By 
A UNIQUE opportunity to capture the All-Ireland Junior title is inspiring Clogher as the countdown gathers pace to their Croke Park showdown this weekend against Ballymacelligott to culminate what has been a remarkable Championship season for the Eire Ogs.
Success in the Tyrone and Ulster Championships has now been followed up by quarter final and semi-final victories on the national scene. Now the stage is set for the national decider, against their Kerry opponents on Sunday at 1.30pm.
But the Eire Ogs are keeping things simple as they get set for the biggest day in the club’s history since reaching the Tyrone County Senior Final away back in 1948.
They will make the trip to Croke Park anxious to create history by becoming the first time since Greencastle to win the title at this level.
“This is testament to the real determination that the players have displayed throughout this year,” said joint manager, Kevin F McConnell.
“You can see that in every game when things get tight those leaders step up and it’s brilliant.
“We are getting messages from people who have moved away and have played with me and people who are older. There’s been calls from Australia. It’s great to be giving to the community and hopefully this gives the young players in the club something to believe and knuckle down.
“That’s the legacy that this team will leave behind.”
Coach, Leo Meenan, is one of the few within the Clogher set-up with Croke Park experience. A former All-Ireland winner with Tyrone, he has joined the Clogher coaching team this year alongside Mark Donnelly of Carrickmore.
Leo is relishing the opportunity presented by a return to GAA headquarters. His experience of being involved in big games at the venue is matched only by Mark Donnelly and Clogher player, Conor Shields, a member of the Tyrone panel which won the All-Ireland senior title in 2021. For them, a key task will be to ensure that the rest of the Eire Ogs panel are not overawed by the venue, and concentrate instead on the main task at hand.
“We have players with a lot of big game experience, the likes of Ciaran Bogue, Conor Shields, who have played at the highest level. But it’s about playing the game, looking at what you need to do to win the game, and the rest of it is outside knowledge,” he said.
“It’s a great day out for the people of the community, it’s not a great day out for us, unless we go and finish the job. We’ll try and give as much information and tips to the lads about how to look at the game, and they’ll enjoy the occasion if they get the job done.
“This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and for a lot of those men it’s the stuff of dreams to go and play with your club at Croke Park. It’s what everybody dreams about. For some it’s not even a dream, it’s unreachable.
“But for these boys have worked really hard for the opportunity, and they’re going to get it.
“We have been in Clones, Roslea was a great venue for the Ulster final, then we were in Owenbeg for the first round, coming to Carrick-on-Shannon. It has been some journey.”
Of course, playing is so much different to being on the sideline. It’s a role that Leo Meenan is becoming increasingly accustomed too. But the change from one side of the white line to the other is still a challenge, and he probably gets more nervous now than when he was starring for Tyrone, Killyclogher and Loughmacrory during the past two or three decades.
“The half an hour between the warm-up and the first whistle is a nightmare. It’s the longest hour you can spend as a coach,” he adds.
“On the sideline you’re limited in what you can do, and you’re limited to players coming to the sideline to get messages on, and it’s not always possible to do that. So you’re relying on boys to lead on the pitch, and we have that. You wouldn’t believe how nervous you can get, you’d rather be out playing and getting to affect it.”
Come Sunday, patrolling the Croke Park sideline will be a new experience for Leo, Mark Donnelly and the Clogher joint managers. It’s one, though, that they’re fully embracing as the quest for All-Ireland glory reaches its climax.
