Mark Diffley: ‘The players really wanted to play. But there’s been enough said about it’

Leitrim failed to field a team against Fermanagh.

FRONTING UP: Leitrim's Mark Diffley at the Connacht championship launch. Pic: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

This is where it is at. Mark Diffley has to discuss a league campaign that saw them finish bottom of the table without a win ahead of a game where they are 21-point underdogs.

The St Mary’s club man was appointed Leitrim captain at the start of this season and is the only county representative at the 2025 Connacht championship launch, with no members of management in attendance.

It has been an extraordinary and turbulent period for the county. Last October, Mickey Graham stood down as manager two months after succeeding Andy Moran in the role. Steven Poacher was appointed and came forward in March to explain why they would not field against Fermanagh.

“What is done is done. There is a lot going on. The players really wanted to play. But there has been enough said about it,” says Diffley.

Now they welcome Mayo to Carrick-on-Shannon to kick off their championship campaign.

“Look, the league has not gone the way anyone in Leitrim wanted it to go and that is where it is at.

“This year we faced an unprecedented turnover of 20 players from last year’s panel. I don’t think anyone saw that coming. Before even Steven came in, Mickey - the fall out with that - I don’t think anyone saw it getting to this level concerning what happened with the League. Obviously we got promoted last year.

“Then we had retirements, players going travelling, it has not led us to be in the best position to compete in Division 3 and that has obviously how things went. It is extremely hard for us to deal with, lads who have soldiered there for the last couple of years and the lads who are new into the panel. It is a lot to ask of them straight away.

“But look it, the League is done. We have a number of young, exciting new players coming through. Then there are the likes of myself and a few others who have been there seven or eight years and we want to get everyone back and go for the Connacht Championship.” 

Diffley stresses that. The talent is there. Look at the Sigerson Cup All-Stars: there was two Connacht players on that side and both were from Leitrim. The problem is the constant turnover. Look back at the team that took on Galway three years ago. Every single Galway starter is still there. Leitrim are left with only two.

“I want the best for Leitrim football. So does anyone who is there. Everyone has their own reasons for not being involved. You have the likes of Donal Wrynn who has been there for 12 years, soldiering for Leitrim, joint captain with me last year. And he had to retire this year. He was another big loss.

“It is disappointing the way the league has gone. It is over. There is no point in dwelling on that.” The group that remains have tried to protect what they have. Initially, that meant following Graham’s pre-season plan. When he departed and subsequently joined Galway, they did it themselves.

“There had been contact (with Graham). We had our plans laid out in terms of what we were going to do in terms of individual conditioning and gym work. The same that happens everywhere. Those plans are put in place. Obviously Mickey’s departure threw a lot of things up in the air and it was very hard to keep everyone together.

“Some of us did our very best to keep the show on the road without a management team in place. I do feel for our management team at the minute, that when they came into it, it was not the most ideal start for anyone.

“It took them a while to get used to the situation they were after coming into. I don’t think anyone realised the situation that it was apart from the players that were involved in it beforehand.” The bigger picture isn’t a game on Saturday or the recent controversy or dramatic interviews. It’s Leitrim maximising themselves utterly. Diffley is desperate to see that. It exudes out of him. He doesn’t know where they can go because he hasn’t seen a Leitrim team stay together long-term spell.

That doesn’t mean they won’t strive to compete with top teams in their provincial championship and beyond. It is about having the means to compete with them.

“I grew up in Leitrim. My club man, Fergal Reynolds played corner-back on the Leitrim 1994 team. That is the golden age of Leitrim football, the 90s and early 2000s. My cousin James Clancy played for Leitrim for a while and that is why I got involved. This is my sixth or seventh year. I like the Connacht Championship, I really do. Obviously the provincials have their own issues.

“I do really enjoy it. I love this year stepping up to Division 3 and playing against a higher quality. You want to pitch yourself against the best players to see where you are at. I love playing the likes of Mayo and Galway, to pitch yourself for where you are. We can build on that. It just gives you the benchmark for where you want to be and to chase the standards you wish to chase.”