THEIR OWN FANBASE may have deserted them, but if you are in Oisín Conaty’s boots for Armagh this week, you will be extremely wary of their Ulster preliminary round clash with Tyrone on Sunday.
Failing to get out of Division 2, in fact winning just two games in the second tier, has led to the Tyrone fans turning their back on their county senior team.
In the league fixture against Cavan this year, just over 2,000 supporters turned up.
Add that, to the recent rumours of player unrest, goalkeeper Niall Morgan being dropped, Darragh Canavan wishing to go on a holiday that never quite happened, and 2021 Player of the Year Kieran McGeary going travelling, then it’s fair to say that Tyrone are slipping into this championship not so much under the radar as crawling beneath it.
“We are paying no attention to what the media are saying about Tyrone,” says Conaty.
“We played them last year and got over the line lucky enough by a point with the last kick.
“Tyrone are a brilliant team with brilliant players in all positions, and we are not underestimating what they can bring.
“Especially in the championship, that rivalry all comes into play and it will be a dogfight.”
Armagh had a mixed league campaign on paper. Hugely impressive the first day against an albeit weakened Monaghan side in Clones, they went on a run of narrow defeats to Galway, Roscommon, Donegal and Mayo.
In their sixth game, they found their mojo against fellow strugglers Dublin, with a superb second half goal from Conaty a massive reason for the two-point win.
"He's an unbelievable footballer" 🗣️ Stefan takes us through one of the goals of the league from Oisín Conaty 🚀 pic.twitter.com/BsSD5fM07p
At 23, Conaty already has two All-Stars from the last two seasons. He was crowned Young Footballer of the Year in 2024 and finished runner-up to Finbarr Roarty last year.
And yet, he carries a surprising level of insecurity around his game. His confidence is not bullet-proof.
“I need to add things to my game. Coming up against some of the man-markers in the league I found it tough at times,” he says.
“But it’s something I have been working with Deets (Conleith Gilligan) and Geezer (Kieran McGeeney).
“I just have to keep improving on my execution and skills. Whether it is my left foot – I got a few left foot scores last year and a couple this year.
“Just honing in on the skills I am alright at now, just getting better at them, constantly trying to improve.”
Conaty enters the Box-IT Athletic Grounds. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
He admits to having a healthy level of self-analysis. He will watch games back, pick out moments and ask Kieran McGeeney what else he might have tried at that time.
“I suppose this year, I was missing a lot and probably a few other players involved in that.
“Geezer himself and all the coaches, they all have a part to play. Denis Hollywood goes unnoticed a lot in Armagh but he does a lot of stuff for us.
“I remember him taking me into the gym and doing different things with me on the whiteboard, it doesn’t have to be on the pitch. And then the next night he would take me on the pitch and focus on different things; reps and striking.
“I’d say all the backroom team do a brilliant job, Deets too. He would text me on What’s App about different things.
“It’s not just when I see them, it’s that they are always thinking about us. It’s that support and it goes a long way.”
Hugh Campbell has been working with Kieran McGeeney teams since the Kildare days and he is still right there in the mix now.
“He has us well prepped with visualisation and things like that, that are proven to work in professional sports and you see a lot of teams using it,” says Conaty.
“I should be maybe more interested in it more. I see lads like Aidan Forker and Peter McGrane are very good at it and use it to their advantage.”
And yet he thinks of forward play as instinctive too.
“It’s about backing yourself and taking the repercussions of the challenges that come with it. But as long as you are backing yourself, you are hoping that the right things will come your way.”
Two years ago, it all came their way with the county’s second All-Ireland title.
Typical of Armagh, there were speed bumps along the way, including a penalty shootout loss in Ulster final to Donegal.
Conaty admits their way of getting over that fast was to huddle closer.
“I remember after that, we put a massive emphasis on just being together a lot. We were always away doing stuff together. And that worked for off the pitch, it wasn’t just meetings and football. It was other things like team bonding days.
“We got a wee bit of luck in those games too, so I think that has a part to play too. We put massive work into improving, which you should be doing anyway. But we got the break that year and hopefully we will have two instead of one.”
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'It will be a dogfight' - Tyrone under pressure, yet Armagh wary of upcoming Ulster test
THEIR OWN FANBASE may have deserted them, but if you are in Oisín Conaty’s boots for Armagh this week, you will be extremely wary of their Ulster preliminary round clash with Tyrone on Sunday.
Failing to get out of Division 2, in fact winning just two games in the second tier, has led to the Tyrone fans turning their back on their county senior team.
In the league fixture against Cavan this year, just over 2,000 supporters turned up.
Add that, to the recent rumours of player unrest, goalkeeper Niall Morgan being dropped, Darragh Canavan wishing to go on a holiday that never quite happened, and 2021 Player of the Year Kieran McGeary going travelling, then it’s fair to say that Tyrone are slipping into this championship not so much under the radar as crawling beneath it.
“We are paying no attention to what the media are saying about Tyrone,” says Conaty.
“We played them last year and got over the line lucky enough by a point with the last kick.
“Tyrone are a brilliant team with brilliant players in all positions, and we are not underestimating what they can bring.
“Especially in the championship, that rivalry all comes into play and it will be a dogfight.”
Armagh had a mixed league campaign on paper. Hugely impressive the first day against an albeit weakened Monaghan side in Clones, they went on a run of narrow defeats to Galway, Roscommon, Donegal and Mayo.
In their sixth game, they found their mojo against fellow strugglers Dublin, with a superb second half goal from Conaty a massive reason for the two-point win.
At 23, Conaty already has two All-Stars from the last two seasons. He was crowned Young Footballer of the Year in 2024 and finished runner-up to Finbarr Roarty last year.
And yet, he carries a surprising level of insecurity around his game. His confidence is not bullet-proof.
“I need to add things to my game. Coming up against some of the man-markers in the league I found it tough at times,” he says.
“But it’s something I have been working with Deets (Conleith Gilligan) and Geezer (Kieran McGeeney).
“I just have to keep improving on my execution and skills. Whether it is my left foot – I got a few left foot scores last year and a couple this year.
“Just honing in on the skills I am alright at now, just getting better at them, constantly trying to improve.”
He admits to having a healthy level of self-analysis. He will watch games back, pick out moments and ask Kieran McGeeney what else he might have tried at that time.
“I suppose this year, I was missing a lot and probably a few other players involved in that.
“Geezer himself and all the coaches, they all have a part to play. Denis Hollywood goes unnoticed a lot in Armagh but he does a lot of stuff for us.
“I remember him taking me into the gym and doing different things with me on the whiteboard, it doesn’t have to be on the pitch. And then the next night he would take me on the pitch and focus on different things; reps and striking.
“I’d say all the backroom team do a brilliant job, Deets too. He would text me on What’s App about different things.
“It’s not just when I see them, it’s that they are always thinking about us. It’s that support and it goes a long way.”
Hugh Campbell has been working with Kieran McGeeney teams since the Kildare days and he is still right there in the mix now.
“I should be maybe more interested in it more. I see lads like Aidan Forker and Peter McGrane are very good at it and use it to their advantage.”
And yet he thinks of forward play as instinctive too.
“It’s about backing yourself and taking the repercussions of the challenges that come with it. But as long as you are backing yourself, you are hoping that the right things will come your way.”
Two years ago, it all came their way with the county’s second All-Ireland title.
Typical of Armagh, there were speed bumps along the way, including a penalty shootout loss in Ulster final to Donegal.
Conaty admits their way of getting over that fast was to huddle closer.
“I remember after that, we put a massive emphasis on just being together a lot. We were always away doing stuff together. And that worked for off the pitch, it wasn’t just meetings and football. It was other things like team bonding days.
“We got a wee bit of luck in those games too, so I think that has a part to play too. We put massive work into improving, which you should be doing anyway. But we got the break that year and hopefully we will have two instead of one.”
*****
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