The serious business of preparing for the All-Ireland Club semi-final begins now for Errigal Ciaran, free of distractions following the completion of their domestic campaign at the weekend.
Defeat to Carrickmore in the Tyrone Division One league semi-final means they can now focus solely on the task of getting the better of Kerry and Munster kingpins Dr Crokes and qualify for a first ever final.
Coach Stephen Quinn believes Errigal’s proud history as the only Tyrone club to have won an Ulster title has played a part in the latest success.
The Seamus McFerran Cup made its first visit to Dunmoyle in 1993, and returned in 2002 following a second provincial triumph.
Twenty two years later, Errigal are kings of Ulster once again, following their narrow win over Kilcoo in a gripping decider.
“Young children and young teams coming out of Errigal, when they get into Ulster, they know what can be done,” said Quinn.
“They’ve seen the boys do it in 1993, they saw it done in 2002 and now a whole new generation is seeing it. So, we take confidence from that.
“It had been 22 years since we’d been in the final. So, for a lot of the boys in the team, they may not have even remembered it. Some of them weren’t even born when it last happened.”
But Quinn is certain that past successes have not placed undue burdens on the shoulders of the class of 2024 as they press on with their mission to write a new chapter in the club’s history by reaching an All-Ireland final for the first time.
“That has to be the aim now. They set high standards for themselves. You could look at it as a burden, but they’ve been shown the way in the past.”
With an All-Ireland semi-final against Munster champions Dr Crokes coming up on the first weekend in January, Quinn accepts that the challenge facing the Tyrone and Ulster champions is massive.
Their impressive victory over Loughmore-Castleiney in the Munster final completed a clean sweep of Kerry league, club, county and provincial titles.
“It’ll not be easy, obviously. They’re a very impressive team.
“They have plenty of Kerry county players and they’re former All-Ireland Club winners themselves.”
The Errigal coach, right hand man to Enda McGinley over many seasons, including his time as Antrim manager, looked back on the preliminary round win over St Eunan’s Letterkenny as a massive step for Errigal, when three late Ben McDonnell scores helped them get over the line by two points at O’Neills Healy Park.
“Getting the win against St Eunan’s was massive. Just to get the ball rolling, then a good performance up in Belfast (against Cargin). We sruggled a bit with Clann Eireann and staggered over the line.
“And in the final, massive concentration, massive push right to the end just to get finished.
“So, credit to the boys. The 31 boys in the panel, the work they’ve put in and the boys who were on the panel at the start of the year has been massive.
“They’ve really put their shoulder to the wheel this year and we can’t ask any more than that.”
