Shea Malone glad to be with 'serial winners' Naomh Conaill after switching codes

Shea Malone started the year aiming to break into the Sligo Rovers first team.

He will end it as a Donegal SFC winner at Naomh Conaill with a call-up to the Donegal squad not beyond possibility.

The 20-year-old only made his senior debut for Naomh Conaill this year, but he was one of the men who grabbed Sunday’s county final by the horns.

Deep into added time at the end of normal time, Malone landed a nerveless two pointer to force extra time against Gaoth Dobhair. There, Naomh Conaill carved out one of their finest wins to take hold of the Dr Maguire Cup for the eighth time.

Malone was coaxed back to Gaelic football by his cousin Dermot Molloy, a member of the Naomh Conaill squad who was an All-Ireland winner with Donegal in 2012.

At Sligo Rovers, Malone played against Everton and Celtic in friendly games last year. Despite several appearances on the bench, Malone never managed to break through onto John Russell’s first team at the Bit O’Red.

In the summer, he called time to switch his focus back to Naomh Conaill, who he had played with at underage level.

“I had a great time up in Sligo and it was a hard few days in my life, it was so emotional to be honest,” he said. “It was a hard decision, because it is your life and you devote so much time.

“I was up five or six times a week, every morning for training. If you're in Donegal no one sees the travelling, because you're in Sligo, but here it's seen a bit more.

“Dermot lured me back in here again.  I would have been here watching them if I didn't have a game on myself. I'd travel to all the games because I have family and friends that are on the team and I always loved Gaelic.

“Even though I wasn't playing it as much, I still was a massive supporter and still kept tabs. It was a different game and now with the new rules it probably lured me in to play with the team.”

Malone’s first appearance as a Naomh Conaill senior came in a 1-19 to 0-12 win over MacCumhaills in a Division 1 League game.

He had experienced big stages having featured in Sligo’s 3-3 draw with Everton and a 3-2 loss to Celtic at The Showgrounds in 2024.

He said: “I’m delighted that I made the decision in the end. “We've come a long way in a few months and we're delighted we have the Championship. 

“It's a great feeling. It’s massive for us to win a Championship because football is like religion at this club.”

Malone watched a couple of attempts come back off the upright before converting his dramatic and decisive late score.

He said: “I don't know what came over me! I don't know what was left, maybe a minute or so, and I kind of knew that we were going to need a two-pointer.

“When it left my boot, I started celebrating, and no one in the crowd was celebrating. I looked back and it was kind of falling off - I thought then it might hit the post maybe again for the third time - but thankfully it went over and got us into extra time.”

For Malone and the new generation of Naomh Conaill winners, the older cohort of the likes of Brendan McDyer, Anthony Thompson and Leo McLoone - who were all involved back in 2005 when they were crowned champions for the first time - have been vital.

Sunday’s 2-18 to 1-19 win over Gaoth Dobhair takes Naomh Conaill back to the top of the tree in Donegal. This was their fifth win in seven championships, outlining a real recent golden spell.

Malone said: “They're serial winners, the players in there. They're so good putting the arm around you or comforting you, because everyone sees the good side of it when you're winning games or kicking points, but they're also there when things aren't going their way, and they know when to keep you right.

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“They don't bum you up too much either that you lose your head, but they also keep you from dropping, so I don't know where we'd be without them, especially myself, Max (Campbell), Finnbarr (Roarty), Mark (McDevitt) the younger players on the team.

“They're crucial - and you don't win championships if you don't have them, that's just a fact. Tony is 39 and he's arguably still going to be one of the best players on the pitch every game, he's just a credit to himself. They all know when to say the right thing at the right time and that's a big thing for any group.”