GREAT things often happen to those who have indomitable spirit and endless belief.
And while Gaoth Dobhair may not have collectively believed they could win an Ulster club title, deep down the warrior spirit of Kevin Cassidy dared to do much more than dream.
Their stunning victory over Scotstown in the provincial decider last December is already the stuff of legend in and around the rocky terrain in the shadow of Errigal.
Cassidy always knew there was something special about the young players who have stepped into the squad and sparked a magnificent response from senior players like himself, Neil McGee, Eamon McGee and Odhran MacNiallais to push their bodies to the very limit.
And irrespective of what happens against hot favourites and reigning All-Ireland club champions from Corofin in the national semi-final this weekend, this Gaoth Dobhair side have already made their unique mark.
However, one suspects this is not yet quite enough for the arch-competitor that is Cassidy, for whom defeat has always been a dirty word.
He is the muscular Peter Pan of this exceptional team as the 37-year-old rages magnificently against Father Time in his endless quest for laurels on the field of battle.
“We did not think as a team that we could win Ulster, but individually I always knew that if we got past Donegal we had a team good enough to win the Ulster title,” said Cassidy.
“The only thing we needed to do was to get past the first round in Ulster and I don’t think we started talking about winning Ulster until just before the Crossmaglen game but I am sure we were thinking about it individually.”
So was the semi-final victory over Crossmaglen a turning point for Cassidy and his young team-mates?
“Definitely, and going into the Crossmaglen game we wanted to show people what we had and nobody had ever seen us before.
“We wanted to show what we could do and after that game the floodgates opened and there was all sorts of possibilities.”
Their character and belief was well tested by a very experienced Scotstown team who had Gaoth Dobhair on the ropes and looked like winners the whole way.
“I don’t think we played well against Scotstown, whether it was the conditions or whatever,” said Cassidy.
“They led all the way through and when we managed to take the lead we held it.
“There is a good mix between the young lads and ourselves.
“We can give them guidance and they drive us on to be as fit as we can possibly be so it works very well both ways
“Our biggest task was staying focused in the big break between the Ulster final and Saturday.
“Corofin have been doing this for five years.
“After the Ulster final people were saying you have a 12-week break and that is an awful long time.
“And on Saturday you have to be at your peak so how do you balance that?
“We took two weeks off for down-time but we trained hard over Christmas and we are hoping now that come Saturday we are good to go.”
Despite Corofin’s justifiable status as hot favourites there has been a remarkable deep-rooted self-belief in a Gaoth Dobhair side that has 12 players aged 22 or under in their squad.
“That is what’s good about these young lads as either way there is no cockiness and there is no fear,” said Cassidy.
“We go into games as underdogs and it does not faze them, and I think they are just focused on their own game and how they perform.
“That is massive because sometimes you can get caught up in the nonsense that surrounds big games.”
On a personal level, Cassidy is expected to have a good battle with ex-Galway legend Kieran Fitzgerald on the edge of the square.
“I have played against him at county level but we would have been at opposite ends of the field.
“He is probably one of the main cogs and he has been there and done that.
“They have David Burke at midfield, and you could go on all day talking about them.”
But this is also a special Gaoth Dobhair side, whose attack is led by one of their greatest ever generals.
And they have managed to do it without Kieran Gillespie, arguably their strongest player.
“You would be extremely confident going into this game if you had Kieran,” said Cassidy.
“He was a massive driving force but he is gone and there is nothing we can do about it other than to plough on.
“We just have to focus on ourselves and we are a hard team to tie down as we have so many runners.
“We hope to give Corofin something to worry about on the day”.
And that comes from a man who has never known the meaning of the word reverse.
THE other All-Ireland Club SFC semi-final also takes place on Saturday, with Mullinalaghta of Longford taking on Kerry’s Dr Crokes in Thurles at 3.30pm.
Both matches will be shown live on TG4.
