Bannigan insists Farney have kept the faith after disastrous 2024

With his uncle Gabriel at the helm, Monaghan attacker insists the All-Ireland dream is alive after resurgent start to campaign with promotion on the cards

FINDING FORM AGAIN: Monaghan's Micheal Bannigan. Pic: INPHO/Tom Maher

Monaghan captain Micheal Bannigan has insisted that their All-Ireland dream is still alive despite a disastrous 2024.

The Farney were relegated from Division 1 after 10 years, fell to neighbours Cavan in their first Ulster championship outing and ultimately lost an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final to Galway.

With boss Vinny Corey and marquee attacker Conor McManus subsequently departing, it looked like a line-in-the-sand season for the 2018 and 2023 All-Ireland semi-finalists.

But new boss Gabriel Bannigan, Micheal's uncle, has guided the county to the brink of promotion this term and an immediate return to Division 1.

They'll have one foot back in the top flight if they beat Meath in Sunday's Allianz NFL Division 2 showdown in Navan.

Attacker Bannigan said it won't be 'the end of the world' if they spend another season in Division 2 because he reckons they'll still be capable of enjoying a strong Championship and even winning the All-Ireland.

"Yeah, I do," said Bannigan when asked if he thinks Monaghan can still capture Sam. "It's knowing the confidence in the group, just knowing the players and the trust and faith I would have in my team-mates. That's what I think about it."

On the Division 2 element, and whether it's an impediment to Championship success, Bannigan shook his head.

"Armagh and Dublin did it from Division 2," he noted. "And then obviously last year (Donegal) were very close. They got to the semi-finals as well. I don't think in those aspects that Division 2 is a negative. I think it's going to come down to later on in the summer. Like, whenever we're playing in the group stages of the Championship, later on in the summer, it doesn't really matter what division you're in. I don't think so anyway. It just depends on what level you can get up to at that stage."

Four wins from five has left Monaghan on eight points in Division 2, the same as Roscommon and Sunday's opponents Meath.

"I do think it's important to get out of it," said Bannigan of the second tier. "But it's not the end of the world if we don't. The big thing is that if you lose a couple of games, get a couple of injuries, you can very easily find yourself in the Tailteann Cup and that's obviously not where you want to be. Division 1 guarantees you Sam Maguire football. I think that's probably the biggest thing about being in Division 1 and obviously you're playing the top teams as well."

Bannigan, who has been a key Farney figure since 2019, having first joined the panel in 2017, has forged a close relationship with goalkeeper Rory Beggan.

He said he isn't sure how the latest recommendation of the Football Review Committee will impact on adventurous sweeper 'keepers like Beggan. The rules have been tweaked again to prevent teams using their 'keepers to create 12 v 11 overloads in the opposition half. The FRC's recommendation is that teams sending their goalkeeper forward must now keep at least four other players back.

Some teams may feel that an outfield player carries more of an attacking threat than a 'keeper so may revoke their 'keeper's licence to roam. In Monaghan's case, any curtailing of Beggan would impact on a huge strength of the team with the former NFL hopeful one of the GAA's most recognisable sweeper 'keepers.

"It'll be interesting to see if they will come forward and how effective they'll be if there's somebody marking them," said Bannigan. "I'm not sure how effective it will be if it's 11 v 11 and if you're marked by a direct opponent at all times. Because they (goalkeepers) are not used to that.

"The likes of Ethan Rafferty would be the one exception because he's an outfielder by trade most of the time. But I don't know, the new rule was only announced last week.

"There's a lot of ways to look at it. There's a lot of wee things you could do about it but I suppose you probably won't fully know until you see the games, see what other teams do.

"Someone probably has an idea to do something that could be a wee bit off the wall and everyone will go, 'Oh, we could do that too'. You probably won't know until you see it."