Family ties: Divided loyalty never a question for Brian McLaughlin

It’s been 32 years since Brian McLaughlin first laced up a pair of boots with the St Michael’s senior team and in that period, there’s not much he hasn’t seen during his time at the Bridge. 

His passion for the Dunfanaghy side has never waned with his link beginning at adult level when he won the Donegal Junior championship with the club in his first season back in 1992.  

But divided loyalties could clash this weekend as his St Michael’s look to bridge that gap and return to only their second county senior final in history when they face Dungloe this Sunday in the semi-final.  

Not even the caveat of McLaughlin’s son Ryan Connors togging out for Dungloe this weekend will thwart his want of St Michael’s getting to their first county decider since 2011. 

For the man known as ‘Big Brian’, there was no question of where his loyalties lie.  

“Myself and Ryan are both very competitive and have clubs which we are loyal to and who we want to win,” McLaughlin said.   

“It’ll be a hard one to call considering there was only a point between these two when we met in the group stages a few weeks back which thankfully St Michael’s won. But there’s going to be nothing between the two teams this weekend so no doubt it’ll be a humdinger.  

“There’s not much chat in the lead-up to the game as you would guess with myself and Ryan, I think we’ll both keep our heads down until after the game on Sunday evening,” he laughed.  

During his now four-decade stint at the Bridge, McLaughlin’s career grew exponentially as did the club's success.  

Following on from their Junior championship win in the early 90s, further honours would follow with an All-Ireland intermediate final appearance in 2003, before St Michael’s reached the ultimate decider of the 2011 Dr Maguire final, only to lose to Glenswilly.  

Between that period, ‘Big Brian’ would host an impressive CV that saw him represent the county minor team for three years, the U-21s for four, before being drafted into the senior panel where he would remain for eight seasons before it came to a shattering halt at the age of 27.  

And while the Donegal senior championship was one that always eluded his St Michael’s side, and can still remain a sore topic to this day, McLaughlin knows it wasn’t for the want of trying.  

He saw his club go from strength to strength and cherished some extraordinary moments along the way.  

Clubs that go from intermediate level can often struggle in the big leagues, but St Michael’s had the talent and county experience to prove their worth at the top.  

“We went from Junior to Intermediate to Senior level quite rapidly back when I played, mainly because we had a crop of young players at that time like Colm McFadden and Christy Toye who got great underage coaching and development in the club and that then breaded into the senior team,” he said.  

“The coaching started with teams at U-6 level, then every year you had serious talent coming into our senior squad, and eventually we were able to compete with the top teams in Donegal.  

“I think not winning a county senior title, that’s always a regret we have because we were a talent team.   

“We lost a final to Glenswilly in 2011, and I think I also lost maybe four semi-finals over the course of my career, which was tough because we probably were good enough, but we just couldn’t get over that line. I suppose it wasn’t to be.”  

A Division 1 league title eventually fell their way in 2015, but the ‘so close yet so far’ story of championship football continued.

This is why McLaughlin feels that his club, who he still togs for at reserve level, has a fantastic opportunity to bridge that gap and make 2024 their season for the first time in history.  

Having beat Kilcar by one point in Glenties, and with the current county champions Naomh Conaill already eliminated, McLaughlin feels the season is now wide open for anyone to take control of.  

“They were massive result last week in the quarter-finals,” he said. “Dungloe beating Glenswilly was fantastic, but even for us, because the fact that Michael Langan is out of the equation, we would always be on the ropes without him, and that showed because we played nothing in the first half against Kilcar.  

“The penalty save against Patrick McBrearty was obviously a turning point and I think that boosted us to keep going and up the ante, and once we got the two goals, it was just mayhem, and Kilcar couldn’t stay with us.”  

“And that’s why it’s great this weekend because there’s a good opportunity for both sides to grab that county final spot.”  

And while he tips St Eunan’s as hot favourites, he acknowledges that nothing separates the other three teams, and feels that all of them would back their chances if facing the Letterkenny men in a county decider.  

“St Eunan’s are probably clear favourites to win the championship, but it’s all on the day, I really don’t think there is much that separates St Michael’s, Dungloe, and Gaoth Dobhair,” he said.  

“Eunan’s are going to be hot favourites after beating Naomh Conaill last weekend, but with Dungloe and us it really is a 50/50 game.   

History is bound, for St Michael’s who are looking for their first senior title, while Dungloe are looking to bridge a county final gap of 60 years.  

McLaughlin had the opportunity to face off against his son Ryan in a league game back in 2018, Dungloe took the victory that day, and McLaughlin feels this time it’s his side’s turn.