COALISLAND head into Saturday evening’s Ulster championship clash with Crossmaglen buoyed by a 10th Tyrone championship title, but their season could have plummeted into a nightmare.
After beating Aghyaran, the Fianna lost five league games on the bounce and as captain Stephen McNally explains, their win over neighbours Edendork in May was the beginning of their revival.
“If we didn’t get two points we were in serious trouble,” McNally recalls of the first of a five-game unbeaten stretch that saw the ’Island find their feet.
With John McKeever and Conleith Gilligan stepping down from the helm, they were replaced by Damian O’Hagan, Peter Herron and John Lynch – who were all involved in the club’s 2010 success.
When championship came around, Dan Fee’s late point saw off Dromore in round one. The accuracy of their second half shooting against Errigal Ciaran saw them kick nine points against the wind before another meeting with their neighbours.
“Edendork gave us our fill of it. For 50-odd minutes they were the far better team. I think with Niall Morgan going off – to a black card – it saw the tide change.”
In the final they met Killyclogher in a repeat of the 2016 decider, which saw Coalisland slump to a 14-point hammering in a replay.
This year was different and it was McNally, one of the most highly rated players in Tyrone club football, who hoisted the O’Neill Cup.
“We never looked ahead of ourselves, we never got too cocky and we worked hard at training for the last two or three months on fitness,” says McNally.
It built a base for Coalisland to finish strong as games headed down the final stretch and it was one of the main areas of focus for the new regime.
“We changed the management and went flat out with old school tactics. Some boys were carrying a wee bit more weight than they should’ve been,” he adds.
“We took a good two months at it and those lads have turned it around and are in better shape than everybody else.”
McNally referenced Herron’s training sessions. They tested both body and mind. But a gleaming smile tells it all. It was worth it.
“It proves that we had the resilience to bounce back from everything that has went on this year,” points out the 30-year-old.
It was a second medal for ‘Mackers’ who has tasted championship glory on his progression up through the underage ranks
“It is always sweeter when it comes back around again,” he adds, with enthusiasm. “I thought I would never get another shot at it. This year I was taking the bull by the horns – it’s the one thing I wanted, another championship.”
As the bandwagon came into Coalisland town square, as county champions, all the toil had been worth it.
“Coming down the hill you could see a thousand-plus people and you thought – moments like this, you couldn’t buy it.”
Then comes the same burning question. The reminder that only Errigal Ciaran (twice) have brought the Seamus McFerran Cup back to Tyrone. Coalisland lost to Scotstown in the 1989 decider.
Na Fianna’s opponents in Saturday’s Ulster opener are 11-time winners Crossmaglen.
“When you talk about Crossmaglen, they are the kingpins in Ulster and between them and Slaughtneil they have set an example,” McNally highlights.
“We are looking forward to giving them a game and we are looking forward to being there,” he adds. “We never look too far ahead of ourselves, but it is very important to look at Cross, to try and give our best and we know that on the day if we bring it we can beat anybody.’’
