IF Neil McAdam was to become the source of a word-association game there are a number of descriptions that would ring true.
Unruffled. Steady. Diligent. Impenetrable. Temperament.
Over the past 10 years, Monaghan have produced some outstanding foot soldiers.
McAdam is one in a long list.
Clerkin, McQuaid, Freeman, McArdle, Lennon, Finlay…
McAdam made his Ulster Championship debut back in 2008 but he’s had to bide his time before becoming a regular fixture in the Monaghan team.
“I didn’t really establish myself in the team until 2012/13,” says the 28-year-old Monaghan Harps man. “The kind of positions I played for Monaghan were quite central – centre half-back and midfield area.
“I suppose you’d Owen Lennon and Dick Clerkin – two stalwarts, two immoveable objects - for years, who were keeping me out of the team.
“And then you had Gary McQuaid and Damien Freeman in the half-back line who were great servants for Monaghan, and top footballers in the country at that time.
“I was just maturing, learning my trade. I suppose it was more other people moving on and me being the right age profile and taking my chance.
“It was maybe good habits I picked up from older players too.”
Many players in McAdams’ shoes would have drifted off the panel and accepted their fate.
But the unassuming midfielder never considered walking away from the set-up. He realised this when Monaghan lost to Tyrone in the 2010 Ulster final.
“I remember being involved in the Monaghan set-up in 2010 and getting to an Ulster final and being beaten by Tyrone.
“It was then I could see what it meant to the people of Monaghan. I was on the periphery that year but I just soaked up the atmosphere and I remember bottling that feeling and I said I wanted to be in the position of playing for Monaghan.
“I think that’s what drove me on and thankfully Malachy [O’Rourke] has put a lot of faith in me and I have been playing a lot of football for Monaghan.
“Since I was a young fella I always had aspirations of playing for Monaghan and thankfully I’ve done that and had a small bit of success.”
O’Rourke loves players like McAdam.
They are the cement between the bricks in good teams.
They happily reside far away from the spotlight.
McAdam is the turnover king.
He’s the invisible wall that opponents feel.
He's the enforcer who doesn’t always stand out; the fanatical executioner of the ugly side of the game.
His is an unromantic role but an absolutely essential one, as was borne out in Monaghan’s Ulster Championship title wins in 2013 and 2015.
“I’m just happy to get playing,” he says.
“I know it’s not the answer you want to here. Listen, managers give players certain roles in the team. I’ve been given a role; I go out and try and execute it to the best of my ability.
“It mighn’t see me getting as many scores as other players…
“But the most important thing is how the team performs and actually getting results. Everybody has a role to play. Conor McManus and Jack McCarron’s role is to put the ball over the bar.
“I think they’re slightly better than me with the ball in hand!
“I would just be obsessed with winning football matches.”
He adds: “I try to prepare as best I can. I try to know my opponent and what my role is for the team and do it to the best of my ability. That’s the kind of attitude I have going into every game, whether it’s a club game or a Championship game.”
McAdam teaches science, biology and PE at St MacCartan’s College, Monaghan and is equally passionate about his job.
“I know a lot of GAA people have gone down the road of teaching purely to pursue an inter-county career. I actually happen to have a passion for teaching; I’ve always wanted to do it.
“It’s about enjoying school life and interacting with one another – that’s where I get my satisfaction – and enjoying your time in school. I realise school is not for everybody – doing academically well is, for some kids, not their top priority. It’s about enjoying school life and building up skills to pursue a career.”
There is no mystique or secret about McAdam. An insatiable appetite for hard graft and staying composed in the heat of battle are his two greatest traits.
If O’Rourke lauds players like McAdam, the feeling is mutual.
“Malachy,” McAdam says with a smile, “has this knack of saying the right thing at the right time – always.
“He hasn’t let me down or any of the boys down. He’s a top notch manager and you could go to him with anything. He just seems to keep hitting the nail on the head all the time.”
So too does McAdam. Every time.
Monaghan's invisible wall awaits Fermanagh in Clones this evening...
