‘It would mean as much to me as my first one’
Mark Daly wins possession ahead of Diarmuid McGann during last Sunday week's county senior football semi-final at King and Moffatt Dr. Hyde Park. Picture: Gerard O'Loughlin
Every summer in Roscommon, when the August Bank Holiday looms into view, thoughts start to turn to the county championships, primarily the race for the Fahey Cup.
For a lot of people, their analysis might centre on last year’s form, or which players have shown up well for Roscommon — either at senior or U-20 level — to potentially give a significant boost to their respective clubs.
Mark Daly of St. Brigid’s sees it a little differently, as he argues that league football in Roscommon is a hidden gem, and a competition that has far more bearing on the second half of the year than people realise.
“The league in Roscommon is very good, it exposes a lot of club players to a lot of football, and you can see the improvement as guys 11, 12 games without the county lads there.
“This year we had Shane (Cunnane) injured, Eddie (Nolan) injured as well, but you see then Mikey Sugrue coming in there at corner-back, Brian O'Hara (Duggan) has been a star at wing-forward, they're all boys that got their opportunity during the league and then held on to their jerseys.
“It's a great competition,” he continued.
“I watch a lot of club games around the country, particularly in Westmeath, I don't think the standard of the ordinary club players is as good in a lot of other counties as it is in Roscommon, it really is excellent.
“We've had young players come in. We're not going to be around forever so it's important that we hand over the torch to them and that the league exposes them to high standard football and they're ready to come into the championship games from there.”
Over the course of the conversation, it’s not the first time that Daly refers to the next generation of footballers around Kiltoom. He hails the upsurge in fortunes that they’ve had in underage championships in 2025 and 2026, but looking further beyond that, he appreciates how important those moments are on the pitch with their school-age supporters after big games like this Sunday’s county final.
“We actually enjoy doing that, because I remember when I was younger looking up to some of them players. It does mean a lot to them but we appreciate them coming to our games and cheering us on, they're a big boost to us now. They’re the next generation so it's important that we carry them through if we can.
“We do try and help out where we can with the underage teams as well, maybe an odd evening a week and I feel like it does mean a lot to the younger lads when they see us taking an interest in their teams and their games. We have probably had a few barren years where we haven't had as much success to be fair, but this year and last year we've been very successful underage. Long may it continue,” he lauded.
Though he has crept into his thirties, Daly still has plenty of time to hold on to his jersey before he’ll contemplate passing it on to one of those younger players, and those injuries to others that would normally compete for midfield jerseys means that he’s played a lot of football this year, and is trying to look after himself accordingly.
“It was still great to see Shane and Eddie get on the field and who knows what way the lads will pick the team for Sunday, but the mood in the camp is good now as a result, it’s very refreshing now to see some of the boys come back into training, it shows that things are starting to come together for us.”
Those injuries meant that Ruaidhrí Fallon was Daly’s midfield partner for most of the year, before Cunnane made his first start in the semi-final against Strokestown.
It was seamless, and Daly puts that down to the team’s structure, and how their midfield unit is more of a quartet than a duo.
“Generally, the six and seven (Ruaidhrí Fallon and Brian Stack last time) and the two midfielders are almost playing together, especially with kickouts and presses. Having Ruaidhrí beside me is not really any different than it was last year. We talk well, we work well together, we've been playing together a long time now, so we know what way each other play, and it's worked grand.
“Same with Brian, with Shane, we understand each other and link up effectively.” With an array of big physical targets and the county goalkeeper firing the ball in their direction, St. Brigid’s kickout play has been a trump card of the club for several years now. There are more set plays than ever in that phase of the game, but Daly argues that it’s their ability to change it up and adjust their system that makes them effective.
“I think you need to be able to mix and match. I don't think any team can work on any one type of kickout or one type of structure.
“With all the best will in the world, you can train for a month on one set-up but if a team comes out to counteract that you need to be able to play a different way. But I do feel that the game has become a lot more tactical and you need to have more weapons in your arsenal to use if you come up against a team that's figured you out.
“Above all, there are times when no matter what you do, things won't go to plan. Then you have to throw caution to the wind and rely on your natural ability to get you over the edge. We've seen that last year a few times where, like with Maigh Cuilinn in the Connacht final, a lot of stuff didn't go right for us but our natural ability probably got us over the line that day.
It’s a matter for down the road just yet, but Roscommon teams have won three out of the last five Connacht titles, and it wouldn’t have taken a lot for Pearses to make that four out of five if they had just eked out the win everyone expected them to get against Coolera-Strandhill two years ago.
Once again, however, Daly puts that down to the quality of the teams in the county, and feels that whoever comes out is invariably in great shape.
“Brigid’s probably set the standard from 2010 on and a lot of clubs in Roscommon have seen that and matched that,” he highlighted.
“Success breeds success and that's the same throughout the county. Boyle, Pearses, ourselves, if we played each other ten times it could be five and five, there is very little between the teams.
“Pearses are an experienced team and that experience is telling when it comes down to the crunch. They don't panic, they never panic, extra-time there the last two games, they're excellent at just finding a way to win a game. If we can beat them, this senior championship would mean every bit as much to me as my first one,” he concluded.
