To win just once - the clubs chasing rare provincial glory this weekend

Declan Bogue

THIS WEEK, STEPHEN Carty and his family finally got away on their much-delayed summer holiday.

Still wanting to feel a hot sun on their skin, they went to Marrakesh. After all, they didn’t foresee that things would be too hectic at the very end of November.

And then Coolera/Strandhill just kept winning and winning and winning. After winning the Sligo men’s senior and ladies’ Junior championships last year in Carty’s first year as chairman, they backed it up this time and just kept going.

Last weekend, he found himself in Maastricht, of all places, where the ladies were playing European champions Paris-Bordeaux Gaels in the All-Ireland Junior quarter-final, a fixture they negotiated with ease and a 7-18 to 1-4 scoreline.

Tough life.

This weekend the family will all be back in time for a busy weekend.

The ladies face Mungret of Limerick on Saturday at Ransboro on their All-Ireland semi-final at 1.30pm.

Less that 24 hours later, the men are in action in the Connacht final against Roscommon champions Pearses. Happily, it is being hosted at Markievicz Park on Sunday (throw-in 1.15pm).

Coming up against the 2021 champions and 2019 finalists, few would give the Sligo side a chance. The pedigree is not there anyway, with St Mary’s the only side from the county to have landed a provincial club title.

But records stand to be broken, Carty says. In manager John McPartland, they have someone steeped in the club.

“It is not too often a Sligo team gets to the final and a long time since a Sligo club has beaten Mayo opposition (as they did against Ballina). So we are obviously over the moon. We are delighted with the progress. Real unchartered waters for ourselves,” he says.

“It’s something we are really looking forward to. We are under no illusions about the challenge we have on Sunday. But the club, the team, we are trying to make the most of it and trying to galvanise the whole thing.”

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In his second year as club chairman, Carty has had to seek dispensation from the county board to postpone the Annual General Meeting that should have taken place by now. They got a sympathetic hearing, though he wonders if he should have struck while the iron was hot and got the roles and jobs filled in the swell of enthusiasm.

“My first year there was phenomenal success. Our men’s team won the county championship for the first time since 2005 when I was playing,” recalls Carty.

“Then our ladies won the ladies Junior championship as well. So I can’t believe we have backed it up and had back to back championships. There is a saying there that you are better being a lucky chairman than a good chairman. That’s certainly the way with me and I hope I can keep it going.”

Over in Leinster, there’s a similar story heading into the club football on Saturday evening as St Mary’s of Ardee face Cuala at 5.40pm in Croke Park.

The Wee County are the Cinderella story of Leinster club football. No club have managed to snaffle the Sean McCabe Cup.

St Mary’s neighbours Mattock Rangers were the last to reach a final, when they lost the 2002 decider to Meath’s Dunshaughlin.

In the early years of the competition, Newtown Blues (1970) and Cooley Kickhams (1973 and ‘76) were others that featured in deciders.

But Louth football in general is feeling a lot better about itself, believes St Mary’s chairman, Mickey Rooney.

“On the football side of things we have put a big effort in at juvenile level over the last 15 years. It’s paying it back now,” he says.

“Donal McKenny this year was nominated for an All Star. Louth football is pretty strong right now and we are lucky enough to have seven or eight lads knocking around the Louth senior panel.

“They are not all playing, but Ciaran Keenan, Donal McKenny. The Jackson brothers.

“And then with the U20s, we have a good few lads in there as well.”

St Mary’s have Down’s 1994 All-Ireland winning player Cathal Murray as manager. In all, there were no less than nine people from Down managing in Louth this past year.

When Monaghan exited the All-Ireland this year, they were also able to bring in the excellent coach, Martin Corey.

That is supplemented with a strong backroom team including strength and conditioning coach Barry Teather and Rooney’s own brother Alan as selector.

“The lads are a credit to the club. All so committed. At this level you genuinely need to be committed to keep it going. It’s three years now,” says Rooney.

“Last year we were beat by Kilmacud, five points in the end but we had our chances. But we did learn, that’s the main thing. You hope you can learn from those experiences and I think we did.

“We haven’t come against a team as strong as Cuala, but there’s always a chance.”

This weekend, Croke Park will see the whites of their eyes for the first time. With so many county players having played there before, it won’t be that big a deal.

“Ack, we will have a great support going down. We have loads of buses leaving Ardee at 3 o’clock on Saturday afternoon and we are really up for it. And we have had a lot of good support from people in Louth,” adds Rooney.

With two teams to get behind this weekend, Carty has a tonne of stuff on his plate.

“For myself and executive, our job is very much behind the scenes and we tend to stay out of the way and let the team and management do their business and we just give them every support we can give them,” he says.

“Organising physios, meals, bus trips, jerseys, gear, making sure the sponsors are getting the recognition they deserve. There’s a huge bit that goes on there and while people are focussing on the pitch, the work that goes on behind the scenes is equally important and we are happy to support both teams in that regard.”

The word that strikes fear into GAA administrators – integration – isn’t the issue locally that it clearly is proving on a national scale. Coolera/Strandhill amalgamated in every sense of the word years ago and have Gaelic football, ladies’ football, hurling and camogie on an equal footing, all under the one executive.

“The thing that really resonating with me at the moment is that with the success of the ladies and men’s team at the moment, it’s inspiring a cohort of young kids from nursery all the way up, to emulate what the adults have done. We have to make the most of it and do everything to keep everyone involved.”

Among them are his own children; Oisín, Darragh and Mia. Right now, they are as wrapped up in it as anyone else in the parish.

“It’s unbelievable, they are diehard Coolera-Strandhill fans now and they have the flags and the jerseys on, they have temporary tattoos of the club crest on their faces and all go,” he laughs.

“It’s for them. They are the future of the club and it’s great to see all the happiness that the team have brought us this year.”