THE man who managed Galbally to the 2019 Ulster Club IFC final believes the current team has added valuable layers of experience and maturity which could take them a step further this year.
John Moylan has been closely following the development of a group of players with whom he built a bond of trust and loyalty, and he feels they are moving steadily towards a realisation of their potential.
The Pearse's lost out to Magheracloone three years ago, but victory over Dungloe this weekend will take them back to the provincial decider.
"You can see it in the way they're managing games, you can see it in their conditioning, and I think you can see it in their decision-making on the field. They're just that wee bit more developed," said Moylan.
"Take the likes of Conor Donaghy (leading scorer) for example. He has improved in leaps and bounds in the last two or three years, where he was playing a smaller role a number of years ago, and now he's playing a major role in the team."
Galbally's previous Ulster campaign had the community buzzing with excitement, but the novelty factor has worn off, and the mood among both supporters and players is one of workmanlike application.
"At the time, in 2019, it was completely new territory for Galbally. There was fierce excitement, and with every game we won, the pitch filled with people and we were on a different journey, it was mad.
"But now, even looking in from the stand at Celtic Park, it was more grounded, the people have got their feet more on the ground," said Cork native Moylan.
"They were disappointed three years ago in the Ulster final, and I know they have a bit to go yet, they have a semi-final to play, but I think their feet are firmly on the ground in regard to what they have to do."
Galbally go into Sunday's semi-final on the back of a runaway win over Glenullin, but Moylan cautioned that a one-sided canter is not the best preparation for what will be a much stiffer test at Celtic Park.
"We had a big win in 2019 in the semi-final against St Naul's of Donegal, and maybe that was the wrong kind of preparation to go into a final with, so it can be dangerous.
"But looking at the game, it was really good, really controlled."
The Pearse's are toughened, having come through a tough Tyrone Championship that demanded resilience and spirit in almost every game.
"If you come through a Tyrone Championship you're going to be battle-hardened. Coming into the Pomeroy game, against a team that was enjoying fantastic form in the League, while Galbally were stuttering along, to be honest, I suppose a lot of people going up to Killyclogher that day would have thought that Pomeroy were going to nip Galbally.
"But whatever work between the end of the League and the start of the Championship that Paddy Crozier and Joe McMahon were doing, it really paid off, and they hit the ground running.
"They had a big, big stutter that night against Killeeshil, but I don't want to be disrespectful towards Killeeshil, for they set up really, really well, and Galbally found it so hard to break them down."
"The bookies had Edendork strong favourites for the title, but when Galbally get their strongest fifteen on the field, and they were getting them all back for the final,
"Daniel Kerr was getting more minutes in every game as it went along, and he played the full final. He is a very dangerous player, and I felt the Galbally team was getting stronger and stronger as the competition went on.
"Darren McCurry had an off-day in the final, but he was tightly marked by Conor Quinn. That was a fantastic game to win, and when you're underdogs, they're the best ones to win."
