter what the circumstances than the Donegal club.
They’ve broken the hearts of many other clubs in their own county on the way to winning four of the last five championships by displaying such unflagging character in the face of adversity.
“Yeah, they're dogged,” says team manager, Martin Regan. “They never know when they're beat. They'll do whatever it takes to try and get over the line and they'll battle hard. They're a battle-hardened bunch, in fairness, they're on the go a long time.
“Some of the older boys have been around since '03/04, that's when some of them would have started off, so they're very experienced and their in-game management is very good too.
“If something needs changing on the field they're very good to spot it and that helps to get results in that they can change games within games.
“It's a good trait to have and it comes from experience. They're a very competitive group, they don't like losing. It all adds up and is a recipe for success.”
Veterans like Anthony Thompson, Marty Boyle, Eoin Waide, Brendan McDyer, and Leo McLoone have given huge service to the club and remain key figures in the panel.
Not just for what they can still do on the pitch, but for the example they set for the younger players off it.
“Even in terms of training, the older boys bring so much to it whenever they speak and the young lads look up to them because of what they've achieved,” says Regan.
“We're four All-Ireland winners in that squad and there's a huge respect from the younger lads coming through for them.
“Our older players would have coached a lot of them too, they'd all be involved with underage teams as well. So they'd have a good rapport with the younger lads coming through and that's huge, the respect the young lads have for them older lads. They take on board everything they say at training as well.
“So it's not just the in-game experience they bring, in training and in terms of preparation for games it's huge for us as a management team that we have boys with county experience we can lean on as well. It's a great environment to be involved in.”
The Naomh Conaill team celebrate with the cup after the Donegal County Senior Club Football Championship final between Gaoth Dobhair and Naomh Conaill at MacCumhaill Park in Ballybofey, Donegal. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile.
It takes a significant effort to be part of a senior club panel that challenges for county championships, so it’s rare that such players would also put a big effort into coaching underage teams in the club.
That’s always been the culture in Naomh Conaill for as long as Martin Regan can remember though, and it probably has a lot to do with why they play the game with such a unified spirit.
“Yeah it has been going back years, even before we were successful. You had the likes of Jim McGuinness, Johnny McLoone, and Paddy Campbell and boys like that who would have been brilliant with their time with underage teams.
“I remember when we were coming up through the underage Johnny McLoone would have been a county footballer and was one of our main senior players and he was helping us out when we were 15/16 year olds.
“That was huge and I suppose that culture just developed. Then when we got to senior we would have always helped out with underage teams, and it's brilliant.
“Even last Sunday we trained for two hours and when the session finished Eoin Waide went from our training to help out with the U-21 training. It's a huge commitment because he has three young children at home.
“The commitment and time it takes is massive, but the young lads appreciate it definitely. It makes a big difference when they step to senior because they see the commitment those boys have given down the years.”
Regan himself has continued to give a serious commitment to the cause since he hung up his own boots.
Naomh Conaill manager, Martin Regan.
This is his ninth year in charge of the team and in that time he’s led them to five Donegal titles and reached the final in three of the other four years.
“Management only suits certain jobs and I'm lucky that I'm a teacher and I have the summer off and even during the school year you're finished at 4 o'clock and I'm living and teaching in Glenties,” he says.
“I’m lucky my family are understanding too, they know what football means. And all my friends are down there playing as well, so it's a good way to stay connected with them also.
We're all in this together and you don't want to be the one to step away from it. We are a very tight bunch. Marty Boyle was best man at my wedding.
“Where you meet your friends now is down at the pitch, you don't go to the pub to meet them, and we enjoy our time together. It's not just the players who get on well together, but players and management too, we are all very close and we enjoy our hours together in the evenings. It's a social thing as well.
“We obviously take our football seriously but it's a social outlet as well for us and you don't want to give that up.”
They’ll go into Saturday’s AIB Ulster Club SFC semi-final against reigning champions Glen as underdogs, but being the sort of competitive animals they are, this battle-hardened Naomh Conaill team will relish the challenge.
“There's not much else to be said about Glen other than that they're brilliant,” says Regan. “They're one of the top teams in the country and we saw that last year.
“I suppose last year we lost to Cargin and the big thing coming out of that game was that we would have loved the opportunity to test ourselves against Glen to really see where we are as a team.
“We're under absolutely no illusions as to what we're facing this weekend, it's going to be a huge challenge. Obviously Glen are going in as huge favourites, but it's a chance for us.
“If we come up short we come up short, but we want to know where we're at against the top teams in the country and this is the perfect opportunity to find that out.
“There's no pressure on us because of who we're playing, so it's a perfect opportunity for us.
“We've prepared really well since we got over Gowna and we've no injuries. We've put ourselves in a position where we can give this a right rattle and see where it takes. If we come up short we come up short but we'll give it our best shot definitely.”
