Sean Bogue is aiming to make Croke Park dream a reality for Clogher

By Barry O’Donnell

SEAN Bogue admits that it feels somewhat surreal to be mentioning Croke Park and Clogher in the same sentence, but that pipe dream could yet become reality for the maroon and whites.

The Éire Ógs take on Kiltimagh of Mayo in the All-Ireland Junior Club Championship semi-final this Saturday afternoon in Carrick-on-Shannon, looking to add another chapter to what has already been a fairytale journey.

Half-forward Bogue was the match winner for Clogher in a nerve-shredding Twinning final with British champions Tara prior to Christmas, slotting over a point deep into stoppage time at Stewartstown to seal a 2-11 to 1-13 triumph.

That victory means that the side are now just 60 minutes away from the biggest date in the club’s history at the iconic Jones Road venue, a prospect which Bogue confesses is hard to fathom.

“I’d never have believed you would hear the words Clogher and Croke Park in the same sentence to be honest. But we have to solely focus on the Mayo boys. Obviously it is a massive prize for the winner.

“But we have come this length and it would be a shame to throw it away now. Over the holiday period we just have to keep the head down and work hard. Hopefully we will come out on the other side of it at the start of January.

“We will probably never be back here again so a quieter Christmas is worthwhile for this group of players.

“We are going to put everything into it.”

Reflecting back on the successful 2025 season as a whole, Bogue states that the year will forever be etched in club folklore given the incredible journey they embarked upon.

“It was just unreal for this club. We won Tyrone for the first time in 25 years and won our first Ulster title. Now we are preparing for an All-Ireland semi-final. It’s hard to believe where we are.

“Hopefully we are not done yet. We should have a bit more information on the Mayo champions than we did Tara.

“One thing for sure, it’s not going to be straightforward because anyone left in the competition at this stage are going to be a decent outfit.”

Tyrone has a proud track record in the junior club competition down the decades, with several like Rock, Stewartstown and Greencastle sealing dates at Croker in All-Ireland finals. Bogue would dearly love to emulate what those squads achieved.

“If you talk to those boys no doubt they will tell you they will be remembered for their achievement around their own clubs forever. We want to be there too and represent Tyrone on the biggest stage at Croke Park. Whatever it takes that’s what we have to do.”

Clogher swept to glory in the Tyrone series but their progress has been anything but routine ever since, with a series of tough competitive outings which could have gone either way. Bogue appreciates that they have had to dig deep on countless occasions.

“Even against Tara we lost three or four men with knocks and injuries so the matches did take their toll but we had men come off the bench who contributed and that is what it is going to take.

“We got through Tyrone racking up some big scorelines but it wasn’t that handy and then in Ulster we were taken all the way in every game – Slaughtmanus, Donagh and Emyvale before Tara, so it has definitely been tough. We are just learning along the way.”

That was definitely the case the last time out against their London opposition, with Bogue just relieved to escape with their aspirations still intact.

“Credit to them, they took it right to the very end and they were probably the better team to be honest. There was just the one point in it at the end and thankfully we were on the right side of it.

“They were exactly what we thought they were going to be, a dogged outfit. They dug deep until the very end and we just got out of jail. Maybe we didn’t deserve it but we got through and that was the main thing.”