AT 39, Paul Finlay will make his AIB Ulster Club Championship debut against Crossmaglen Rangers on Saturday night having missed Ballybay’s last provincial journey 10 years ago.
When the Ballybay footballers were struggling against Down champions Kilcoo in their Ulster opener in 2012 at St Tiernach's Park, Finlay was on his honeymoon.
The former Monaghan ace fully expected to get further opportunities to sample Ulster after 2012 – but rivals Scotstown went on to dominate the local scene by winning seven titles between 2013 and 2021, while Clontibret claimed county crowns in 2014 and 2019.
While Finlay has suffered more bitter defeats than wins with Ballybay, he’s grateful for all the good times Gaelic football has given him.
“This will be my first time playing in the Ulster Club because I was on my honeymoon when Ballybay last played in it back in 2012, so I’m really looking forward to it, especially at this stage of my career to have the opportunity.
“You can look at it in many different ways [for having to wait 10 years to play in Ulster again],” Finlay says.
“Every club in the country has suffered defeats that hurt for a few months and then you just have to re-evaluate the following year. I’m very fortunate that I have remained relatively injury-free and at 39-years-of-age I still want to commit to Ballybay. We come from a small community, everybody knows each other, we have a very committed group of players.
“When you win a county title you always believe that you can kick on. I guess we’ve all heard the stories from the managers I’ve played under about how difficult it is to win a county title. We’ve experienced that. We’ve lost a load of semi-finals and finals, it’s so hard to get over the line.
“But I’m very grateful for what football has given me and the times that I’ve had. So I’m very comfortable with whatever happens over the next number of weeks, months and years.”
Nineteen summers have passed since a fresh-faced Paul Finlay burst onto the scene for Monaghan, registering an unforgettable eight points on his Championship debut as Colm Coyle’s charges toppled defending All-Ireland champions Armagh in Clones.
Finlay bowed out in 2016 with two Ulster winner’s medals but continues to play a lead role for his club.
“It does feel a long time ago in many ways and in other ways it has gone by in a flash, and that’s what you always hear.
“It goes back to being grateful with the time I’ve had. It’s a good story for me. Now, I’ve suffered lots of defeats and lost more than I’ve won, but the few wins that I’ve got have meant a lot.
“It’s why you keep coming back, to get another one of those days so that you get to enjoy them with your family and your community. At inter-county level I had a bit of success with Ulster titles and that...
“The reason why I’m still able to play is, along with my job keeping me at home and my family, is the group that’s there at the moment and have been there over the last decade and beyond.
“They are very committed and we’ve a great group of young fellas coming through too who want to play football and do well for the club. That probably makes it easier to keep going and keep coming back.”
Trying to dislodge Scotstown was undoubtedly another motivation for the evergreen playmaker to keep turning up for pre-season training.
Last month, the Pearses Brothers finally ended their alleged Scotstown hoodoo by denying them in the county decider and extinguishing their rivals' three-in-a-row hopes, thanks largely to Dessie Ward’s second-half major.
“There was an awful lot of chat outside of the team about Scotstown being a hoodoo team for us, stuff that you wouldn’t want to be listening to,” says Finlay.
“For me, I’ve always looked at Scotstown as a quality team, no more than when Monaghan were playing Tyrone back in my prime. Tyrone were just really, really good rather than Tyrone having something over Monaghan. I was looking at Tyrone winning All-Irelands and the players that they had. We had a really good team ourselves but they were just better than us on different days
“So, I tend not to go into that hoodoo talk. Scotstown just have a lot of quality players and even their lesser-known names are really good and were a team that were within a hair’s breadth of winning Ulster titles.”
Less than a week after winning their first county championship in 10 years, Jerome Johnston’s Ballybay side lost the delayed league final to Scotstown, but Drew Wylie, Dessie Ward and Finlay all sat out the game due to minor knocks.
“The club would really loved to have done the double – it’s a big thing for any club team to do – but not at any cost,” Finlay notes.
“The management made a call on some players on the evening. So, unfortunately the double wasn’t to be.”
Ballybay have now had the guts of a fortnight to prepare for Saturday night’s intriguing Ulster showdown with Crossmaglen Rangers at The Athletic Grounds. The last time ‘Cross competed in Ulster, in 2019, they fell to Monaghan champions Clontibret.
