THERE’S never any shortage of interest on either side of the Sperrins as to what’s happening over the garden fence, but Killyclogher have had feet firmly in the Slaughtneil camp for long enough to make an advantage of it.
Nine years ago, having moved to Magherafelt after taking up a coaching job in St. Mary’s, John McElholm was brought on to the John Brennan ticket at Emmet Park.
A former player with Killyclogher and then Loughmacrory, McElholm’s coaching career had begun with former university housemate Seamus Downey – a nephew of Brennan’s - coaxing him into helping take Lavey in 2004.
He stayed there for two seasons before joining the Slaughtneil backroom in 2006. Having won the Derry title for the first time ever two years previously and then been dethroned by Bellaghy the following year, there were bright hopes of success.
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Francis McEldowney, Paul Bradley, Patsy Bradley, Barry McGuigan, Padrig Kelly were the fledglings making history at the foot of Carntogher.
“They were all in their heyday then – they still are,” enthuses McElholm.
His first ended with a glorious injury-time swing of Conleith Gilligan’s left foot to settle an epic Watty Graham Park semi-final in Ballinderry’s favour.
Twelve months on, an injured Paul Bradley emerged from the bench to almost claw Slaughtneil out of danger with a stunning goal at the road end in Banagher, only for a late Paddy Bradley free to edge Glenullin out of the group stage – and they would go on to collect the John McLaughlin Cup.
Nine years on, that core of that Slaughtneil team remains. Francis McEldowney has captained Slaughtneil to three-in-a-row and the other four continue to play differing roles, guiding a fiercely talented young crop.
In his time as manager of teams at every level in St. Mary’s Magherafelt, where he is now Head of PE, McElholm has seen the next generation of Slaughtneil players come through with St. Patrick’s Maghera.
While he has enjoyed a couple of victories at their expense – most notably a first ever knockout MacRory Cup win for the Convent over St. Pat’s back in 2011 – it’s a fairly close eye he’s been able to keep.
Not as close, mind, as Eoin Bradley’s.
When Mickey Moran took over in Slaughtneil at the start of 2014, he employed the services of the Killyclogher defender to act as the club’s strength and conditioning coach.
In their testimonies en-route to the Derry and Ulster titles, and a place in the All-Ireland club final the following March, many of the Slaughtneil players hailed Bradley’s work in terms of injury prevention.
The highly renowned Oliver Cummings, based at the foot of the Glenshane Pass, also continued to train a chunk of their players. Their dedication to that aspect of their training is the real example.
Barring a hamstring tear that ruled Brendan Rogers out of two of their three Ulster club games in 2014, it’s hard to remember a single serious muscle injury suffered by a Slaughtneil player – even a dual one – amid their Championship runs.
Bradley spent two years in their changing room, donning the maroon tracksuit. In the second year, he crossed into the Derry setup as well, all the while still turning out at corner-back for Killyclogher.
Safe to say that Dominic Corrigan will have opened that gaping window into the Slaughtneil mindset many times over the last fortnight.
“You’ve seen all those lads at one level or another,” says McElholm.
“With Lavey I was coming up against them, and then when I was there I was training a lot of them. The younger boys were coming through and winning MacRorys with Maghera, so you’d be sort of familiar with them all.
“You know the names and the ability they have. It’s a small enough county when it comes to football.”
Now that the former Omagh boss, who is in fifth year with Killyclogher, finds himself in the opposing dugout, the pleasantries will only stretch as far as 2.30pm on Sunday.
But when it’s over, McElholm’s respect for what the players he once coached, and many of whom he remains in contact with, have gone on to achieve in their club careers. It doesn’t surprise him.
“I’m absolutely delighted for those lads and what they’ve achieved. What you see is what you get with those fellas. Their attitude was second-to-none. They worked their socks off. They were just a joy to work with.
“You’d men like Patsy [Bradley], when he was rehabbing he still would have come down and trained hard, and was always down at the pitch.
“So many of them have been in and out of the county panels but they were always still there around the club. Their attitude was first class, their discipline, the sacrifices they’ve made.
“The success they’ve had for the last few years, I’ve been delighted for them. They’re all real good lads.”
