WATCHING a tearful Conor McManus drag himself off the pitch at Pearse Stadium after Monaghan had lost to Galway in the All-Ireland Championship felt like the end of an era for him and his county.
The game in Salthill was the finale for the brilliant ‘Mansy’ after 17 years as the leader of the attack and manager Vinny Corey also decided to step down after two eventful, and contrasting, seasons at the helm of his native county.
In his first season Corey’s side retained their Division One status with a typical Houdini escape act against Mayo. In the Championship he guided Monaghan past Armagh in a nail-biting All-Ireland quarter-final and in the semi-final his side pushed Dublin hard for 50 minutes before the Boys in Blue kicked on and denied them a place in the Sam Maguire decider.
Victory over the Dubs at Croke Park in the first game of the League last season raised hopes of another year of thrills and spills for a county that had been mixing in elite company for a decade.
But that unexpected win proved to be the highlight of the season for Monaghan supporters. Ravaged by injuries, the retirements of experienced personnel including Colm Boyle, Shane Carey and Fintan Kelly and the temporary loss of goalkeeper Rory Beggan who showing off his kicking brilliance at an American Football ‘Combine’ in the USA, Corey’s side showed occasional glimpses of quality – particularly against Tyrone in a thriller at Healy Park - and fought hard in every game, but they lacked the firepower and experience to compete with the top sides and were relegated to Division Two.
Beggan returned for the Championship and marked his comeback with three points but Cavan proved too good for Monaghan at the quarter-final stage.
A 10-point drubbing from Kerry in their first All-Ireland group game was another blow to morale in the camp but Monaghan rallied to beat Louth and a draw against Meath was enough to send them through to that preliminary quarter-final against a physical Galway side.
Typically, Monaghan battled and worked and gave nothing away but the Tribesmen ended their season with a three-point victory.
After a period of reflection, Corey stepped down and has been replaced in-house by former county selector Gabriel Bannigan of the Aughnamullen club who brought in Mayo forward Andy Moran as part of his backroom team.
They have a job on their hands to rebuild the team after so many of the warriors of the previous decade, who gave all they had from the jersey and turned out through thick and thin, left the stage.
Bannigan will be encouraged by the underage success his county has had over recent seasons. The likes of Jason Irwin, Michael Hamill, Joel Wilson and Thomas McPhillips, from the U20 time that came so close to winning the Ulster U20 title in 2021 despite the tragic loss of Brendan Og Duffy made progress in the senior ranks last year. And in 2023 the county minors pushed eventual All-Ireland champions Derry all the way to penalties in the Ulster final.
So, despite the loss of McManus, there is plenty to build on for Bannigan whose side begin life back in Division Two against neighbours and rivals Cavan at Breffni Park next Saturday.
“Having finished 2023 on a high and running Dublin close in the All-Ireland semi-final, 2024 was definitely a disappointment,” said the Monaghan manager.
“All of us involved would feel that we underachieved in 2024. We had a very difficult season, we just couldn’t get the treatment room cleared, we always seemed to be down five, six, seven players and it was difficult to get to the standards that you know are in the group. We have to draw a line under it and focus on 2025.”
With an eye on development, Banningan has brought 16 new players into his panel for this season including five of this year’s U20 side and five of last year’s. Those rookies will slot in alongside veterans Darren Hughes and Karl O’Connell who are back in training but will miss the early rounds of the League. Meanwhile, Rory Beggan will play without the distraction of the NFL which is a major boost to the squad.
“If there was a silver lining in 2024 it was that some of the younger players got plenty of game-time,” said Bannigan.
“I’m hoping that will stand them in good stead. You can’t manufacture experience, you have to gain it and they will have learned a lot from last year. I’d like to think they’ll take those learnings and the disappointments and channel it into better performances and results in 2025.”
In terms of targets, the sides relegated from Division One are often the favourites to go back up but there is such a green-tinge to this Farney panel – and a new manager too - that a season or two in the second tier might not harm their development. Bannigan is understandably wary of setting unnecessary targets.
“I’m a firm believer that you have to get the inputs right first because they’re what drives the outputs,” he said.
“I’ve been focussed on the input in terms of our training preparation and the work the lads have been doing. Once the season gets underway and hopefully we get a few wins under our belt we can then look at other targets but for moment it’s about getting the lads fit, working well together and delivering good performances. If we can do that I think we’ll be OK.”
Fixtures (Division Two):
Saturday, January 25: Cavan (a), Breffni Park, 6pm
Sunday, February 2: Westmeath (H) Clones, 2pm
Sunday, February 16: Roscommon (a), 2pm
Sunday, February 23: Cork (H) Clones, 1.30pm
Sunday, March 2: Louth (a), Ardee, 2pm
Sunday, March 16: Meath (a) Navan, 2pm
Sunday, March 23: Down (H), Clones, 1.30pm
Ulster SFC quarter-final: v Donegal/ Derry
2024 League results:
Dublin 1-14 Monaghan 3-9
Monaghan 1-12 Kerry 3-15
Derry 3-17 Monaghan 0-13
Roscommon 1-16 Monaghan 0-7
Monaghan 0-14 Galway 3-12
Tyrone 1-19 Monaghan 2-13
Monaghan 1-14 Mayo 2-13
2024 Championship results:
Ulster SFC preliminary round: Monaghan 1-12 Cavan 3-12
All-Ireland SFC Group 4:
Kerry 0-24 Monaghan 1-11
Monaghan 2-10 Louth 2-10
Monaghan 1-17 Meath 1-14 (in Cavan)
All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-final: Galway 0-14 Monaghan 0-11
Five-year record:
2024: Division: One; Points: 2; Position: 8th, relegated
2023: Division: One; Points: 6; Position: 6th
2022: Division: One; Points: 6; Position: 6th
2021: Division: One North; Points: 2; Position: 4th of 4, beat Galway in relegation play-off
2020: Division: One; Points: 6; Position: 6th