By Pádraic Ó Ciardha

AFTER the high that follows a county title, a provincial campaign can often feel like a bit of an afterthought but for those lucky few who manage to keep the journey going, things can come into focus pretty quickly. With just one game now between them and an All-Ireland final appearance in Croke Park, it’s fair to say that An Cheathrú Rua have left the boundaries of bonus territory behind them.

After the Galway champions dispatched Ballymote of Sligo in the Connacht final at the beginning of December, Christmas soon took a backseat to this coming Sunday in terms of importance as the Gaeltacht side get ready to face Offaly and Leinster champions Ballinagar in Dr Hyde Park (1pm).

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when players go from the ‘Ah sure look, we’ll see how we go’ mindset to ‘We’re here now, we might as well win it’, but it’s probably around the point they decide against that second helping of Christmas dinner. The festive period is a time of indulgence so if you make a choice to hold back, you may as well get something to show for it.

That certainly seems to be the attitude in the An Cheathrú Rua camp and anyone who did hit the gravy too hard on the 25th would have been regretting it the next day as Maghnus Breathnach put his side through their paces.

“We gave lads a few days off in the build-up to Christmas but we went training early on St Stephen’s Day. There was a great buzz there, we had great numbers and the energy and enthusiasm was there so it was brilliant to see. They’ve put in great work this week to get ready for the game, the lads are on a high” the former Galway goalkeeper explains. “That enthusiasm is probably there as much in the older crew who’ve played a lot of football and know that this would be the icing on the cake of their football careers.

“It’s a unique scenario for these lads that they’re looking forward to an All-Ireland semi-final. When you grow up, you’re dreaming of playing for your county in an All-Ireland final or whatever but later on in your career, you get that feeling of ‘wouldn’t it be class to play up in Croke Park in your club colours in an All-Ireland final.’”

Pictured: An Cheathrú Rua’s Fionán Ó Conghaile is chased by Ballymote’s Michael Lavin during the Connacht Club Junior Football Final. The Connemara club faces Ballingar of Offaly in the All-Ireland semi-final at Hyde Park on Sunday.