Errigal Ciaran’s Ben McDonnell has put the majority of his team’s success this season down to the sheer trust the Co Tyrone men have in one another.
The Ballygawley side are Ulster champions after beating Kilcoo in the Final, and it is something they won’t tire of hearing any time soon.
Errigal hadn’t won the provincial title since 2002 but have finally put an end to that wait as they edged out the Down champions in a Final that was almost unbearable to watch because of the palpable tension at the Athletic Grounds.
Midfielder Ben McDonnell remembers all too well watching his heroes conquer Ulster 22 years previously, and he was beaming with pride to say that his own squad has now accomplished that.
“A lot of this team grew up watching those men become Ulster champions in 2002, and it’s 22 years since we have been there, so it’s unbelievable to get over the line,” said McDonnell.
“It was great to play Kilcoo because they have won a couple of Ulsters and they have won an All-Ireland. When you’re competing against them, then you’re competing against the best, and that will give us belief going forward, too.
“We have great faith in each other, we have great trust in each other, and I thought the referee was brilliant. I thought the linesmen controlled the game, especially in the second-half, because it could have gotten heated and out of control, but they were brilliant.
“We have had to dig deep in a lot of games this year, so we do trust each other as we come up to the end, and we always had faith that we would do it.”
In a game that had everyone on their feet with hands on their heads and fingernails chewed to extinction, McDonnell proved to be the coolest man on the pitch – right when the game was at boiling point.
With his side trailing by a point, the former inter-county star was fouled near the sideline, and whilst still rolling on the grass with the momentum pushing him forward, the quick thinker somehow managed to kick the ball forward in the same motion, catching the Kilcoo defence off guard.
It eventually led to another free, which Tommy Canavan put over to equalise.
“It was maybe a rush of blood to head, to be honest,” admitted McDonnell.
“I wouldn’t be the most skilful and it could have gone any road, but I’m glad that it paid off and it worked out.”
Living in the moment is exactly what the Errigal star does best because when you play for a club that is competing at this time of the year, you can’t plan too far ahead – and with a wedding booked in for February, it looks like the stag is on hold.
With McDonnell’s team-mate Niall Kelly also getting married at the end of December, too, it will now probably be a bit quieter.
Kelly said: “So, me and him aren’t getting a stag party. We will have to organise it for later, but we have a couple of cups sitting on the table and we couldn’t be happier.”
Kelly was a colossal player in defence for Errigal in the entire 2024 season, and getting married isn’t the only thing that he has in common with McDonnell as he, too, looked up to the class of 2002 for inspiration when he was a child.
Enda McGinley was one of the stars on the team back then, but now in the management seat, Kelly said that the Sam Maguire winner never used his own success as motivation for these players.
“He (McGinley) would have maybe referenced it once or twice, but not really, to be honest,” admitted the centre-back.
“He always said that he wanted us to make our own mark, and 22 years is a massive gap, so we were just delighted to get over the line today.
“We looked up to those men from we were no height, and now we look around and see all of these children looking up to us boys, it is just surreal.”