Glen have another shot at the grandest prize of them all

Three county titles and two Ulster titles since manager Malachy O'Rourke took charge, now they want to add the All-Ireland.

FINAL COUNTDOWN: Glen’s manager Malachy O'Rourke speaks to his team. Pic credit: James Crombie, Inpho.

TWENTY years ago, give or take a few weeks, Glen manager Malachy O’Rourke had his first taste of managing in the All-Ireland series as his Loup outfit were defeated by the brilliance of the Meehan brothers and Caltra.

Ten years ago this month, Watty Graham’s powerhouse Conor Glass headed to Melbourne as a guest of the Hawthorn AFL club who were vigorously pursuing the then 16-year-old and would eventually get their man a few years after Emmett Bradley, his midfield partner in Glen’s run to tomorrow’s All-Ireland final against St Brigid’s, attended an AFL Combine in the same city.

Last January, Glen reached their first-ever All-Ireland final before losing out narrowly to Kilmacud Crokes, the Ulster side eventually withdrawing their appeal after the 16th man controversy.

Big things seem to happen at big landmarks for those currently associated with this wonderful Glen side, but six years ago is a time to be noted too.

O’Rourke, keen to keep abreast of what was happening across the province, no doubt picked up his copy of the Irish News one October Monday and flicking through would have seen a picture of a smiling John Brennan after his Lavey side had just swatted aside a youthful Glen outfit in the Derry semi-final.

O’Rourke’s eyes would have been drawn to Margaret McLaughlin’s snap instantly, not so much for Brennan but the man standing laughing with him – Seamus Downey, who was helping Brennan, his uncle, out that season.

The 1993 All-Ireland winner made history with O’Rourke as St Mary’s claimed their first-ever Sigerson Cup in 1989. Famously in the semi-final, Downey was marked by his brother Henry who played for Queen’s. GAA President elect Jarlath Burns was another member of that tightknit St Mary’s panel.

The match stats from Glen’s 2018 loss to Lavey may not have been examined, but if they had been, many of those listed on the vanquished side would eventually become very familiar to O’Rourke.

Michael Warnock, Ryan Dougan, Conor Carville, Eunan Mulholland, Ciaran McFaul, Emmet Bradley, Tiarnan Flanagan, Danny Tallon and Conor Convery all featured that day and in this year’s All-Ireland payback mission against the Crokes at a foggy Páirc Esler.

The talent was there. Undeniably, the experience was not.

Glen had been the darlings of underage football with four consecutive Ulster minor titles from 2011 to 2014 and a trio of provincial U21 crowns from 2015 to 2017, but this was the bear-pit of Derry football where powerhouses like Lavey, Dungiven and Bellaghy chewed up and spat out ‘townie’ teams like Glen.

Lavey had the experience on the line that day too. While Crossmaglen’s Joe Kernan (three All-Irelands) and Burren’s Ray Morgan (two All-Irelands) enjoyed incredible success with one club, Brennan was the apostle who spread the good word far and wide in Ulster with 10 county titles across Derry, Antrim and Tyrone.

Brennan’s legacy looked untouchable, but O’Rourke has been a magpie attracting silverware for over two decades now.

It was another John – McConnell, not Brennan – who kick-started it all.

After calling time on his Errigal Ciaran career, his final match an Ulster semi-final win over Castleblayney, O’Rourke took his first senior job with Monaghan club Tyholland in 2001.

It was a profitable first outing too. McConnell’s late score in the Intermediate League final against Drumhowan secured senior football for the first time in the club’s history. O’Rourke’s named had already been noted.

Two years later he guided Loup to their first Derry title in 67 years and they’d go all the way to the last four where the Meehans would just be too good.

In 2007 it was the Cavan title with Cavan Gaels and two years later he was back in Monaghan as part of the management team that guided Latton to the Mick Duffy Cup.

The inter-county scene beckoned and so too did further impressive starts with both Fermanagh and Monaghan. He’d take both from Division Three to Two and an Ulster final in Year One.

In ’08, his Fermanagh side let slip a first-ever Ulster title with Armagh taking advantage of their fortuitous second chance in the replay.

Monaghan though would have better luck five years later and O’Rourke won the tactical battle against Jim McGuinness. As 7/1 shots, they inflicted McGuinness’ first championship loss ten games into his reign. They’d repeat the trick in the final two years later.

After their humbling defeat to Lavey in 2018, Glen would lose a final to Magherafelt with Slaughtneil dumping them out at the quarter-final stage in 2020.

This is senior football now, lads.

Of all the landmark dates in Glen’s recent history, October 2020 perhaps stands out as the most important of all.

A month after that Slaughtneil defeat, Glass returned from Australia and O’Rourke was appointed manager. Three county titles and two Ulster titles later, they have another shot at the grandest prize of them all.

Senior football was for them after all.