By Michael McMullan

MARTINA McCafferty knows what winning an All-Ireland feels like.

The former Down captain is part of the Derry management team plotting to book an All-Ireland Junior final berth this weekend when they take on Carlow.

She is buzzing. Every word emits positivity. Derry’s unseen growth has broken through the ceiling and they’re now standing on Croke Park’s doorstep.

It’s a tale of simplicity, of persistence and of togetherness.

A native of Derry, she found herself in Belfast where she played for the Bredagh club.

When Down fielded their first ladies football team in 1994, McCafferty was captain.

Six years later, she was part of their All-Ireland winning team.

Back in Derry, she is involved with the Steelstown club.

When Seamus Shivers and Greg McArdle were assembling a management team, McCafferty was called on board.

You don’t need to be talking to her long to realise why. As well as having walked the walk, she has a way with people.

In a playing group more used to defeat than victory, that positivity is solid gold.

A cousin of Derry City legend Peter Hutton, Martina had a background in soccer. There was a bit of basketball thrown in too.

Gaelic football came late, in her mid-20s, but when it did, she was hooked. When those involved with her soccer teams didn’t see a way of playing both, Gaelic Games won the wrestle.

“I definitely got the sporting piece from the Hutton side of the house,” she said.

“All my family are singers and I’m the only one that played a bit of sport, so thank God I got the sporting gene.

“Boy did I have a journey and I played for Down,” she points out.

“I won an All-Ireland and got up the steps of the Hogan Stand.”

The following year, 2001, she moved back to Derry. After raising her family, she embraced Gaelic football in every way – coaching and administration.

“Gaelic is brilliant,” she said, speaking as Derry plot the downfall of Carlow this weekend.

“I often reflect on what my life would be without Gaelic, I don’t know where I would have ended up.

“It’s a wonderful environment to be a part of. I just absolutely love it, I eat, sleep, and breathe it.”

If being captain of the 1994 Down team was a breakthrough, the Derry squad she is involved with these days are cutting their own sod.

Down were All-Ireland champions in 2000

For too many years, the Oakleafers have been propping up most of Division Four. Kilkenny, in 32^nd place, sat below.

Back in 2017, Derry were on the cusp of an All-Ireland junior title until Fermanagh reeled them back in during the dying embers of the final at Croke Park.

It was a painful one added to by the Erne County winning the replay in Clones.

Derry did manage an Ulster title the following year but have been struggling since. Until now.

Their league this season was all about clean sheets and turning hammerings from last year into competitive performances.

They nearly beat Leitrim and Wicklow but didn’t. The only consolation was how close they were getting.

On the outside, it meant nothing. To the Derry group, it was proof they were growing.

Inside the camp, the girls stuck together.  Something was brewing. It wasn’t a case of if there would be a breakthrough. Instead, the word was when.

That’s why the manner of their Ulster final defeat to Antrim cut deep. They had invested too much in progression but sat at another fork in the road.

Derry had Eoghan Rua coach Leo Sweeney as part of their management team earlier in the season when his hectic schedule allowed him a bit of time.

Collectively, Derry became hard to break down. That was the foundations of this weekend’s semi-final appearance have been built on.

McCafferty, having tasted glory as a player also recognises the building blocks before highlighting one of the important ones – simplicity.

“This is just my view but the thing that has made the difference for this group of players,” she said.

“We just have this belief that if we kept things simple, if we developed that as one of our biggest strengths, that would stand by us.”

It has allowed them to make simple black and white decisions in games. Time and time again, they can recognise what one per cent gains look like.

“The girls didn’t over complicate the games in any way,” she adds.

“We really focused on doing things well. Players knew their roles on the pitch; they knew what was expected of them.

“We tried to minimise the mistakes by doing simple kick passing, having simple shot selection and really disciplined defending.

“That kept a simple build towards consistency as the games went on.”

Another word is trust, that, in turn, feeds into the communication needed as the moving parts of a game ping around a pitch.

However, for McCafferty, simple doesn’t mean easy. It’s about breaking the game down. Goalkeeping, defending, attacking as well as uniting them all together.

“That has really developed the confidence in the team and the players weren’t really forcing the game,” McCafferty said.

“I think keeping it simple allowed the talent in our team to shine through.”

As teams found Derry a tougher nut to crack than usual, McCafferty could see the players beginning to believe even more in their approach.

It was going to be when they’d begin to find wins rather than if. She was convinced of it.

Another element comes from the leaders dotted through a young squad, many of whom hadn’t seen many of the darker days.

There was a message of the value of a county jersey and the responsibility to own that concept.

While Annie Ní Lochlainn is second in the overall championship scoring charts, Derry have had other players chipping in.

“When somebody’s being double teamed, it allows us the opportunities to go elsewhere,” said McCafferty, herself a forward back in the day.

“That has been a shift as well. Winning does breed confidence.”

First, it was running teams close and that has morphed into three consecutive All-Ireland group wins over Antrim, Longford and Kilkenny.

They were three wins that ensured they’d emerge from the group even after a narrow defeat to Offaly in the final game.

Derry’s obstacle was that disappointing Ulster final defeat to Antrim.

How did they turn around another dent to their plans?

Derry reached the All-Ireland Junior final in 2017

A Tuesday night session at Benone strand helped, an evening that involved everything other than football.

“They played rounders and whatever, just not to think about football,” McCafferty recalls of a change of scenery.

“If you hadn’t been in the changing rooms after the Ulster final and you hadn’t looked at me, Greg or Seamus,” she said.

“You would have thought somebody had taken our life savings and ran off with them.”

As a player, defeat is something McCafferty always found a difficult pill to swallow. That’s how competitors roll.

“I took it really, really bad,” she continued.

“I was just so disappointed for the girls. In hindsight, it was a wonderful thing, reflecting on it. The girls stood straight back up.”

Despite the hurt, the only way to look was forward. It’s something McCafferty buys into.

“I have this acronym which is called WIN, it’s not actually win but it’s ‘what’s important now’,” she explains.

“What’s important now is how we respond. They got annoyed for an hour or an hour and a half (after the Ulster final defeat).

“They just stood back up again and aimed their focus on the All-Ireland series.”

Despite being underdogs, Derry came with a performance that kickstarted their season. Beating a team of Antrim’s quality was just the injection of belief they needed.

Antrim are also in this weekend’s semi-finals and remain as favourites for the title.

Another chapter in Derry’s story of progress was backing up their win over Antrim.

A week later, the trip to Longford was the key result. Derry needed to prove the flow they showed in beating their Ulster rivals wasn’t a flash in the pan.

It has been a giant step towards Sunday and their semi-final date in Kingspan Breffni Park.

“A semi-final is brilliant but we want to get to a final now,” McCafferty summed up.

“The executive and all the clubs are behind us. Families are travelling the length and breadth of the country to support us, albeit we have a small group of supporters.

“It means so much to everybody on the squad but it’s a massive opportunity and it’s one that we really have to take.”

The preparation window has been about peeking at what Carlow are about and honing in on their own approach, highlighting the simple steps that have worked in recent games.

The missed goal chances against Offaly cost them an unbeaten All-Ireland path to this weekend.

They know Carlow is the biggest game of the season but McCafferty also revisits here WIN mantra. So, what’s important now?

“We have come through the toughest test we think that we’ve had already, which is Antrim.

“We have stood up and it’s not a fluke because we stood up again against Longford. It’s all in front of us, and it’s there for the taking.”

The Derry shoulders appear broader now. Winning games does that. There is a quiet confidence. Not an overconfidence.

“That sense of togetherness that was there even before they started the All-Ireland series is now solidified,” McCafferty adds.

Since they’ve begun winning, their phones have pinged with messages of congratulations.

“Folks that have played football with me years and years ago all sent messages,” McCafferty adds.

“I think the girls have just embraced the identity that they always wanted to have in terms of wearing their Derry shirt with pride and being a role model.

“Our underage teams are doing fantastically well at the minute but our seniors can now stand up tall and say ‘yeah, look, we’re playing our part in that as well.’

“It’s not just about individual stars, everybody is contributing to the journey.

“That visible togetherness that we’re seeing now has really solidified.

“The narrow loss to Offaly, the girls were absolutely gutted because they expect to win now.

“This culture where everyone matters is really visible. That’s the kind of environment that does build belief and it’s powerful for us going into this championship semi-final.

“When we’re up against it, and we’re under pressure, you’ll remember those small things, and how connected you are to your teammates besides, in front of and behind you.”

Derry’s 2026 story has been quite the upward curve. For McCafferty and everyone on the rollercoaster, they’ll hope for one more Sunday…the biggest Sunday of all. Imagine.