‘My passion is Gaelic football but it is one thing I cannot do’

The whoops and hollers were still going strong inside the St Michael’s dressing room after they had beaten Omagh CBS in the MacRory Cup final on March 18, when captain Brandon Horan was asked to speak to some reporters outside.

During the match, the eye was drawn to the presence of former Down player Conor Laverty running onto the pitch to deliver tactical instruction, along with Tyrone player Richie Donnelly remaining seated, bringing a certain level of curiosity. Asked about their presence, Horan noted that along with Laverty and Donnelly, another motivation was at play among the management team.

“Even wee Mark McGoldrick, the assistant manager is an inspiration. You don’t have to have football experience to inspire you and he is definitely one that inspires us. He inspires me,” said Horan.

McGoldrick is a 17-year-old student in the school. After helping out with some other underage groups, he was brought into the MacRory management team by manager Dominic Corrigan to help with compiling in-game statistics and video analysis. In another world, he might have been a player.

“I suppose I have a lot of different medical problems but the most life-impacting condition I have is this brittle-bone disease,” says McGoldrick.

Having this condition, it means most definitely that I will never be involved in playing any kind of sport. My passion is Gaelic football but it is one thing I cannot do. With brittle bone disease, you cannot be involved in contact sport as physical contact could mean damage, breaking a bone or serious injury.

McGoldrick’s life is one of school, sport and hospital time. Sometimes they are in harmony, other times one gets on top of the other.

His last stay in the South West Acute Hospital outside Enniskillen was in November. This welcome run of good health has coincided with some landmarks with the MacRory Cup final, and today’s All-Ireland Post Primary SAFC (Hogan Cup) semi-final against St Colman’s of Claremorris in Pearse Park, Longford (1.30pm).

“Thank God at the minute I am keeping out and enjoying this buzz with the MacRory Cup at the minute,” he says.

“It’s probably coming of age as well. I am 17 now and I know how to look after myself a wee bit more. You are more conscious of yourself and your condition. With the number of conditions I have, if one thing goes wrong, then a whole load of things can go wrong. I have an ongoing battle every day. Every day, something impacts on my life and it is a tough road at the minute.”

His devotion to Gaelic football can be attributed to his father Paul who came from a family of 15 in Dromore, Co Tyrone.

Along with his mother Lorraine, the three would rarely miss a Tyrone match but of late, Mark has been so busy with Derrygonnelly Harps – his mother hails from Monea in that parish - that his services have become sought-after.

Former Fermanagh selector Niall Smyth became aware of McGoldrick with his work with St Michael’s and invited him onto the Derrygonnelly management team. By season’s end, the Harps had lifted the Fermanagh Championship for the fourth consecutive time.

All of this, feeds into another interest of McGoldrick; sports journalism. As well as being the subject of quotes relating to St Michael’s, he has been rattling them up himself as a part-time journalist.

“My condition means I can’t partake in sport. When I was looking at my options, I thought sports journalism was one way I could be involved,” he recounts. “So on the three-day work placement with St Michael’s, I went for the three days with The Fermanagh Herald and I had a good experience in that time.”

The editor asked him back for a summer job and he’s never really left, with his byline prominent across the sports pages ever since. Attending third-level education could be difficult with all his medical challenges. Leaving his home and all the help he depends on may not be possible.

“I wouldn’t be here today without the care of my mother and father,” he admits. “All the time it is prescriptions, looking after medical appointments, keeping my health in the best condition possible. It’s an immense challenge and I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the help of my mother and father and the medical professionals that have looked after me. I always talk about my motto; it’s a day-by-day thing. I have to take each day as it comes and please God, health permitting, it’s something I really want to pursue.”

Standing on the sidelines of a College’s All-Ireland semi-final later today, Mark McGoldrick is more alive than most.