No honeymoon - but goalkeeper McGinley is loving life at Letterkenny Rovers

We’ve all heard about someone willing to go that extra mile, but in the case of Mark Anthony McGinley, it was the opposite.

The goalkeeper decided to postpone his honeymoon, as well as skip St Michael’s GAA club’s trip to New York and Philadelphia, to help his Letterkenny Rovers side in their hunt for success.

McGinley - a native of Ards and a secondary school teacher at St Columba’s in Stranorlar - and Laura Elliott tied the knot late last year and have opted to wait until the season ends before taking a well-earned break.

“We got married in November and were thinking about going at Easter, but when I looked at the calendar, I realised the league wasn’t going to be over,” he says. “Laura is very patient! We’re going to go to Dubai for a few nights and then Seychelles in early June.”

Letterkenny lifted the trophy on Friday night following their 4-0 win over Kilmacrennan Celtic and are still right in the mix for the Brian McCormick Sports Cup and the Ulster Junior Cup. They will see out their Premier Division campaign with games against Gweedore Celtic and Fanad United, with the aim to complete the campaign unbeaten.

“We’ve a couple of league games to see out first,” McGinley adds. “We’ve 14 wins and two draws this season - both of those coming against Kildrum in very tough games - and we’ll play them in the Ulster Junior Cup final as well. We’ve Swilly in the Area final of the McCormick Sports, too. Going unbeaten would be great, of course, but it’s just game by game."

Twelve months ago, Stephen McConnell’s team defeated Donegal Town FC 3-1 to confirm the First Division crown and then were beaten for the only time at Gweedore United.

“We only lost once in the league last year when we went down to Gweedore, so we’ve to keep our focus,” McGinley adds.

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Now 35, McGinley has played for Finn Harps in the League of Ireland Premier Division; was between the sticks for UCD; Fanad United in the FAI Cup as far back as 2007 when he was sitting the Leaving Cert, Institute in the Irish League, as well as lining out for Donegal in the 2016 Ulster SFC final against Tyrone, while St Michael's were semi-finalists in last year's Donegal SFC. Even at that, he said his stint at Letterkenny Rovers tops the lot.

“It’s brilliant,” he says. “Unbelievable. I’m playing football a long time and these last two years is the first time I’ve ever won anything at senior level. We’re delighted to get over the line as we’ve worked hard since last summer and we deserve everything we got. There’s boys chomping at the bit and there’s a great squad. There’s a great buzz about the club here now.

"It’s a tough job for the manager to pick a starting 11 and that keeps everyone on their toes. That’s what you need. Boys need to be pushed. These last couple of years for me here have been as enjoyable as the lot.”