'The journey we’ve been on has been incredible' - Daniel McCauley

It took the Naomh Padraig, Uisce Chaoin manager Daniel McCauley a couple of minutes to retain his composure and fully soak in the atmosphere following his team’s remarkable Ulster Junior final win on Saturday in Celtic Park. 

Derry’s Craigbane brought the Inishowen side right down to the wire, and even in the dying seconds of the match, it could’ve swung either way. 

In the end, it was the Donegal champions’ ability to find the back of the net that proved decisive as three green flags proved to be the difference in setting the Naomh Padraig men on their way to their first-ever Ulster crown on a 3-7 to 1-12 scoreline. 

"It’s incredible, a great feeling,” McCauley said following his side’s win on Saturday in Derry. “I set my stall out at the start of the year and told the boys we were capable of winning Ulster but achieving it, well that’s something else.  

“I actually lost it on the line. My head was gone when Kevin [Lynch] was taking that late free and I didn’t know whether we were ahead by two or three.” 

READ NEXT: Naomh Padraig captain Dermot Keaveney says ‘This Ulster win is for Evan Craig’ 

The Naomh Padraig manager expressed an enormous amount of respect to Craigbane for putting in such a tough game and never throwing in the towel, even when they looked down and out at times. 

“We knew Craigbane would be no slouches,” he said. “They came through a tough, hard side of the draw from the preliminary round. They didn’t lie down in any game, and they looked dead and buried in some of them. 

“We couldn’t shake them off. They kept coming at us, fair dues to them. They worked seriously hard and they’re bound to be bitterly disappointed. 

“In theory, neither team deserved to lose – both teams were excellent. 

“Craigbane has a lot of experience. Five of their starting team played when they won the Ulster Intermediate title back in 2011.  

“I had our boys well warned all week that Craigbane weren’t going to die. Not fade away even if we got the goals. 

“If we’d have gone up by seven or eight points today, Craigbane would have come back at us.”  

Regarding the weight of history on the club and the fact it was a provincial final day, McCauley admitted that there were a lot of nerves amongst the team that had to be dealt with before running out onto Celtic Park. 

However, he points to the fact that the vast bulk of his panel is under 25 and would not be used to such big occasions. 

"Aye, there was a lot of nerves, which is to be expected in such a young team where all our starters were 25 and under,” he said. 

That’s a really young panel. And this is all new to them. The arena is great and the supporters are in on top of you, but I think the noise and the adrenaline of it kind of hit them in the first 15 or 20 minutes. I needed to get them in at half-time to calm things down.  

“But they’ve been incredible all year. I couldn’t have anticipated the backing I got from them all season and we’re up now to somewhere around 140 sessions in the gym and pitch. We’re on the go for 54 weeks. 

“They’re so enthusiastic – they’re saying there’s no point in stopping ahead of next season, they just want to keep going. 

“The journey we’ve been on has been incredible. 

“Bar four of the panel – Aiden Lynch, Cathal McColgan, Dermot Keaveney, and Eunan Keaveny – I’ve coached them all at underage. 

“There’s a few that I took in for their first ever night at Gaelic football when they were wee tots. That’s very special." 

Like all their games since the county semi-final, the Naomh Padraig team had the life of former player Evan Craig – who passed away in September after a battle with cancer – in the back of their minds. And McCauley states that it was no different on Saturday when every member of the panel was playing for the life of their friend and teammate.  

“We didn’t need a motivational speaker on Friday night, we all went to mass together for THE PASSING OF THE YOUNG,” the Naomh Padraig man said. 

“We all went as a group to the chapel in Muff and paid our respects to Evan. We didn’t want motivation after that. We were doing it for the wee man. 

“He was such a special part of our group, such a character. He’ll never be forgotten by Naomh Pádraig, Uisce Chaoin. It’s just so tragic that he wasn’t here to see it, be part of it and enjoy it. He would have loved it. We hope we’ve done him proud today.”