‘To be kings of your own tribe is really important’

Before a ball was kicked, St. Brigid’s were always going to be the clear favourites for this year’s Roscommon Senior Football Championship.

Then, as autumn progressed, it was the usual story all over the country — while some of the big name clubs gradually made their way through their respective championships, a few more established powers (Dingle, Kilcoo, Kilmacud Crokes) crashed out, and suddenly conversations started up around the county about whether or not last year’s beaten All-Ireland finalists might be in the shake-up to go one step further.

Around Kiltoom, however, there is no such talk, with the memories of every game that they’ve played against Pádraig Pearses for the last five years still very fresh in the mind. However, it still means that the weight of expectation falls on their shoulders.

As a new recruit and an outside manager, Damien Mulligan was aware of that level of pressure when he took on the role. He’s every bit as aware of it now, but his enthusiasm to take on the gig and work with the club still outweighs that consideration by a distance.

“Honestly, I was delighted to be even thought about in those circles,” is how he recalled his reaction to the initial phone call from the club.

“Seeing the run they had last year, the group of players they had, I'm really excited to be involved with those guys.

“As for what people expect of me and the squad, every person is entitled to their own opinion. We can only look at the opinion of the group we have, our own functions, our own standards, and our own direction.

“The conversation started very, very early about what that direction was, and that was to get to a county final. We've worked very hard throughout the year to put ourselves in that position,” he explained.

Unlike their opponents on Sunday, St. Brigid’s haven’t diced with death at any stage in this championship yet. Their group game against Strokestown went down to the wire but the consequences of defeat there would have been mild, while the same club’s four-point lead late in the first half of the semi-final was short-lived, and a run of five unanswered points before half time was able to calm any nervousness that might have existed.

Still, Mulligan has been impressed with the standard of football that he’s seen in the county overall.

“From what I've seen so far, if it was a knockout championship, any senior club would be capable of beating you here in Roscommon. It is competitive, club football in Roscommon is strong, and it should be strong when you see how good Roscommon teams have been in the Connacht championship and in Connacht minor and U-20 championships. They’re the current champions in all three, so you'd expect the club scene to be strong.” 

Moate native John Murray has stayed on from Anthony Cunningham’s management team to add an element of continuity on the coaching ticket, but Mulligan also turned to an old Crossmolina friend and colleague for support when he invited former Mayo football and county U-20 manager Peadar Gardiner to join him in Kiltoom for his tenure.

“I've worked with Damien before and obviously we work well together, and then when St. Brigid's are interested that's a no-brainer because you don't get those opportunities very often, if at all,” is how Gardiner described his initial thoughts on a role that he defines as “supporting Damien in whatever way he needs”, but largely coaching, with a sprinkling of performance analysis.

“We all know about the calibre of players, but there are great people involved with the executive here, we work closely with Tomás (Beades), Alan (Mac Neice) and Mike (McDonnell).

“It's a brilliant community and it reminds me of my own club Crossmolina to be honest, you know we're a very rural club, very similar to Brigid's, and there’s the same ethos and the hard work going on behind the scenes.” 

Neither Gardiner nor Mulligan were able to come up with a definitive answer when asked if anything surprised them about the club in their time here, but Gardiner remarked on one significant advantage that resonated with him as a North Mayo native, and no doubt will also echo across some more northern and western parts of County Roscommon as well.

“They’re very coachable, they're very knowledgeable of the game of football, they understand the game of football, they understand the new game and the new rules, so it's very player-led here. We just add little bits and pieces to try and improve them and try and work with them individually,” he said, before citing location as a huge difference from some of his previous roles.

“Players can attend every training session, which is a big help. It’s something new to me, based in the northwest of Mayo.

“Here you have access to your players all the time. That’s key because you only have a certain amount of hours every week with them and there's so much to do now in Gaelic football, there's so many facets to the game, so you need the time.” 

The two men won every honour there is to be won on the playing field with their club — the high point being their All-Ireland club final win over Nemo Rangers 25 years ago this year, where Mulligan played at centre-back, with Gardiner on his right.

As a coach, however, Gardiner expects plenty of nerves to present themselves as he prepares for his first-ever county final in a coaching or management role.

“It’s completely different being a player, those are the best days of your lives and it’s a completely different feeling,” he said.

“I'd be a quite emotional, passionate type of person. I'll be more or less the same as a player that morning, struggling to eat the breakfast. As a coach, you just hope everything goes right in your prep.

“Still, it’s their day and their time. It’s a special honour to play in your county final to win a county final, and to be kings of your own county is the probably biggest achievement I think. Rather than winning Connachts or All-Irelands, to be kings of your own tribe is really important.”