Jonny Toye in dreamland as Naomh Padraig silence their critics in some style 

Naomh Padraig silence their critics in some style 

By Frank Craig 

sport@donegallive.ie 

Naomh Padraig, Uisce Chaoin continue to fly the flag for Donegal club football following their amazing Ulster JFC final triumph. 

Saturday’s 3-7 to 1-12 win over Craigbane in Celtic Park spawned scenes the likes of which the Inishowen outfit could only have dared to dream about just a few short seasons ago. 

However, the Inishowen outfit, with Daniel McCauley driving it all on, have finally stepped up to the mark and are now realising their full potential. 

One of the absolute stars of the domestic season in Donegal, at any level, has been roaming centre half-back Jonny Toye. 

He says that McCauley has managed to harness the group and get it moving in the right direction. 

Toye reveals that Naomh Padraig have often been the butt of many footballing jokes in the Peninsula but that 2024’s amazing run has finally put paid to those jibes. 

“Before this year, I’d have heard Naomh Padraig described as a pub team. And I’m not saying that for a laugh because it hurt us. But see this year and last, we’ve really stepped up. 

“We’ve put ourselves on the map this season because the well-wishes and messages from all over Donegal in the lead-in was lovely and great to see. Hopefully, from this point on, we’ll keep to push on”. 

The player explains that the step up to Division 2 football was an initial shock to the system but as they got to grips with the rigours of that, they soon found their feet. 

“It was a different level this year out in Division 2. I remember first day out against Four Masters being a real shock to the system. But you soon realised the real difference is the intensity and fitness levels. 

And once we embraced that, and got up to speed, we were holding out own. We loved that experience and it gave us an idea of where we were at. We’d some big results and it boosted confidence. 

“The county final was dreamland of course. But this is beyond all comprehension. I said last week, words couldn’t really put the achievement of getting to an Ulster final into perspective”. 

Toye felt his side actually found it hard to hit top gear at the weekend and didn’t find the same kind of bursts of energy they’d done in previous rounds. 

He credits Craigbane with that but - at the same time - he says the individual quality Naomh Padraig possess and indeed were able to spring, made the ultimate difference. 

“We knew we were up against it today. Last week, I felt we only played in patches. The week before the same. 

“I actually thought we were well below par today. But goals win games and one of the things we really take pride in is we’ve such a strong bench. 

“Kevin Lynch, Ronan Hoy and Dermot Keaveney all coming in made huge impressions. That’s real experience. 

“To be fair, Caolan being able to start as well was massive. You can see what he brings on the pitch. He’s the fastest man in our team and probably the fastest man in Donegal. 

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“Not many could have scored the goal he did. He just took the ball and went right down the middle with pure speed. 

“I couldn’t admire his contribution, with the hamstring issues he’d had, any more than today. Mentally, when someone like him or Kevin are out it’s a blow for you. 

“And that works the other way too for the opposition when they see Caolan’s name on the starting sheet. 

“And the sight of big Kevin making his way in there at half-time to the edge of the square, you could see it setting alarm bells off right in front of your eyes. He’s going to another level as we speak and he’s a handful for anyone out there at any level”.  

Craigbane snatched a late goal to take the Oak Leafers back to within a single point of Naomh Padraig coattails. 

It seemed to tee up the most nervy of finishes but with the final whistle signalling immediately on the restart, Naomh Padraig were champions. 

“Without a doubt to come out on the right side of that drama… it’s the best way to win something. At the time, your heart is in your mouth though. 

“When the  goal went in I thought there was a minuet or two left yet so you were really anxious. Credit to Craigbane, they threw the kitchen sink at it. 

They didn’t lie down in the semi-final and they didn’t lie down today and that’s something to really be admired. After the year we’ve had, nothing was going to stop us today”.