22 JANUARY 2022: Glen watch Kilmacud Crokes lift the All-Ireland senior club football title after a two-point defeat.
Heartbreak. Dejection. Desolation.
The days that follow are a whirlwind, salt added to the wounds as the 16th man controversy plays out. One needs little reminder of that siege.
22 January 2023: Glen are waking up as All-Ireland champions.
Redemption at last.
The difference a year makes.
Yesterday, the Derry club got their hands on the Andy Merrigan Cup for the very first time following a dramatic one-point win over St Brigid’s of Roscommon.
For the third season in-a-row, the All-Ireland senior club football champions bounced back from losing the previous final, after Kilmacud and Kilcoo before them.
In typical Watty Graham’s fashion, it was far from straightforward.
Yet another narrow win, typifying their resilience and character.
While they put last year’s gut-wrenching final defeat to bed with a one-point semi-final win over Kilmacud, Malachy O’Rourke and Conor Glass both mentioned it in passing in the bowels of the Hogan Stand yesterday.
“To be honest, this year nearly started with last year,” said O’Rourke, now an All-Ireland winning manager after five provincial crowns with Glen (two), Monaghan (two) and the Loup (1).
“Last year after the game, there was a lot of talk and what not, but the club was really united. The club came and said whatever the players and the management want, that’s what we’ll do. We’ll be 100% behind you. There was a lot of talk from different sources and a lot of people from the outside were giving their tuppence worth, but we always said whatever was the right thing for the club, we’d do, and we followed through on that.
“I think it cemented the whole club this year, it meant that everybody was going forward together. A lot of tough battles along the way, it looked like we were going to come up short once again but maybe it was that wee bit of desire and hunger that got us across the line.”
Glen’s run to All-Ireland glory is striking. They won the Ulster and All-Ireland semi-finals and finals by a combined total of five points. And that’s without even delving into their path to retaining their Derry title.
A last-gasp Emmet Bradley point saw them into the Ulster final after a 0-10 to 1-6 win over Naomh Conaill. There, they produced a big second-half showing to edge out Scotstown by two points and go back-to-back in the northern province.
In the highly-anticipated All-Ireland semi-final against Kilmacud, they raced into a hefty lead in the fog in Newry. Crokes clawed their way back, but Glen held on through a dramatic finish to prevail by the minimum.
They were put to the pin of their collar yesterday.
O’Rourke’s men came in as firm favourites, but they were second best for much of the game. St Brigid’s were four points ahead on the cusp of half time, though Jody McDermott’s goal into Hill 16 went some way in levelling matters by the break.
The Roscommon side hit back with a quickfire 1-1 of their own on the restart, and Glen struggled to respond. Their shot selection was “terrible,” as Glass conceded afterwards, with most of their 11 wides, five dropped shots and others that were blocked down coming early in the second half.
A black card shown to Cathal Mulholland left Glen with a further mountain to climb, and in the 55th minute, they again trailed by four.
Yet somehow, some way, they persevered once more.
Michael Warnock stepped up with an inspirational effort, before Glass’s all-important goal and injury-time points from free-taker Bradley and provider-turned-scorer Conleth McGuckian. They survived a late Brigid’s rally, as Shane Cunnane couldn’t make it two from two on the frees when his last-gasp kick from the ’45 tailed wide.
“There were multiple times I thought the game was dead and buried,” Glass said afterwards.
“But you can only focus on what you can control, and what we could have controlled was trying to get turnovers. We were down to 14 men and they were playing good football, but it shows the determination, the fitness, and the never say die attitude in this team to get over the line.
“The trust we have in each other, to have that when things aren’t going right, to never really panic on those occasions… it is a testament to this man [O'Rourke], we have all situations covered. We prepare for everything we can control. What we can control is our effort and our work-rate.”
“No matter how bad things are going, we just keep working for each other,” O’Rourke added.
Glen only won their first Derry senior football championship in 2021. Now, they are All-Ireland champions, with three county titles and back-to-back Ulster successes to boot.
Two huge moments in late 2020 changed everything. O’Rourke was appointed manager, and Glass returned home from the AFL.
Former Monaghan and Fermanagh boss O’Rourke typically deflects any praise and won’t speak much on personal satisfaction amidst an ever-impressive coaching career. “It’s funny, it doesn’t really come down to that for me. I’ve only ever been in two All-Ireland finals, last year and this year.
“As I’ve said before, my life’s not going to change that much whether I win an All-Ireland or not, the joy I get out of it is just seeing the boys, seeing them growing as a group of players, developing and just having that hunger and will to improve and get better and test themselves at the highest level in club football. For a whole club and community.”
It’s about much more than Malachy O’Rourke. And Conor Glass. And the Glen panel and management.
“In fairness to the club, there wouldn’t have been silverware for a long time but they weren’t resting on their laurels. When these lads came through, the facilities and infrastructure was there and everyone was able to push on together.
“It would be remiss of me to sit here and start looking for glory, there’s been massive work done by the club at underage level. I don’t want to mention lads because I’d leave someone out, but but that has a massive impact on what happened today.”
21 January 2023: One which will never be forgotten by Watty Graham’s Glen.
