The Real McCoy: Gaelic Life and following the Armagh dream

By Shaun Casey

NIALL McCoy called time on his Gaelic Life journey at the end of April after giving 14 years of service. He started with the paper back in 2012 and covered some incredible stories during his time.

The world and the industry changed a lot of those years and he was part of all of that.

“It’s nearly a decade and a half which is hard to believe,” McCoy told the Gaelic Lives podcast recently.

“I had an incredible time there but it went by in the blink of an eye.

“There was four in it when I started, myself, Ciaran Woods, John Hughes and Ronan Scott and it was a paper edition at that stage. As it is now, it was very club oriented, which I think is one of the strengths of the Gaelic Life.

“I would hate to add up how many club managers I spoke to over the years. I used to love doing the club championship previews and it was really fun to be working in the GAA and it still is and I really enjoyed my time there.

“I’m sad to be moving on because it still remains such a great publication that is only going to go from strength to strength, especially now that I’m out the door!”

McCoy saw Sam travel north three times in those years. Donegal were crowned All-Ireland champions just a few short months after he began his Gaelic Life career.

Tyrone emerged victorious in 2021 to win Sam Maguire for the fourth time while his beloved Armagh climbed the steps of the Hogan Stand as recently as 2024.

McCoy saw the rise of Monaghan, who ended a 25-year wait for an Ulster title in 2013. He witnessed Derry’s rise from Division Four to Division One, where they claimed back-to-back provincial titles in 2022 and 2023.

In all that time however, the Dromintee clubman never saw an Armagh captain get their hands on the Anglo Celt. 2008 was the last time the Orchard County were crowned kings of Ulster.

McCoy will be in Clones on Sunday, as a fan, cheering on the men in orange and white. Should they eventually get over the line after three consecutive final defeats, the final whistle will mark a special moment for McCoy and his clubmates.

Aaron McKay has been captaining the team in Aidan Forker’s absence, and he’ll likely be the one leading Armagh around the ground in the pre-match parade.

“I don’t think a Dromintee person has captained Armagh in a championship match before, I could be wrong. Aidan O’Rourke will correct me on that, I’m sure,” McCoy laughed.

STEPPING AWAY…Niall McCoy has said goodbye to Gaelic Life after 14 years

“The weekend of the Fermanagh match, Lauren McConville was out for the ladies, and Aidan Forker hasn’t played for the men at the minute, so we had Aaron McKay and Aoife McCoy captaining both Armagh teams in the same weekend.

“It was just an incredible honour. They are two unbelievable ambassadors for the club and couldn’t do enough for the club. Over the years they have been so generous with their time, brilliant with the underage and have been performing on the national stage.

“I still think McKay missing out on an All-Star was a sham in 2024. Aoife got hers in the end so hopefully McKay can join her now with an All-Star if everything goes to plan.”

Dromintee have experienced unprecedented success in recent years. The same crop of youngsters won the Ulster U16 title two years ago before claiming the Ulster Minor title on New Years Day.

“We have a good group of lads coming through and like every club, there’s so much good work being done at underage level and we’re seeing some of the fruits of that but there’s so much more to do.

“It’s all about the enthusiasm of coaches, Philly McEvoy is our youth chairman at the moment, Aidan O’Rourke has had a big say, Stephen Dyas, Marty O’Rourke, I couldn’t even list them all.

“There’s been a lot of time and a lot of effort. The same story as every club in the country and at the moment, we’ve managed to get a good group through and hopefully they push on.”

Darragh McMullen – Armagh’s unsung hero

Whether it’s McKay or Forker lifting the Anglo Celt on Sunday afternoon, McCoy doesn’t really mind. He just hopes Armagh can do the business against Monaghan and end their 18-year long wait.

“Monaghan find a way to stick in there and we’ve saw that, particularly in league football, in recent years. Monaghan always find a way,” McCoy continued.

“It’s strange because it’s Armagh’s fourth final in a row and it’s probably the first time that they’ve gone into it as proper favourites.

“Derry were obviously on such a high (in 2023) and then the two Donegal games (2024 and 2025) and I’m guessing they were all 5050 with the bookies.

“Armagh will have to carry the tag of favourites. Does that suit them? I don’t know. It suited them okay in the semi-final in what was supposed to be a tricky encounter (against Down) and they dealt with that very, very well.

“Monaghan, we remember that day in Croke Park with the penalties (2023 All-Ireland quarter-final). Armagh carried the favourites tag into that match too and it didn’t happen. When you look back at the last three Ulster finals, they all went down to the very last play. I suppose the fact Armagh have won the All-Ireland, I don’t really get to high or low about Armagh anymore, but this one, if they lose this one, would be damaging.

“I think they are a better team than Monaghan. I think Monaghan are to be feared for sure but given where Armagh are at the moment, it’s a match they should be winning. Touch wood they can do it because ’08 is a long time ago.”