St Brigid’s manager hails county player input

By Michael McMullan

ST Brigid’s manager Cathal Murray has hailed the togetherness of his squad ahead of Saturday’s Antrim Senior Football Championship quarter-final clash with St John’s.

Having guided Ardee to success in Louth, it’s Murray’s first year with the side.

As a fresh face, he has brought a different outlook and has tested various players in new positions.

He has also had to contend with playing without their five Antrim county players during the league, as well as Shea Downey who was in with Derry.

Declan Heery, John Morgan, Ronan Boyle, Joe Finnegan and Paddy Finnegan were all part of Mark Doran’s Antrim squad.

While integrating them back into the team and their systems of play was crucial, it was made much easier with the county players’ constant attendance at training.

“I’ve never experienced this before, the county players, any night we were training and they had nothing on, they were always there, just to watch,” Murray said.

“I am only new in but it just seems to be what they do. Normally, when a county is out of the championship, players suddenly appear at training.

“These lads have been there all year and it’s created a great unity between the whole group. There’s not a sort of them and us county players and club players

“That has helped blend the county players back in again once they had finished with their county commitments.”

Since the players have become available for selection, it was a case of filtering them back in. The other consideration was players coming from a county scene with a different approach or from playing in a different position.

That has been Murray’s challenge, alongside his management team of former St Brigid’s and Antrim player Declan O’Hagan, Thomas and Gerard McNulty. The McNulty brothers steered Creggan to the title in 2021.

St Brigid’s lost their opening game of this year’s championship to Cargin. While Murray admits Cargin, with their greater experience, deserved the victory, he felt his side underperformed.

On the final day of the groups, they were comfortable winners over Moneyglass on a day where they clicked against a team already out of the reckoning.

The St Gall’s game in the middle was the crunch day. A defeat would’ve have spelt an end to their championship hopes.

“We’d done a lot of work between the two games (Cargin and St Gall’s),” Murray pointed out. “We got it together and there was a much more energetic and workmanlike performance against St Gall’s.

“It was a massive game and the players understood that. I think that’s why they were much more focused and driven. We knew that it was true championship football from the second game on.”

This weekend it’s knock-out once again against St John’s, who overcame league champions Creggan in the first group game.

They have had Paddy McBride for the full season and Murray points to the Johnnies’ hurling win last year as another source of confidence their opponents will have on Saturday.

“We played them in the league and that was a tight game, we beat them a by couple of points in the end but it was played without county players on both sides,” he pointed out.

“They’ve had Paddy (McBride) all year and he’s a massive player. He brings a lot of energy, is a scoring threat and he’s a real leader in that squad.

“They’ve had him about and I think he certainly made a difference to them. Conor Hand coming back will be a handful as well, so I’m just aware of what we’ll face.”