Allianz Football League Division Three, round six
Antrim v Sligo (Sunday, Corrigan Park, 2pm)
Speaking to The Irish News this week, Tony McEntee recalled ‘Newbridge or Nowhere’, how he and Mayo at the time backed the call, and in the end that was enough to overturn what had looked a defiant stance from the GAA.
On the way into a now redeveloped Newbridge, just before the new state of the art stand comes into view, there is a big wall.
On that wall is a big fist of defiance, and under that fist lie the now famous words: ‘Newbridge or Nowhere’. A legacy has been left behind in County Kildare, McEntee not a perpetrator but certainly a facilitator.
And so a precedent was set that meant nothing until it meant something in time. For Antrim and Ulster GAA that time is now, with the added threat of Championship expulsion.
Whether this becomes a motivator or a stumbling block is for Andy McEntee and his players to decide. On Sunday, an Armagh man leads a team into Corrigan Park and how many will hope he isn’t the last before spring has sprung, Armagh men amongst those with fingers intertwined.
For now a relegation battle comes first, and Sligo could hardly have ventured north at a worse time for The Saffrons as the Yeats’ men build momentum.
Two McEntees can only be so aligned in one Division Three, and to paraphrase Yeats himself, in cruel happiness even lovers drown. This weekend sees choppier tides in the city of Belfast than even the Wild Atlantic Way and the famed surfing shores of Sligo’s Enniscrone.
So how have Sligo hit this purple patch? In retrospect, they were never supposed to stoop into this dogfight.
Perhaps Coolera-Strandhill’s club exertions took their toll, afforded no respite and forced the intercounty stars of the Connacht kingpins to adapt to new playing rules whilst still living in the bubble of glory.
For them, there is no split season, and so McEntee’s challenge was to manage their load.
Veteran forward Niall Murphy’s upsurge in form would suggest that has been successful, though the likes of Luke Marren starring for DCU on their run to Sigerson Cup success was a further blow to the body of cohesion as far as the manager is concerned.
The recent underage successes out west have been making an impact, with 20-year-old midfielder Canice Mullligan grabbing the key goal last week against Clare, notorious a few years back for his rousing ‘Sligo are a big dog now’ speech back in 2023.
And that’s the sort of belief that hasn’t existed in Sligo for a while, not since 2007 and the wonderful goal scoring antics of the great Eamonn O’Hara that brought with it The Nestor Cup.
Mulligan was an infant then, he is far from weighed down by the toil of recent times. The best Sligo team he’s ever seen is likely the one he’s on.
Their momentum is a dangerous thing, but momentum is rarely as fickle as in these tense relegation four-pointers.
It doesn’t help Antrim’s cause that both Sligo and Fermanagh have table-proppers Leitrim to play. In their own heads it will eliminate all doubt that a win is nothing but a necessity on Sunday.
Dominic McEnhill’s 2-7 from play to date has been key for Andy McEntee and co, with Alan McLoughlin the key man for Sligo in that department with 0-10.
Marc Jordan’s injury is a real blow, and though Jack Lenehan has been superb in defence, the likes of former AFL Luke Towey has the capacity to inflict more pain on Antrim after what has been a strenuous few weeks.