Nathan McElwaine aiming to help London upset Roscommon in Connacht Championship

The intercounty U-20 championships are up and running, the first round of All-County leagues was played at the weekend, and with expectations rising in Donegal about what might be possible this year in a wide open All-Ireland race, there will be players who will still harbour private ambitions that they could yet get to play a role for Jim McGuinness.

A more unlikely stage for a host of Donegal players to strut their stuff is the 2025 Connacht Senior football championship, but this Saturday, as many as half a dozen exiled natives will see action for London when they play host to Roscommon.

Of course none of these players would be eligible to do a WWE-style turn and pull off their green London jersey and replace it with a yellow alternative, but that doesn’t mean that the rising tide back home escapes their attention.

Termon’s Nathan McElwaine is one of those players, and while his work in property recruitment makes London a more natural base for the tenacious defender, “never say never” is his response when he was asked about the possibility of seeing action for Donegal.

“I’m 27 so I’m pushing on a bit, I don’t know if I’ll be in Jim’s plans!” he says with a smile, speaking at the launch of the 2025 Connacht SFC.

“You’ve got to be super fit for that, but of course it’s something I’d love to do. Working under Jim would be phenomenal. Never say never, but for the moment I’m enjoying my time with London and being competitive as much as possible.

“I’ll always have a soft spot for Termon and with the new clubhouse there, [coming back to the club] is something that I’ll look to do in the future, but for this year I’m looking forward to going back to North London Shamrocks and trying to retain the county title”.

McElwaine lined out alongside Seán Taylor and Daniel Clarke in London’s last league game of the year against Carlow, while Patrick Dolan and Ciarán Diver also saw plenty of game time during the Spring, and both will be in contention to feature on Saturday.

And while there is obviously a considerable gap between Division One and Division Four, McElwaine feels that the high standard of London football isn’t always recognised on this side of the Irish Sea, and that this year’s league doesn’t even reflect how high their ceiling goes.

“We had a goal at the start of the year, and that goal was Croke park, I won’t lie about it” he said.

“Obviously, Wexford was a bit of a wakeup call but we picked ourselves up again, got good results against Wicklow and Tipperary, both came close to promotion. We were competitive in games but that’s not really good enough, we set higher standards.

“It is the same as every other set up. I was involved with the strength and conditioning with Donegal a couple of years ago. We’re out Monday in the gym, Tuesday on the pitch, Thursday on the pitch, we do a remote gym session on a Wednesday, we’re on the pitch on the weekend.

“This year we actually got our first training pitch, floodlit out where London Irish used to be based. The setup is second to none out there”.

So is a stumbling Roscommon team, albeit one that is headed for Division One, a realistic target for an upset win?

“Every game you go to win, no doubt about it. They’re a Division One side and we’re a Division Four side so that tells the tale for itself,

“We know their strengths, particularly their forward line, they’re firing two-pointers for fun so we’ll have a job cut out as defenders. But we want to be competitive and we want to be in the game. Last year against Galway it was over as a contest half-time so we want to do one better this year”.

Whatever about seeing action for Donegal in the Ulster championship at some stage, McElwaine retains his interest in coaching. He played a significant role in the emergence of Termon as a force on the ladies’ scene and has similarly pushed Tír Chonaill Gaels LGFA on to new heights in London.

“I love coaching, it’s something that I definitely will do when I get older and hang up the boots.

“I’ll always have a soft spot for Termon and with the new clubhouse there, coming back in one role or another is something that I’ll look to do in the future, but for this year I’m looking forward to going back to North London Shamrocks and trying to retain the county title”.

So going back, but with a trace of envy at what he’s missing at home?

“Yeah, definitely there is! I know a lot of the lads, I worked with a lot of the lads, but they’re unbelievably talented and dedicated, and of course I hope they can go on and bring Sam back to the hills”.

And if more help is needed, then there could be cavalry available for selection in some very unexpected places.