Glenullin eyes firmly on All-Ireland bid

By Michael McMullan

GLENULLIN hit the reset button in the four weeks over Christmas with the view of winning the All-Ireland according to dynamic wing-back Conor Rafferty.

Rafferty was one of their most consistent players in their 10-game march to Croke Park on Sunday and a date with Kerry’s An Ghaeltacht in the All-Ireland Intermediate final.

It was a special Christmas but there was no over indulgence in the festive celebrations once the partying finished after winning the club’s first Ulster title.

“I think everybody agreed they would give up a Christmas and have a go of being an All-Ireland champion, because, at the end of the day, that’s the goal now,” Rafferty said, standing outside the Glenullin dressing room after their historic semi-final win.

“One of the things Michael (O’Kane – manager) said before the (semi-final) game was that, ‘yeah, we won Ulster but that was four weeks ago.’

“It’s done now and we didn’t come this far just to come this far so we’re aiming to be All-Ireland champions.

“That was the aim through Christmas, it wasn’t ‘I am an Ulster champion’, it was ‘I’m going to be an All-Ireland champion’, that was the focus there.”

The group were back on Sunday going through a recovery session at their grounds in Glenullin with the squad then heading for dinner together.

“Hopefully we can work on what the other team’s weaknesses are, how do we exploit them and what their strengths are and how do we stop them,” Rafferty added.

“We’ve been pretty good at that so far so hopefully we can replicate that in Croke Park.”

It will be a proud day for the parish who celebrated 100 years of the club in 2015.

For Rafferty, his father Basil is a championship winner from 2007 and played into his forties. His late grandfather Dessie was one of the club’s founding members.

“I know and at the start of the year, obviously the aim was to win the Derry championship but nobody really was probably speaking about coming this far,” Conor said.

“As every game went on, the notion was there that we could go this far but obviously we’re still keeping one step at a time

“To have the opportunity to run out at Croke Park wearing these colours for the first time in the club’s history is just unbelievable.

“It’s unbelievable to be a part of and hopefully it’s not the last time it happens.”

Croke Park tends to suit players who can cover the ground, something Rafferty has done continuously this season.

Asked where his energy comes from, the reply gives away no magic formula. Just work in training, night after night.

“Obviously I’m not the only one,” he added. “Anytime there’s a run, whether it be a sprint or a long-distance run, I’m trying to win it and it reflects on the pitch.

“You’re used to being tired and you’re used to playing when you’re tired. You can still concentrate and you’re still able to make another 50-yard run even when you feel like you’re dead. That just comes from hard work and training.

“I know that’s my job for the team, is to run and get boys on the ball, the likes of Ryan (McNicholl) and so on.

“They’ll do the damage but it’s sort of just been my game from day one, run and run and run.”