DECLAN MCCOY: The magic of county final day

Throughout the country we are currently in the middle of county final season. I have lots of friends involved and find I’m sending so many good wishes that I could get a job working for Hallmark.

My old team St Peter’s won the Armagh Intermediate championship on Saturday and another of my old teams, St. Bride’s, are in the Louth Intermediate final this weekend.

As well as that, friends Oisin O’Neill and Conleith Gilligan were both involved in senior finals. There was no sign of Oisin in school on Monday, so I guess Cross won. Conleith will have hair like mine after the ending to the Tyrone final.

The amount of good will I’m sending would make Green Peace blush. Whilst every message sent is genuine, they’re also tinged with jealousy at not being involved myself.

County finals are the most special of occasions for any club. I’ve been lucky enough to have been involved in five, so far, and they all brought different experiences and learnings.

The first one I was involved in was with my native Dromintee in 2001. I was part of the panel and the sense of occasion in the parish for our first county final was tremendous. Crossmaglen beat us by four that day and you could see that they were a seasoned team.

Both teams were in the bar afterwards and each player was given complimentary drinks vouchers. John McEntee, who doesn’t drink, gave me and my friend Philly McEvoy his vouchers and we gladly accepted. My learning that day was, whilst it was a majorly significant day for our club, it was simply another game to be won.

Roll on to 2010 and I was now a coach under Aidan O’Rourke, who was player/manager. This was the fifth final for Dromintee and the fifth time it was Crossmaglen as the opposition.

Philly was now the goalie, and I decided, in my wisdom, to take him to Newry for breakfast the morning of the game and really focus. There was nowhere open and we ended up sitting in the car for an hour only to be interrupted by a man asking us when the pub was opening.

Dromintee were now much more seasoned, and the occasion of county finals was no longer a novelty. Crossmaglen scored three injury time points to beat us by three. This was a serious battle that was in the mix right up until the final whistle.

My experience that day was the harshness of margins on the biggest day. We had chances to win the game but didn’t take them. It was the beginning of the end for that team whilst Crossmaglen went on to win the All-Ireland. I remember thinking a kick of the ball determines history.

Ten years later it’s 2020 and I’m now managing the aforementioned St Bride’s in the Louth Intermediate final. I made a conscious effort to downplay the occasion and view it as another match to be won.

We went on to comfortably win the game and bring a first championship to the club in 53 years. I had put absolutely no thought into anything other than winning the game. I went out that night in a tracksuit and had no wallet. To this day playing the game and not the occasion is something I’m extremely proud of.

Fast forward to 2023 and I’m managing Naomh Mairtin in the Louth Senior Championship final. These boys, led by Sam Mulroy, were laser focused and the sense of occasion was non-existent. The only indulgence I allowed myself was asking Sean Healy to take my son Cian with him in the pre-match parade. Something I’m eternally grateful for. I had taken Cian to watch the final the year before and promised him that he would be in the parade the next year.

We started the final like a house on fire and went seven points up. We then hit the bar and allowed Ardee to gradually get back into the game. We had an injury time chance to win the game cleared off the line and Ardee won by a point.

This one stung. It was in palm of our hands and to lose by the minimum was heart breaking. I made a conscious decision to take the emotion out of it and watch the game back the next day. My Dad took me for a coffee after I analysed the game and I told him, ‘we’d win it next year’.

Indeed, we returned to the final the following year to play Ardee once again. This was the day of the bad storm and the atmosphere was earie. The goal posts looked like they might come down, the electricity went out and the scoreboard wasn’t working (not that it was needed). We lost 2-2 to 0-4 and this experience was a complete anti-climax.

So, what have I learned? County finals are special and something not many get to experience. It should be an occasion to be enjoyed by the club and supporters, but the players must tune out the outside noise and play the game not the occasion.

A lot of teams are at a low ebb having recently lost a final. One thing I guarantee you is that next year will come quicker than you think. Personally, I hope to be in one and to close it out this time. When your career is over being involved in finals are great memories to have but I’d rather have the medals.