Painful provincial path must serve as motivation for Regan and Naomh Conaill

Martin Regan has been involved in all of Naomh Conaill’s previous five Ulster SFC campaigns - two as a player and three as boss. 

He was part of the Glenties squad back in 2005 when, after landing their maiden Dr Maguire crown, they’d exit the provincial race at the first hurdle as Mayobridge earned a 0-10 to 1-5 victory at Pairc Esler. 

When they scaled the Donegal mountain once more, five seasons later in 2010, their memorable run came to a cruel end in the final as an on-the-ropes Crossmaglen Rangers eventually came good at Kingspan Breffni Park. 

His biggest achievement on the line, in Ulster, came back in 2019 when Down’s Kilcoo pipped them in Omagh, 2-11 to 2-9. There was no Ulster club competition in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic but when Naomh Conaill did finally reappear in 2022, Antrim’s Cargin dished out a disappointing penalty shootout defeat in Belfast.  

So although the courteous and unfailingly polite Regan does not say it out loud, you can sense that an Ulster club title would represent the ultimate legacy statement for this special group of players.  

“I was around in 2005 when we won our first title, and I was on the bench and played from 2002 to 2014 when I became manager. 

“We played Mayobridge in the first Ulster club championship in 2005 and we were nearly beaten before we went up as it was so new to us. 

“John Gildea was huge for us, and he was on holidays, so we probably just weren’t ready for Ulster. 

“In 2010, we were winning at half-time against Crossmaglen having led by four points but, in the end, they showed their class as they stepped it up. 

“They had a man sent off in the second-half but were still much better than us. It really was a four-point hammering as they were just invincible around that time.” 

In 2015, Regan was in the Banisteoir’s bib for the visit of Tyrone champions Trillick on a day when nothing seemed to go right for Naomh Conaill in Ballybofey. 

“We lost Dermot Molloy to a cruciate injury and Anthony Thompson to a red card early on. We also conceded two really bad goals.

“We were actually eight points down at the break and brought it back to a point but we missed a free to level it with the last kick of the game.” 

But the most wounding experience of all came in the 2019 Ulster club final against Kilcoo where Naomh Conaill had a real chance to create history. But, in the end, it was the Mourne outfit that just squeezed over the line with two to spare. 

“We played well in that game but every time we got close to Kilcoo they seemed to hit us with sucker punch goals at vital times. 

“They only had one wide that day and got scores from all of their other attacks, which is amazing. 

“We started poorly but we got two goals before half-time to get back into it. But that showed we have the potential to go all the way.” 

Last year was so disappointing as they lost Anthony Thompson and Brendan McDyer to injury in the run-up to the Cargin match. Regan ruefully describes it as a game they’d won twice but still lost in the end. 

“We threw it away and have only ourselves to blame.” 

So, is there a sense of hurt driving Naomh Conaill this year? 

“It was disappointing not to get a crack against Glen,” admitted Regan.  

Naomh Conaill take on Gowna off the back of a most impressive showing in the Donegal decider where they simply overwhelmed Gaoth Dobhair. 

For Regan, the Ulster club championship is a brilliant competition and even though there are some really painful memories and battle scars, he says they were still all incredible journeys for the club and its supporters. 

“The whole community comes out and we have two or three supporters buses, and they mix with the players - it is such a great occasion for us. 

“Identity, knowing who you are and where you are from is special. And we would really like to have a good run in Ulster this year. 

“The pressure is off us a little bit after winning the county final and we can enjoy our football a bit more.” 

So will the experience of coming so close to Kilcoo benefit Naomh Conaill? 

“You would certainly hope so but Gowna are a big, strong experienced team and have back-to-back titles in Cavan. They beat Kingscourt Stars by 5-15 to 0-13 so they are a formidable outfit. 

“They have Ryan Donoghue, Tiernan Madden and Ciaran Madden of the Cavan squad. They are young, athletic and are a great team for a goal.”