McGee Cronolly hoping to ‘spark’ Setanta’s Ulster push against Middletown

Josh McGee Cronolly admits it’s difficult to find the time to draw breath right now as he juggles sporting and academic commitments.

Setanta are looking forward to an IHC semi-final tussle with Armagh’s Middletown, Na Fianna on Saturday with that crunch encounter taking place in Owenbeg (4pm).

McGee Cronolly is also back in the classroom at ATU Donegal where he’s almost through a four-year electrician apprenticeship.

Setanta defeated St Eunan’s in the Donegal decider back in August but subsequently sat idle for three months before their Ulster club campaign kicked in.

McGee Cronolly (24) admits it was hard to bridge that gap but, having hit the books once again, it did at least allow him to acclimatise to that significant change in scenery once more.

“Yeah - I know collectively it’s not ideal, that kind of layoff,” he told DonegalLive. “It’s effectively a new pre-season. But I’m at the tail end of my apprenticeship and being back in Letterkenny, at college, there just was a little bit more time to get stuck into that.

“You do three-month blocks of working and then studying. So I’m finished up now in December.

“I didn’t play county for Donegal this year either because there was just too much of a juggle. I just didn’t have the time to train and commit at the time”.

The player explains that he tried to tick over as best he could with maintenance-type training where he wouldn’t be starting from scratch once more when Setanta did finally get back down to business.

“For the first wee while lads might have taken a complete break but it really just depended on circumstances. There were lads playing with colleges and we also had some playing football.

“I tried to do at least two sessions a week at the start. I also stayed in with the likes of Gerard Gilmore, Declan Coulter and Ruairi Campbell and we’d meet up for gym sessions. We’re still doing that.

“You didn’t want to lose the block of fitness that you’d already built up. And with the college work as well, that suited me”.

First time out, a fortnight ago, the men from the Cross went to Owenbeg and toppled Derry champions Ballinascreen 3-13 to 1-10. The manner of the Donegal champions’ win might have raised eyebrows elsewhere but Setanta certainly weren’t surprised.

Still, what the result will do is put Orchard outfit Middletown, Na Fianna on red alert ahead of the weekend’s tussle.

“Intermediate is a step up - there is no doubt about that. We’d probably be seen as underdogs again on Saturday but I think the Ballinascreen result proves we can compete at this level.

“Up there, with home advantage, Ballinascreen looked to make that count. But it’s nice to come through that type of game as well. It’s a good sign. We’d have lads that are experienced and just know how to handle that type of game.

“Our training, we go at it like we’d be expected to in a game scenario. So it was satisfying on a number of levels”.

McGee Cronolly hasn’t even hit his mid-20s yet but there are a number of Setanta legends, like Danny Cullen and Coulter, that have now passed the mid-30s threshold.

Making another provincial dent or, if they dared to dream, an All-Ireland one, you feel that the iron probably is at its hottest right now. And McGee Cronolly says the club has to make the most of what they have in the here and now.

“Listen, you read the likes of Naomh Conaill saying the exact same thing. We have a brilliant group of players right now. But hand on heart, those lads, Danny and Declan, they are still the ones out in front in the runs and the sprints.

“They are so disciplined in their preparation and how they look after themselves. I remember one of the first times ever sitting in a Setanta senior dressing room… Danny made the point that day that you have to make the most of it - win what you can when you can.

“That stuck in my head. Every now and then a crop of players come around and you just have to make the absolute most of it. And that’s the mindset for us”.

Last term, with the Ulster JFC title already in the bag, Setanta looked like they’d done enough to seal a place in the semi-finals of the All-Ireland only to get caught at the bitter end by Kilburn Gaels.

McGee Cronolly takes a deep breath before eventually exhaling into a sigh admitting that it’s a result that’s shredded deeply at the group every day since.

“It was there and, then, suddenly, it wasn’t. It was a low point and the dressing room after, it was just a horrible place to sit.

“Even last time out, at the end against Ballinascreen, there was no let off, we didn’t date take the foot off the pedal. I think that comes down to last year and that hurt. We’ve had to dwell on it ever since.

“But funny enough, it’s only now we’ve sort of been able to draw on the experience and use it as motivation”.

With ex-Cuchulainn man Coulter in their ranks, McGee Cronolly agrees that Setanta will have some useful inside knowledge on their Orchard opposition.

“He’d also have hurled with a few of their main men with Armagh,” he explained. “Our own county men too, they’ll know a good few of the names. But likewise, they’ll know plenty about us. So it’ll come down to the day really.

“We simply have to leave it all out there. It’s going to take that as well as a little luck, no doubt, to come out on the right side of this one”.