'I should be playing but I’m not and to still be involved is brilliant'

He didn’t say it too publicly at the time, but Caolan McDaid admits he was on the nerves before Termon got their Donegal IFC campaign underway.

Ten days before their championship opener, which was a sticky one at a Naomh Bríd side always competitive in Trummon, the 26-year-old was ratified as manager of Termon’s senior footballers. 

In a championship consisting of two six-team groups, most of the favourites fell into one side. Joining Termon and Naomh Bríd are last year’s beaten finalists Naomh Columba; the team who like Termon lost the semi-final, Gaeil Fhánada; a Bundoran side relegated from the senior bracket, and Downings, who had won the Junior A crown in 2021 and made their way from Division 4 to the top flight of the All-County Football League.

McDaid, alongside Paddy McMenamin, looks after Termon’s minors and he was also part of the management team with the club in their run to last year’s U-21A final, where they narrowly lost out to Gaoth Dobhair in a dramatic O’Donnell Park final. Both were part of the set-up with Termon’s seniors under Trevor Alcorn, who picked up a suspension which meant he would miss championship.

The night after McDaid’s appointment, which he describes as “an honour,” reserve team manager Hugh Harkin took training. McDaid then spoke to his players as manager for the first time. 

“It wasn’t ideal circumstances with just a week’s preparation and I said to the group on the first night all I was asking for was a big buy-in and a big reaction,” he said. “One hundred percent of the credit goes to the players there. It’s them who have to cross the white line and they did everything to a tee that we asked them to do, so full credit to them.

“Hugh was very helpful and I must thank him for that and we got going before the Naomh Bríd game. I didn’t tell the boys till afterwards, I was nervous that week leading into the game. 

“The week after though, there was a buzz about the boys and instead of those nerves, I looked forward to it. The time was so short from my appointment, we didn’t look too deeply into the other teams. I know it’s a cliché but we really had to just take this on one game at a time, start with Naomh Bríd, then Downings, Bundoran, and so on. It’s a tough group. And we’ll continue to work on it step by step.

“We put in a couple of very good sessions, we really honed in on the gameplan and for me championship football, it’s all about winning and against Downings, everything went well. To be honest there’s no harm in going into championship football with difficult games. It’s what it’s all about.”

McDaid’s playing days were cut short due to a femoroacetabular impingement (FAI syndrome), which occurs when the ball of the hip pinches up against the hip cup and earlier this year he required shoulder surgery too. 

“I couldn’t get back to football at 22 and had to give up,” he said. “It’s like what [former Four Masters and Donegal footballer] Luke Keaney had and I spoke with him. I’ve got arthroscopy - keyhole - and was told at Santry that there would be no more football.”

McDaid, in a last throw of the dice, made his way to west London to Professor Damian Griffin, a lead doctor of the Hip Arthroscopy Clinic. All he got was affirmation of the news he was hoping to avoid. It was game over. As a student of accountancy at the time, McDaid would've known some books must close before others open.

A measure of his youth is the fact McDaid now manages a group which includes his elder brother, 28-year-old Daire, who scored 2-2 in Saturday’s 2-8 to 1-3 win over Downings. That result showed Termon are likely to have a huge say in how this championship pans out.

Their evolution can be seen on and off the pitch, with their trademarked success in the ladies' bracket continuing, while accumulating titles at underage where boys are becoming men as they up the ranks. There’s also the construction of clubhouse and facilities, which is now taking shape, budgeted at €1.3million at the Burn Road.  

Naturally, McDaid would love to be inside of that white line and not outside it, but he’s accepted his fate and although hectic, life, like Termon, is moving well. Earlier this year he passed his CPA (Certified Public Accountant) exams and is now fully qualified.

“It’s been a busy year and I know, I should be playing with these boys,” McDaid said. “ But I’m not and to still be involved with the group is brilliant. They’re my teammates and I will always look at them like that. I don’t look at it as I’m this and they’re that. We win together and we lose together. I love still being part of it.”