NOTHING frightens defenders like pace and Oisin Conaty’s electric speed scared the life out of opposition markers all year.
The flying machine from Tir na nOg club in Portadown added a new dimension to Armagh’s attack this season. The Orchard county’s speed on the break forced opponents into a conservative mindset because they knew that losing the ball up the pitch meant it could be flying over their crossbar or into their net in a matter of seconds.
Galway began Sunday’s All-Ireland final with a point that took more than three minutes to manufacture and Conaty cancelled it out with one pacey break and a fisted finish. The Tribesmen replied but again Armagh raced up the field and Conaty split the posts with a brilliant finish from the right wing.
His game looks tailormade for the space of Croke Park but he admits he felt he owed his team something after drawing a blank there against Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final.
“I suppose everyone gets a wee bit nervous coming up to an All-Ireland final,” said Conaty who was man of the match on Sunday.
“I owed a performance to the lads and to Geezer after the Kerry match. I wasn’t good enough that day so to come back and do that… I’m just glad.
“The first one was with the fist and then I kicked the second one – I missed one of them in the semi-final so it was good to get that one over the bar.”
He’s from the Garvaghy Road which has had far more than it’s fair share of negative publicity over the years. Conaty has given his people a hero to cheer but he has support from “the other side of the town” as well.
“Portadown will be rocking for the next few days and it’s all down to the people in the town,” he said.
“They’ve supported me a lot – I’ve seen the posters up around the town and the bunting and all that – and knowing that they’re all behind me helps.
“Both sides have been texting me. Friends that I have at Portadown Football Club, from the other side of the town, have texted me and I’m grateful to a lot of those coaches because they have helped me along the way too.
“A lot of it goes down to the underage coaches at Tir na nOg like Brian Mallon and Paul Carville and so many other people around the club and then, from the other side of the town, I’d say especially Neil McCullough who helped me a lot, he brought me to Portadown. I’m grateful to all of them.”
HE was a talented and highly-rated soccer player who was on the books of Linfield as well as his native Portadown. He played as an attacking midfielder or up front for Northern Ireland in the U19 European Championships so a career in soccer was beckoning for him.
Then his phone buzzed with a text from Kieran McGeeney and everything changed.
“I think playing soccer has probably helped me actually,” said Conaty, who made his Armagh senior debut in last year’s McKenna Cup and his Championship debut as a substitute in the 2023 Ulster semi-final against Down.
“I worked on a lot of stuff that has helped me in GAA.
“When I joined the Armagh panel last year you never think that day’s like Sunday are going to come but from talking to Geezer I knew there was something different about this group and the boys made me feel so welcome straight away and this success is down to all of them and the background team.
“Geezer texted me looking to meet with me and to be honest, from a received that message, I had my mind made up. It was him and the appeal of Armagh. I was in the crowd when they lost to Galway two years’ ago – I went down on the train with all my mates – so to be here now is just crazy.
“It’s hard to believe it has actually happened and I don’t know when it will all sink in.
“The boys were talking about it on Sunday night and saying we probably don’t even realise what we’ve done. It’s crazy.”
