FROM RELEGATION FIGHTERS to prospective Division 1 finalists, it’s been a memorable league campaign for Roscommon.
At the centre of their engine room is 2023 All-Star Enda Smith who produced a man-of-the-match display last weekend to end Donegal’s unbeaten run, and put Roscommon on the verge of a league final.
His running tally of 4-11 — including one penalty — has helped form the bedrock of Roscommon’s brilliant run so far. His goal count is particularly noteworthy considering that Roscommon’s 13 green flags is the highest across all four divisions.
This opportunity was hard to fathom at start of the year. Roscommon’s traditional frailties in the top tier combined with some big retirement announcements, and a second All-Ireland defeat in three seasons for St Brigid’s, offered a bleak projection for the county’s 2026 prospects.
A change in management posed questions too as Mark Dowd took over from Davy Burke. And yet, here they are defying those expectations.
Should results fall their way this weekend, Smith could be closing in on another medal to add to his haul across an impressive underage and senior career.
Enda and Donie Smith pictured together in 2021. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
A product of the Boyle club, Smith’s path in football was laid out for him by his brothers Donie and Cian. They set a high bar.
Donie was among those aforementioned losses to retirement in the Roscommon squad. Along with Ciaráin Murtagh, the pair stepped away in the wake of the 2025 season. Their combined experience was a huge loss to the Roscommon camp for 2026.
Both were involved for Roscommon’s Division 2 successes in 2015, 2018, 2020 and 2022, as well as a Division 3 crown in 2014. Donie won two Connacht senior medals in 2017 and 2019 while Murtagh was absent for the 2019 triumph due to travel commitments.
Cian put a flag in the ground for the Smith family in 2006. He was part of the Roscommon minor squad who famously won an All-Ireland after a replay against Kerry.
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He was diagnosed with throat cancer the following year at just 19, a chapter of his life which he spoke about in a candid interview with The 42 in 2017.
Enda has also talked about his perspective of watching his brother’s health battle, and how Cian’s story shaped his motivation as a footballer.
He opened up about it during a documentary entitled ‘Behind the Gates with Roscommon GAA,’ a production which explored the team’s 2017 campaign under then-manager Kevin McStay.
Roscommon reached the Connacht final that year when Enda and Donie played influential roles to help end a seven-year wait for provincial glory.
“I suppose why I play is probably 90% of it is for him,” Enda said in an emotional clip. He was just 22 at the time, and was making a presentation to the squad about what playing for Roscommon means to him.
Speaking to The 42, Smith expanded on why he decided to share that part of his life with his teammates and how the group responded to his willingness to be vulnerable.
“I felt myself going and lads kind of related to it after. There was a lot of teary-eyed lads in the team, so that was nice for me to see because I know I clicked with them. It’s something that you don’t plan, and it just happened.
“I would have practised it but when you’re at the front of the group and you get into it a bit more, I suppose you see what it kind of means then and the effect that it does have on you.”
The Smith brothers are vital cogs in the Boyle machine too. With Cian as manager in 2022, the club ended a 95-year wait to contest the Roscommon SFC final. Enda and Donie combined for six points in the decider against Strokestown where Boyle were denied by just one point.
They returned to the final the following year with Cian at the helm, but again their journey ended in one-point agony against St Brigid’s.
Cian Smith before the 2022 county final between Boyle and Strokestown. John McVitty / INPHO
John McVitty / INPHO / INPHO
Like his older sibling, Enda Smith enjoyed a prolific underage career. A former captain of the Roscommon minors, Smith won back-to-back Connacht titles at that grade in 2011 and 2012. He also has three provincial U21 medals from 2014 and 2015, the last of which was Roscommon’s fourth in six seasons.
Smith made his debut for the Roscommon seniors in 2013 when he was just 18, and has been a consistent starter for the team throughout the last decade.
The highpoint of his career so far is that All-Star award in 2023. Slotting into the half-forward line alongside Kerry’s Paudie Clifford and Seán O’Shea, Smith became the 12th Roscommon man to win an All-Star, and the county’s first since Francie Grehan in 2001.
Smith also made history for his club by becoming Boyle’s first recipient of the award. His achievement was underpinned by the fact that Roscommon did not contest the Connacht final that year, or progress past the preliminary All-Ireland quarter-final.
“You just don’t know until it is announced,” he told The 42 at the time. ”It was a shock. Especially after the two Kerry lads are pulled out at the start, there is big competition there with Paul Mannion and a few more looking to get in.
“But it was a lovely surprise now. I didn’t know at all, so it made it nicer.”
13 years after making his senior bow, Smith continues to deliver for Roscommon. He clocked out of Hyde Park last Sunday with 0-6, including two two-pointers as his side held off Donegal to clinch their fourth win of the league. It was a huge response after they were overwhelmed by Dublin in the previous round.
Both of Smith’s two-pointers came from his first two kicks of the game as the hosts used the gale force wind to their advantage in the first half. He raised an orange flag after just 25 seconds to register his side’s first score of the day.
After receiving the ball out at the sideline, Smith raced to the centre of the field and shook off the challenge of his marker Caolan McGonagle before releasing the shot.
His second two-pointer came just after five minutes as weather conditions worsened. Daire Cregg slipped the ball to him just outside the arc with Smith managing to get the kick away despite the Donegal players converging on him.
Roscommon were 1-13 to 0-5 ahead at half-time but Donegal came roaring back into the contest when it was their turn to play with the assistance of the wind.
Jim McGuinness’ side reduced the deficit to just one point in the second half but a decisive second goal pushed Roscommon out of sight. It was Conor Hand who palmed the ball to the net but Smith was also at the scene, and was another option to apply the finish to Diarmuid Murtagh’s pop pass.
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Smith scored two crucial points in the second half to help Roscommon maintain their advantage and also had an important turnover.
With 41 minutes on the clock, Donegal had outscored Roscommon 0-6 to 0-0 and were in the midst of another attack. Jason McGee was trying to advance through the Roscommon defence when Smith sniped the ball away with a perfectly executed near-hand tackle.
“Donegal reeled us in probably in the first 10 minutes of the second half,” Smith told TG4 after the game while receiving his man-of-the-match award. “I thought we got our scores at the right time, just when we needed them. I don’t think they ever got level with us which was huge. And the goal at the end was the cherry on top of a really solid performance.
“[It was] far from perfect but you’re never perfect in all seven National League games. We’re delighted with the character we dug out in the last 15 minutes especially.”
With Mayo still left to play, Roscommon know the mathematics involved in their quest to make the Division 1 final. They will be targeting a victory in Castlebar while also hoping that one of Donegal or Kerry drop points in their respective final-round games.
Division 1 safety is already assured for Roscommon, which should help dilute any future presumptions about their ability to survive in the top tier.
And there could be even greater prizes in store for them. From relegation favourites to Division 1 champions would be the ultimate sign off before Roscommon’s championship preparations begin.
Smith’s involvement will be crucial to completing the mission.
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The 2023 All-Star driving Roscommon's charge from relegation favourites to Division 1 final bid
FROM RELEGATION FIGHTERS to prospective Division 1 finalists, it’s been a memorable league campaign for Roscommon.
At the centre of their engine room is 2023 All-Star Enda Smith who produced a man-of-the-match display last weekend to end Donegal’s unbeaten run, and put Roscommon on the verge of a league final.
His running tally of 4-11 — including one penalty — has helped form the bedrock of Roscommon’s brilliant run so far. His goal count is particularly noteworthy considering that Roscommon’s 13 green flags is the highest across all four divisions.
This opportunity was hard to fathom at start of the year. Roscommon’s traditional frailties in the top tier combined with some big retirement announcements, and a second All-Ireland defeat in three seasons for St Brigid’s, offered a bleak projection for the county’s 2026 prospects.
A change in management posed questions too as Mark Dowd took over from Davy Burke. And yet, here they are defying those expectations.
Should results fall their way this weekend, Smith could be closing in on another medal to add to his haul across an impressive underage and senior career.
A product of the Boyle club, Smith’s path in football was laid out for him by his brothers Donie and Cian. They set a high bar.
Donie was among those aforementioned losses to retirement in the Roscommon squad. Along with Ciaráin Murtagh, the pair stepped away in the wake of the 2025 season. Their combined experience was a huge loss to the Roscommon camp for 2026.
Both were involved for Roscommon’s Division 2 successes in 2015, 2018, 2020 and 2022, as well as a Division 3 crown in 2014. Donie won two Connacht senior medals in 2017 and 2019 while Murtagh was absent for the 2019 triumph due to travel commitments.
Cian put a flag in the ground for the Smith family in 2006. He was part of the Roscommon minor squad who famously won an All-Ireland after a replay against Kerry.
He was diagnosed with throat cancer the following year at just 19, a chapter of his life which he spoke about in a candid interview with The 42 in 2017.
Enda has also talked about his perspective of watching his brother’s health battle, and how Cian’s story shaped his motivation as a footballer.
He opened up about it during a documentary entitled ‘Behind the Gates with Roscommon GAA,’ a production which explored the team’s 2017 campaign under then-manager Kevin McStay.
Roscommon reached the Connacht final that year when Enda and Donie played influential roles to help end a seven-year wait for provincial glory.
“I suppose why I play is probably 90% of it is for him,” Enda said in an emotional clip. He was just 22 at the time, and was making a presentation to the squad about what playing for Roscommon means to him.
Speaking to The 42, Smith expanded on why he decided to share that part of his life with his teammates and how the group responded to his willingness to be vulnerable.
“I felt myself going and lads kind of related to it after. There was a lot of teary-eyed lads in the team, so that was nice for me to see because I know I clicked with them. It’s something that you don’t plan, and it just happened.
“I would have practised it but when you’re at the front of the group and you get into it a bit more, I suppose you see what it kind of means then and the effect that it does have on you.”
The Smith brothers are vital cogs in the Boyle machine too. With Cian as manager in 2022, the club ended a 95-year wait to contest the Roscommon SFC final. Enda and Donie combined for six points in the decider against Strokestown where Boyle were denied by just one point.
They returned to the final the following year with Cian at the helm, but again their journey ended in one-point agony against St Brigid’s.
Like his older sibling, Enda Smith enjoyed a prolific underage career. A former captain of the Roscommon minors, Smith won back-to-back Connacht titles at that grade in 2011 and 2012. He also has three provincial U21 medals from 2014 and 2015, the last of which was Roscommon’s fourth in six seasons.
Smith made his debut for the Roscommon seniors in 2013 when he was just 18, and has been a consistent starter for the team throughout the last decade.
The highpoint of his career so far is that All-Star award in 2023. Slotting into the half-forward line alongside Kerry’s Paudie Clifford and Seán O’Shea, Smith became the 12th Roscommon man to win an All-Star, and the county’s first since Francie Grehan in 2001.
Smith also made history for his club by becoming Boyle’s first recipient of the award. His achievement was underpinned by the fact that Roscommon did not contest the Connacht final that year, or progress past the preliminary All-Ireland quarter-final.
“You just don’t know until it is announced,” he told The 42 at the time. ”It was a shock. Especially after the two Kerry lads are pulled out at the start, there is big competition there with Paul Mannion and a few more looking to get in.
“But it was a lovely surprise now. I didn’t know at all, so it made it nicer.”
13 years after making his senior bow, Smith continues to deliver for Roscommon. He clocked out of Hyde Park last Sunday with 0-6, including two two-pointers as his side held off Donegal to clinch their fourth win of the league. It was a huge response after they were overwhelmed by Dublin in the previous round.
Both of Smith’s two-pointers came from his first two kicks of the game as the hosts used the gale force wind to their advantage in the first half. He raised an orange flag after just 25 seconds to register his side’s first score of the day.
After receiving the ball out at the sideline, Smith raced to the centre of the field and shook off the challenge of his marker Caolan McGonagle before releasing the shot.
His second two-pointer came just after five minutes as weather conditions worsened. Daire Cregg slipped the ball to him just outside the arc with Smith managing to get the kick away despite the Donegal players converging on him.
Roscommon were 1-13 to 0-5 ahead at half-time but Donegal came roaring back into the contest when it was their turn to play with the assistance of the wind.
Jim McGuinness’ side reduced the deficit to just one point in the second half but a decisive second goal pushed Roscommon out of sight. It was Conor Hand who palmed the ball to the net but Smith was also at the scene, and was another option to apply the finish to Diarmuid Murtagh’s pop pass.
Smith scored two crucial points in the second half to help Roscommon maintain their advantage and also had an important turnover.
With 41 minutes on the clock, Donegal had outscored Roscommon 0-6 to 0-0 and were in the midst of another attack. Jason McGee was trying to advance through the Roscommon defence when Smith sniped the ball away with a perfectly executed near-hand tackle.
“Donegal reeled us in probably in the first 10 minutes of the second half,” Smith told TG4 after the game while receiving his man-of-the-match award. “I thought we got our scores at the right time, just when we needed them. I don’t think they ever got level with us which was huge. And the goal at the end was the cherry on top of a really solid performance.
“[It was] far from perfect but you’re never perfect in all seven National League games. We’re delighted with the character we dug out in the last 15 minutes especially.”
With Mayo still left to play, Roscommon know the mathematics involved in their quest to make the Division 1 final. They will be targeting a victory in Castlebar while also hoping that one of Donegal or Kerry drop points in their respective final-round games.
Division 1 safety is already assured for Roscommon, which should help dilute any future presumptions about their ability to survive in the top tier.
And there could be even greater prizes in store for them. From relegation favourites to Division 1 champions would be the ultimate sign off before Roscommon’s championship preparations begin.
Smith’s involvement will be crucial to completing the mission.
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