By Michael McMullan

THE memory of former coach James McVeigh was never far from the thoughts of the Tír na nÓg players during their quest to win the club’s third Antrim Intermediate Football Championship.

McVeigh was a popular figure and passed away in December. He had committed to joining manager Michael O’Kane’s management team this season.

“You wanted to go out and do it this year for James and his family,” said goalkeeper Sean Paul McAtamney who was ‘very friendly’ with him.

“It was tough for the club, he was very good with the underage. Sometimes you think he is looking down on you, helping you. I know it drove me on.”

McAtamney is in his sixth season as the senior goalkeeper.

He remembers coming up to watch the seniors train when Glenullin man O’Kane got Tír na nÓg promoted to Division Two in his previous tenure as manager.

“Every year we’d just think ‘we need to win a championship’ and we knew we were good enough,” McAtamney said of the club’s hopes in recent seasons.

“It just clicked this year,” he added. “Mick came in and he has got us seriously fit. has us playing with confidence on the ball. He loves getting us to attack and we defend really hard.”

Tír na nÓg head into Saturday’s Ulster clash on the back of a league and championship double in Antrim.

They trailed All Saints, Ballymena well in the opening league game at half time.

“We came out in the second half, changed our tactics and battered them,” McAtamney recalls of that May Sunday in Slemish Park.

Eleven more wins followed as they never looked back until a Paddy McAteer goal saw 14-man All-Saints overturn them in the championship group stages.

“We had an off day and Ballymena knew how to play us,” said McAtamney. “That was our biggest result of the year, in my opinion. It brought us back down to earth.

“They played better and we played poor and they only beat us by two points.

“That gave me confidence going into the final (also against All Saints).”

After some soul-searching, they beat Glenravel, Davitt’s and Ardoyne in their three remaining group games to book a semi-final spot with Sarsfield’s.

McAtamney scored a penalty, his fifth in as many attempts, to cement their place in the final.

With Michael O’Kane yet to decide on his penalty taker at the start of the season, a few of the players suggested their goalkeeper the man to step up when required.

“I am always up early at training, practising kick-outs and penalties,” said the 25-year-old.

In recent weeks, Tír na nÓg have played Queen’s University and Desertmartin in challenge games to sharpen the focus since winning the Antrim Championship over four weeks ago.

When the players returned to the training after a week off, there was a new focus.

“Mick (O’Kane) didn’t want to talk about Antrim any more, he wanted
to talk about Ulster,” McAtamney said.

“We have trained well, it (Ulster) is something different that none of our players have experienced.”

Their in-house game on Sunday completed the preparations, with video footage of Carrickcruppen outlining their next challenge.

McAtamney is confident, but feels their Armagh opponents – who describes as “a very good side” – will think the same.

Tír na nÓg won’t be in it along in Ahoghill on Saturday.

James McVeigh will be in their thoughts. Kicking every ball.