Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Premier Junior Final: Armagh v Cavan (Saturday, 1.45pm, Kingspan Breffni Park)
"ALL my life he has been at our games and it feels really strange that he isn't around this year."
Armagh captain Orlagh Murray admits that not seeing her father Mickey patrol the perimeter fence is an eerie feeling.
"I am the youngest of five sisters and we all have played for Keady and Armagh down the years and daddy was always there. You could always hear him on the line – and sometimes that wasn't necessarily a good thing either," jokes the Digital and Social Media Officer with Armagh Banbridge and Craigavon Council.
"He has been in hospital for a couple of weeks there and got out just before our semi-final with Tyrone. He was mad keen to get to Crossmaglen. But the regulations around COVID meant that no one can attend games at all – even if daddy was in good health.
"I can imagine him sitting at home watching the stream and shouting at me, shouting at the team, at the referee. GAA and camogie are so much a part of his life. If we are not playing, he will still be in the Athletic Grounds no matter what game is on."
Orlagh almost missed the semi-final with Tyrone, left on the bench because she had been isolating the previous fortnight as a result of being a close contact with a positive case.
"I came out of isolation two days before the semi and hadn't been to training. So I didn't expect to get on before others who had been there all along."
However the Keady player, a goal-scorer against Roscommon, and Eimear Smyth were sprung from the bench at half time when the Orchard county found themselves five points down to their neighbours.
"You could see that the structure of the team was upset and Tyrone got in for the goals. We had a better shape to us during the second half, but it took a while to whittle down the lead.
"We were still a point down at the water break. But Eimear got her second goal and I knew we would win after that."
It is a different team than the one that Orlagh came into as a teenager almost a decade ago. She played county for two years before heading to Australia.
"I was in Australia from 2013 to 2017. Before I went, Keady were expected to be winning Armagh titles. When I came back, I could see that we were in transition both in the club and with the county team.
"Both sides were re-building and had a lot of young players coming through. I felt strange being suddenly one of the older, more experienced players.
"I thought that Keady were going well this year until the first round of the championship when Tullysaran beat us. So it will take a while yet.
"The same with the county too. I think we have about nine who were on the panel that reached the Junior final in 2016, but even if we win on Saturday we would still need another year at this level before we go into Intermediate or even up to Division Two," reasons the captain.
Back at the end of October the Armagh utility player had visions of the season folding before their eyes when none of the stronger counties were allowed to enter their second teams into the Premier Junior championship.
"Over one weekend at the end of October we had the Junior championship cut to just ourselves and Roscommon. But things lifted a little after Cavan and Tyrone were put into the semi-finals.
"We played Roscommon and you could see that they were very much in transition as well. There was a lot of players not available to them.
"On the other hand we probably benefitted from COVID with more people prepared to commit to the county since the club season was done and dusted in September."
The return of Ciara Donnelly from a two years teaching post in Qatar has also helped the team. Ciara scored a spectacular goal in the 2016 All-Ireland final in Croke Park against Carlow.
"She has so much skill and is a real stylist. She was well marked against Tyrone, because she plays for Eglish and one of her clubmates was marking her. But she is such a worker.
"We will need everyone to step up to the mark on Saturday. I have seen how strong Cavan club teams are in the last couple of years and the county team is on a real roll at the minute. We have to break that momentum.
"Both back lines look to be solid. So it will all hinge on the forwards creating and taking goal chances.
