By Michael McMullan A winless run AFTER the joy of back-to-back Ulster titles and landing a Division One league title, this season will always be remembered as one where Derry senior footballers failed to win a game. It resulted in relegation and a tame exit from the Ulster Championship. There were noted improvements by the end […]
By Michael McMullan THE last time Benny Heron walked off the Croke Park sod was two years ago, his final and 108th senior appearance for Derry. The Oakleafers were agonisingly close to overcoming Kerry and booking an All-Ireland final berth. Now part of Ciarán Meenagh’s management team, Croke Park will come into view next month […]
By Michael McMullan BANAGHER have appointed Eunan O’Kane as their senior football manager ahead of the 2026 season, Gaelic Life can confirm. O’Kane, a native of Banagher, is a former Republic of Ireland international. Having also played for Leeds, Torquay and Luton, he made over 100 games with Bournemouth, including their time in the Premier […]
AS we move closer to Christmas Day and the temperature is starting to fall, the average temperature is around ‘Two Degrees’……or so it was in Glenullin last Monday. Even though it’s 11 days since my own club’s victory in the Ulster Intermediate Championship final and I usually try to look forward in my columns, I […]
By Michael McMullan WHEN Benny Heron called time on his inter-county career two years ago, there was nobody better to ask for a line in tribute than Ciarán Meenagh. They taught together in St Colm’s Draperstown. Meenagh coached and managed him with both Ballinascreen and Derry. They’d chat football every day in the staffroom without […]
By Michael McMullan THE message coming from the Sleacht Néill camp is crystal clear ahead of Sunday’s All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final showdown with Loughrea. Winning a game at national level is all that matters. Pats on the back for creditable performances hold no value. None whatsoever. A sixth Ulster title was brilliant and cemented the […]
10 years ago… DAMIAN Barton’s first day in charge of Derry was one to forget as they were hammered by Tyrone, the Red Hands winning 1-18 to 0-10 in the O’Fiaich Cup semi-final in Crossmaglen. Patrick Quinn’s early goal gave Tyrone the perfect start and they were in control from start to finish. Ronan O’Neill […]
By Michael McMullan REWIND the clock 14 years. It’s summer in Clones. Eoin Bradley is hanging off the crossbar. His run and finish to the net, in a 1-5 tally, put the final nail in Armagh’s coffin. It was an Ulster semi-final and he was on fire but it was his last game at the iconic […]
By Michael McMullan HISTORY doesn’t kick the ball over the bar but it helps generate an image of what can be achieved as Cuchulainn’s prepare for this weekend’s Ulster Intermediate final against Glenullin. For 22-year-old captain Philip Smyth, he doesn’t need to look very far to find a line of symmetry between the current team […]
By Michael McMullan NOTHING is impossible until it’s done. It’s a simple observation but it sums up Mark McGuigan’s take on Sleacht Néill’s growth as they prepare for an 11th Ulster final on Saturday evening. The Emmet’s captain was in primary school when the club first inhaled the Ulster final experience. It was 2000. Sleacht […]
