Glenullin footballers aiming for a first All Ireland football decider

All Ireland Intermediate Football Championship semi-final

Glenullin v Strokestown (Roscommon) at Ballyshannon, 12.30pm Saturday. Referee: Barry Judge (Sligo)

THE beauty about inter county club championships is that there are varying standards in each county so it is very hard to know who is best until the ball is thrown in.
For Glenullin the adventure will continue as they head into a game with an All Ireland final very much in their thoughts. They are the third Derry club to win the Ulster Intermediate title in the last five years.
Last year Ballinderry were denied the title due to a bizarre penalty award against Crossmolina Deel Rovers from Mayo. In 2022 Steelstown became the only Derry winners when they trounced Trim from Meath. Prior to that they had caused the shock of many a year by beating na Gael from Kerry easily in the semi final.
Armed with these statistics Glenullin will travel with a fair degree of confidence knowing that their standards are high but given that they also strong in Roscommon where Strokestown were senior champions in 2022.
That will also give Strokestown a boost at breezy Ballyshannon where the wind whips in from the nearby Atlantic Ocean.
One of the reasons why Glenullin have done so well is that they have a very strong subs bench which is unusual for a rural club.
Manager Michael O’Kane has the luxury of having Eoin Bradley, Fearghal Close, Joe McNicholl and Willie John Bradley able to come on and make an impact.
Eoin Bradley, in particular, with all his experience has been vital to the ‘Glen’s run to date despite his 41 years of age. Among the top ten scorers to date are two Glenullin players. They are Ryan McNicholl with 4-l1 and Neil McNicholl who has scored 2-13, despite being a midfielder.
The defence has been pretty solid with goalie Niall O’Kane, his brother John at centre half, experienced Eunan O’Kane and two wing backs Conor Rafferty and Diarmuid McNicholl who drive forward to supplement the attack when the need arises.
In general the team has improved as they progressed. They came through a stiff examination against Carrickmacross in the semi final and despite being on the back foot for long periods a well taken goal from Neil McNicholl pushed the game to extra time where their high fitness levels saw they through by 1-17 to 2-13.
The GAA was formed in 1884 but Strokestown had their club going in 1881. That was the era when Irish tenant farmers began to shake off the shackles that had seen big house land lords more or less control the lives of the local populations which included sporting affairs.
The people of Strokestown decided that they were no longer beholding to the landed gentry so they took control of their own affairs and a well attended meeting set up the club.
They have won 11 county senior titles, the first in 1912 and the last three years ago. Their three previous intermediate titles came in 1977, 2000 and 2010.
In the current championship they beat Eire Og by 2-13 to 0-16 in the county final but had only two games in the provincial series due to Connacht just having five counties.
They beat Kileema of Mayo by 4-11 to 0-14 in the semi final and Allen Gaels of Leitrim in the final by 2-16 to 0-16 with Diarmuid McGann top scorer with 1-7. Both their goals came n the first half but the Leitrim champions closed the margin in the second and it took a late burst of four points to secure the title. They led by 2-7 to 0-11 at half time.
Like Glenullin they are capable of getting goals so the scoreboard operator should be kept busy! They have scored six goals in two Connacht games while Glenullin have hit ten in Ulster after four outings and a period of extra time. The other semi final is between An Ghaeltach of Kerry and Sallins from Kildare.

Glenullin’s extra games and that potent subs bench should see Michael O’Kane’s well tuned team through to a first ever All Ireland football final.