Former Naomh Conaill man James Gallagher still 'Lording' it as Corduff Gaels aim for Ulster final spot

James 'Mayor' Gallagher says it's exciting times in the small, rural Monaghan village of Corduff as their senior footballers now look forward to an Ulster IFC semi-final.

Despite being exiled in the Farney County for over a decade now as a member of An Garda Síochána, the former Naomh Conaill man still proudly retains the unofficial title of Glenties Lord Mayor.

And he was part of the Corduff Gaels squad that easily accounted for Down champions Saval  2-10 to 0-5, last Sunday, in what was a sometimes fiery provincial quarter-final clash. 

Bossed by Seamus 'Banty' McEnaney, Gaels have now earned an Ulster semi-final meeting with Cavan champions Castlerahan on Sunday, November 27th.

"I'd been based in Carrickmacross for about 11 years,” said Gallagher. “I moved to Castleblayney about a year and a half ago. I'm now working in a different role, community policing. We work a lot with school talks and elderly groups and so on.

“I absolutely love it. I'm a people person anyway. And it's a wee change. It's real positive interaction. Corduff is between Carrickmacross and Shercock, in Co. Cavan. 

“It's a very small, rural club. It only has 350 residents. There isn't even a shop in Corduff. I'm the community guard there and it's an extremely close-knit area.”

Another Donegal man that had made Corduff his home was the late Tommy Feeney. The Ardara native died following a farm-related accident near his home back in October, 2021. 

Little over a year on from that tragedy, Gallagher says Tommy remains at the very forefront of the Corduff players' thoughts as they look to extend their Ulster odyssey on Sunday week.

“Tommy Feeney, god rest him, was also involved with Corduff. Tommy coached the ladies side and it was just great for me to have someone else from home up here.

“Tommy was much loved and is much missed up here, that's the kind of impact he made. Tommy's wife, Niamh, her brother is actually one of our main players, Fergal Hanratty. So Tommy definitely remains in our thoughts and prayers.”

Gallagher enjoyed a fine underage career at Davy Brennan Memorial Park and picked up plenty of medals in that time. But in 2010, having made the move away from Donegal, he eventually decided to transfer his playing registration as well.

“I was up and down the road playing reserve. But in the end, I just decided to make the move. There were three of us in the (Corduff) station at the time and I remember 'Banty' saying to us we were more than welcome to come out and train with the club.

“Being settled and married with two kids at the time, it was the handiest decision.”