'I tried to help the team any way I could'

The final act in a meaningful sporting career is rarely one of triumph.

As Niall Daly was forced to watch on as Roscommon exited last year’s championship to Cork on that chastening June afternoon in Laois Hire O’Moore Park, he knew that it was his last matchday as an intercounty player.

It wasn’t the way a man who gave so much for so long deserved to end his career but that is the pain with sport at times — the fairytale finishes to glittering careers are few and far between.

Yet, until the end, Daly fought against the dimming of the light that was his intercounty career. He battled through plantar fasciitis with the same energy and desire that he had when coming up against a troublesome wing-forward or when he stormed forward to kick one of his trademark long-range scores.

The Pádraig Pearses man knows it wasn’t the ideal way to bow out but, as is his norm, he has no interest in anybody’s pity. After all, he relished the opportunity to line out with his county but he knew after Portlaoise that the time was right to exit stage left.

“You see it with people from other sports. You know when you know. The last few years have been difficult. I probably haven’t played as much as I wanted to with Roscommon or Pearses. My time is up. It is time to let the young lads at it, and they are certainly having a good go at it so far.

“I knew after Portlaoise. When you have a long-term injury, the decision becomes easier. You can’t put your body through what you would have done in the past, so I was in a sombre mood coming away that day. I knew myself. I was the oldest in the panel for nearly two years and my time had definitely come (to retire),” he noted.

To reflect on Daly’s intercounty career, it is important to go back to the start. It feels rather fitting that his intercounty debut came in a championship game in Croke Park. A big player thrown into a big occasion. A case of sink or swam.

It is rare and becoming increasingly rarer that someone gets their intercounty debut in the white heat of championship battle but for a battle-hardened defender in Daly, that is how it transpired.

He was called upon after 50 minutes in Roscommon’s fourth round qualifier against Tyrone in 2011 but even though that game slipped away down the stretch for the Rossies, Daly was 20 years old and on the crest of a wave.

That year was a big one for the secondary school teacher. Not only did he help his beloved Pádraig Pearses secure the county intermediate title, he won a Sigerson Cup with UCC, helping the Cork college claim their first county title for in 12 years while also lining out in a Munster final against Dr. Crokes. It was a year that Daly feels was crucial in his development as a player.

“That year with Roscommon they were going to New York. I only joined the panel about three weeks before they went to New York, so I got the New York trip which was nice. Myself and Darren McDermott joined it back then.

“At the time I thought I was going well enough in training. I was 20 at the time. I generally wouldn’t be overly nervous or overawed by most things, so I was glad to get out there and see what I could do.

“That was a busy year. UCC won the county title in October and Pearses were going well at intermediate level too, so I was trying to balance the two. There was one weekend where I had the Connacht final on the Saturday (against Davitts) and then UCC were playing Monaleen (in a Munster quarter-final) on the Sunday. It was really enjoyable actually.

“We probably were different to clubs in terms of how we trained and lads coming from different places, but we had the bond as a group. That bond continues. It is probably the Billy Morgan factor. That was an unbelievable time. We played Monaleen, Moyle Rovers and then faced Dr. Crokes in a Munster final, so that was an exciting time to be playing,” he noted.

Despite Roscommon losing the Division Four League final to Longford in 2011 and the process of trying to embed strong underage talent to an experienced core, Daly always believed that Roscommon could compete with, and beat Mayo and Galway.

After all, the talent was there. It was just a matter of time and taking the opportunity when it arose.

“There was a belief. We had a lot of players that had played in U-21 All-Irelands. There was a young team coming and then you had a few like your Seanie McDermotts and Cathal Creggs who were coming to the latter end of their careers and had that experience. There was a big belief.

“We went up the leagues quickly in terms of going from Division Three to Two to One. What we became known to be was a yo-yo team going from Two to One and One to Two. But there definitely was belief with those U-21 teams.

“I played in an All-Ireland U-21 semi-final against Dublin in 2010. The start we had was poor that day, which made life tough for ourselves, but the guys kept battling. That Dublin team won the All-Ireland and had many of the great players who dominated the game. Jim Gavin was the manager.

“Michael Murphy was playing for Donegal against Dublin in that final. That was the calibre of players, so we were mixing it with the best in the country at that time and players who went on to be the best,” he noted.

Roscommon etched another proud chapter in the county’s history when securing the Nestor Cup in 2017. With Daly watching on from an Irish pub in San Francisco, he was desperate to be on the field of play for any further Roscommon triumph.

When the topic turns to 2019, there is a change in Daly. The pride he feels in that Connacht triumph is evident as he recounts slaying Mayo in Castlebar and triumphing over Galway in Salthill.

It is hard to identify a single moment that encapsulates a career such as Daly’s but his diving block on Andy Moran in that Connacht semi-final that led to a crucial Fintan Cregg score in 2019 feels apt. Body on the line stuff.

Yet that block, the fact he was Man of the Match in the Connacht final, and his All-Star nominee isn’t what springs to mind when reflecting on that year. Instead, his focus was on the group, a family photo that hangs proudly in his parents’ house and finally a special trip the following Monday.

“Down the years we probably struggled to get everyone in with the county at the same time. In 2019, we were down Ciaráin Murtagh but we had a really good group there. That was the best year we ever had in terms of a Connacht championship. To beat Mayo in Mayo was massive. That was some win. And then going to beat Galway in Galway.

“I would say that ranks right up there with any Connacht championship Roscommon won down through the years. Beating Mayo and Galway away from home is a really big achievement for Roscommon.

“It was special for the family in the stand. The thing is when you are on the field you don’t think about it. Moments like winning the Connacht title that year and we have a photo in the house of Conor, Ronan and myself lifting the cup together. You cherish memories like that.

“We were also in competition at times with each other for spots but there would be camaraderie around each other too. Really everyone on the field is brothers. If you don’t have that bond amongst each other, you are going to be in bother. That is what we had with Roscommon.

“My favourite part was day two, Monday morning. We were in the Abbey and we got on the bus to go to Boyle. But on the way we stopped off at barber Paddy Joe (Burke), and we all went in there. It was great craic. That is a special moment that stands out. We went down to the Moylurg Inn in Boyle, and we had a great day. It was a special time,” Daly stated.

There were disappointments, as is the norm in a career spanning 149 games. The defeat to Clare in Croke Park back in 2022 sticks out as a bad memory. Yet, Daly is more at ease talking about that than about the final question posed to him, how would he like his intercounty career to be remembered?

“I suppose I would have felt that if the going got tough, I would be one of the ones that would stand up and realise the situation on the field. If the ball needed to be slowed down or sped up, I felt I was one of the players that could help with that or help the team if we were under pressure. I just always tried to help the team any way I could,” he noted.

After all, in Daly’s eyes, it is all about current and future Roscommon players believing they have every right to compete against and beat the top teams.

They could do worse than looking at Niall Daly for inspiration.