Jamie Keegan aiming to put MacCumhaills back in fashion in SFC

Jamie Keegan admits juggling football commitments and running his own business takes a certain toll. 

However, the MacCumhaills man - who heads up popular online fashion brand Hills Clothing - says the Twin Towns outfit feels like they’re close to a breakthrough and that makes it impossible to step away. 

Going into the final round of SFC group games this weekend, Gary Wilson’s men are currently on four points from three games. 

They seen off the challenges of both Ardara and Killybegs before falling heavily to reigning champions Naomh Conaill last time out in Ballybofey. 

But minus the services of Oisin Gallen, Joel Bradley Walsh, Marty O’Reilly and Sean Martin that evening, Keegan says no one at the club is panicking too much about that 14-point drubbing. 

This Sunday they face Glenswilly at Foxhall and looking at the congested landscape in the current table, it’s hard to know if a win or a loss will make all that much of a difference to their final fate. 

With a current scoring difference of -1, six points might not be good enough for automatic progression to the quarter-finals and even a reversal to Gary McDaid’s side would probably still result in them landing a preliminary quarter-final spot. 

So it’s hard to see Wilson and his management team deciding to rush any of his injured marquee players back on Sunday. 

Keegan (24) says it’s been frustrating not being able to put their best foot forward collectively, but that the aim is to keep treading water and be involved in the SFC race come the knockout stages. 

When he’s not training and playing games, the rest of Keegan’s time, every hour and minute it seems, is spent growing Hills Clothing. 

“I started it over a year and a half ago and it’s been an experience,” he said. “You are sort of learning as you go. I made so many mistakes at the beginning but it was all learning. But we’re hopefully on the right track now.

“At the start, getting manufacturers involved, agencies for advertising, distributors and so on, it was a daunting process. Even online and our digital presence, I look after all that myself as well. 

“I pull in family members when I can - I have my poor mother tortured with packaging orders. It takes up a lot of time, outside hours and weekends. Like, some things have to give to make sure it all runs”.

Thankfully, for both Keegan and MacCumhaills, one of the things not being allowed to fall by the wayside is football. 

“It’s hectic because the workload with both those commitments is huge. But it gets you away from the desk and screens and you need that too - something else to just focus on. 

“It’s a balancing act really. And we’re going in the right direction, I feel, with MacCumhaills so you want to be a part of that. We’ve had underage success at minor and U-21 the hope is that transfers over. 

“Last year, we felt we were in a really good place to make a county final. Not to get over the line against Gaoth Dobhair in the semi-final was so disappointing. Like I said, I think we’re closer than we’ve been for a while with this group. 

“You see ‘Fireman’ (Gavin Gallagher) coming back from Australia, Luke Gavigan is back from Dublin so definitely, the rest of the lads are in that same mindset where we want to push the thing as hard as possible.

“I still think, for ourselves and anyone else looking to make a breakthrough, we’re in no position to take anyone for granted. 

Glenties and St Eunan’s are the obvious ones for a lot of people but like Gaoth Dobhair showed last season and even against Eunan’s recently, they are still one of the big guns. Kilcar also, they are another side in front of us in that pecking order. 

“Glenswilly, Four Masters and a few other sides are in that same boat as us. But sometimes an avenue opens up and you have to take it. 

“That’s what we felt was in front of us last season in the semi-final but Gaoth Dobhair showed their experience and class to progress”. 

Ahead of their trip to Glenswilly at the weekend, Keegan doesn’t know if MacCumhaills will be welcoming back any big hitters. It’s that risk and reward conundrum facing boss Wilson in the lead-in. 

“I don’t know - I suppose regardless, for the rest of us, it’s about focusing on the weekend and looking to move on from the Glenties result. 

“I mean, with what we were missing, our formation and application was still good enough, I feel, for a large chunk of the game. 

“We were something like 0-7 to 0-4 down at the break and the two goals late on really painted a poor picture. Without the lads, it’s making the rest of us step up to the plate in terms of responsibility. 

“It’s not ideal missing that kinda firepower and quality but, long-term, maybe the experience of having to dig in without them will stand to us. Gary and the management are very positive in that way.

“I think Glenties kicked 2-5 alone, from turnovers we coughed up in the second-half. Right there, you have something to look at and really work on and think about next day out. 

“And of course, you think about how that dynamic changes if Oisin, Joel, Sean and Marty come back into the mix. 

“Looking at the table, it’s hard to know how the thing will look at the end of Sunday evening. There are so many sides there locked on four points. 

“The negative about that Naomh Conaill loss and the gap that night, it means we’re sitting in ninth because of the score difference. 

“So the best thing we can do is throw everything at the game and see where that leaves us when the dust settles.”