By Pádraic Ó Ciardha

IT’S been a countdown of a different kind that has occupied the minds of the Maigh Cuilinn footballers and their supporters over the New Year as they crossed out the days in anticipation of their big day out in Croke Park.

The giddiness that Christmas brings will have lasted a little longer around the parish as the Galway and Connacht champions get ready to take on Ulster kingpins, Glen of Derry, in the second of Sunday’s All-Ireland Club Senior Football semi-finals in Dublin (3.30pm).

2022 brought unprecedented success to Maigh Cuilinn as they added a second Galway title to their maiden triumph in 2020 before going on to claim provincial honours in impressive fashion. Those achievements were well-celebrated by the locals but even greater glory now beckons with the Gaeltacht side just two wins away from an All-Ireland senior title, something only three other Galway clubs have achieved – Caltra (1998), Salthill-Knocknacarra (2006) and Corofin (1998, 2015, ‘18, ‘19 and ‘20).

The chance to prove themselves against Connacht’s best, something they were denied by the pandemic in 2020, was a driving factor in Maigh Cuilinn’s success in the provincial campaign in November and December and that ambition should only push the players on further as they take their place amongst the cream of the crop from around the country.

Certainly, it’s a top class side they face at the weekend. Glen made it back-to-back county titles in Derry last year before going on to beat reigning All-Ireland champions Kilcoo in the Ulster final. Managed by the highly regarded Malachy O’Rourke, who won two Ulster titles with Monaghan in the last decade, Glen feature some of the star men of Derry’s Ulster-winning campaign last year, including 2022 All-Star winner Conor Glass, Emmett Bradley and Ethan Doherty, who was nominated for Young Footballer of the Year.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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