GLENSWILLY BOSS GARY McDaid had a hectic time last weekend but it was celebrations all round at the end of it.
McDaid’s wife gave birth to their second child – the couple already have a daughter – last Friday.
And then on Sunday afternoon in Omagh, McDaid was on the sideline steering Glenswilly to their first ever AIB Ulster SFC club final.
“My wife Mandy wasn’t due untll this Thursday but she was taken in last Thursday and we had a baby son born, Jack, on Friday afternoon.
“It’s been a hectic weekend but everything is great and we will have a busy few weeks on and off the pitch.”
McDaid and Glenswilly will now look forward to an Ulster final on December 1st after Sunday’s win over Fermanagh’s Roslea. They’ll return to Healy Park to face Derry champions Ballinderry in that game.
Michael Murphy and Neil Gallagher are the marquee names in the Glenswilly outfit but it is still a huge achievement for the club to reach this stage.
“Getting to an Ulster final is absolutely massive for a club of our size. To put it in perspective to see where we’ve come from, no-one would’ve thought of Glenswilly as a club who could even make a county senior final 10 years ago.
“We’ve about 300 houses in the parish and we don’t even have a town as such. It’s a tiny village, Churchill, with three pubs. That’s it. There’s a club right in the middle of the Glen and that’s what we have.”
James Pat McDaid and Neil Gallagher of Glenswilly celebrate
Pic: INPHO/Presseye/Andrew Paton
But while it’s a novel occasion, the team has plenty motivation.
“We played in an Ulster intermediate final in 2005 and there was a lot of heartache that day against Inniskeen. We were two points up in injury time and conceded a goal to lose and they went on to win the All-Ireland.
“There’s a lot of hurt from then, our first run in Ulster, and I’m sure that will be mentioned in the dressing-room in the next two weeks.
“The county boys have huge experience but a lot of our boys have experience as well. There’s a few who played county minor and U21 and most of the lads came through St Eunan’s College and they’ve played college football across the nine counties.
“Experience is massive at this stage in competitions. Ballinderry will out-do us on that but listen, we’re delighted just to be there.”
