No thoughts of bonus territory as Naomh Conaill prepare for Ulster tilt

As Naomh Conaill knew they would be facing the Monaghan winners in the quarter-final of the Ulster Club Championship, some of the side watched Sunday’s Monaghan SFC final as Scotstown won the title for the 24th time.

Bidding for three-in-a-row, they faced Inniskeen Grattans in Clones and, similarly to the Donegal final, it ended in a draw after the hour at 0-15 apiece, before the reigning champions kicked on in the final two ten-minute periods.

It was a tenth county title in 13 years for the Monaghan club, who were spurred on by some of their county stars in Jack McCarron and Conor McCarthy, as they won by 0-22 to 0-17.

They boast a large panel of Monaghan county stars along with the aforementioned duo, with Rory Beggan, Ryan O’Toole, Micheál McCarville, Gavin McPhillips and Darren Hughes all lining out for the Farney County this year, along with former stars Kieran Hughes, Damien McArdle and Shane Carey.

Scotstown made the Ulster final in 2023 before suffering a 0-13 to 0-11 defeat to eventual All-Ireland winners Glen, while they were also beaten finalists in 2018 against Gaoth Dobhair.

The pair haven’t met in recent years despite being so successful in their respective counties in the past 15 years, but Naomh Conaill captain O’Malley is wary of the threat the opposition possess.

“We played Clontibret twice in 2010 and in 2019 but we’ve never crossed paths with Scotstown.

“When the county boys of Conor McCarthy and Ryan O’Toole came on, they seemed to take over. They’re a serious outfit and they have young lads coming through with young (Tommy) Mallen and Max Maguire.

“They’ve been in 13 finals in a row and winning ten of them, and to have that sort of success speaks for itself.”

For Naomh Conaill, they have made the Ulster final in 2010 and 2019 but were defeated both times, while their most recent two campaigns ended at the quarter-final and semi-final stages respectively.

And it’s something the side are looking to change, and there is no talk of bonus territory for Naomh Conaill as they head to Clones on Sunday week.

“The first game is massive, and if you manage to win that, you’re sitting in an Ulster semi-final, so each of the nine teams will look at it as a big opportunity.

“We’ve been lucky to win the Donegal championship a few times and it’s a big achievement that has to be celebrated, but one of the biggest achievements of winning that is a ticket into the Ulster club championship.

“We haven’t got to the promised land of winning Ulster but we’ve had some special days in it and they’re always a proud day for the club.

“But we’re very focused on Sunday week, when we got out of Donegal the first few times, we might have made the mistake of saying it’s bonus territory and it’s a successful season regardless.

“But if you go in with that mind frame then you’re setting yourself up for a loss. No offence to the rest of the Monaghan teams, but there’s a good chance that Scotstown are setting up at the start of the season, hoping to give Ulster a good rattle, never mind Monaghan.

“We’re seeing this as the start of a new championship and one we’re very keen on giving a good account of ourselves in. So we’ll do everything we can to prepare and make sure we are ready for Sunday week.”

The county title win has been parked for now, but it was a special day for O’Malley as he climbed the steps of the Dr James McDaid stand in O’Donnell Park for his seventh county title, but a first as captain, as they defeated Gaoth Dobhair by 2-18 to 1-19 after 80 minutes.

“It is hard to rank them, but it was up there, especially with how the championship went and the last three games, it looked like we were beat in all of them, so to come back was special.

“Winning the first championship under the new rules, when it was expected that the new rules wouldn’t suit us, it was right up there with the sweetest.

It was a big honour and one I didn’t think I would get because I nearly retired at the start of 2022, I was coming on as a sub but I wasn’t playing a lot of football and I was approached about coming on as a coach, (Martin) Regan had decided to step away but thankfully in the end he wasn’t let.

“But at that time, I definitely didn’t think I would get to captain Naomh Conaill to a senior county title, which was a big privilege for myself and my family.”