One Day in Clones

A few photos and thoughts from a remarkable, wet day in Clones. Click on each photo to enlarge.

The Diamond

We had excellent accommodations directly on the Diamond to watch everything from above while also having easy access in and out of the apartment. A big part of these experience was the pre-match scene on the Diamond and it didn't disappoint. 

5 Star Review for Diamond Apartments. 

DJ Provai in Clones

                    

The Walk

Of course the walk down Fermanagh Street to St. Tiernach's is the scene most captured and shared when talking about Final day in Clones. Got to the bottom of the street and the rain appeared for the first time.

The Park

St. Tiernach's Park is fantastic. No one is going to compare it to a modern venue and that's just fine.  From an outsiders perspective, the history of the GAA means the importance of venues like this. Side note, great Irish and GAA History can be found in Tim Par Coogan's The GAA and the War for Independence

Also in a time of World Cup tickets for a family of four costing thousands of dollars, our total cost was $105 including $11 juvenile tickets.

The energy on the hill was fantastic, blue and orange flares popping up throughout the game and the crowd was there at the right time. Between the colors and the noise it was defintely more of an Armagh crowd despite it being at Monaghan's home field. Monaghan once again showed great courage in fighting all day but just didn't have it in extra time and Armagh pulled away.

The teams marching behind the band is one of the great, unique traditions in the GAA. The singing of the national anthem in Irish by the thousands in attendance was also a special moment, connecting Gaelic games, the language and the history of the country.

But my god did it rain. The misery caught on the faces of Francis and Kate really nails that hour plus experience. It didn't rain the entire time but when it came, it poured. No matter how prepared you were, it was going to be a soaker. Also, we weren't prepared as Francis wondered aloud: why didn't we all get ponchos?? 

Boys struggled back to the apartment but hot showers and a few bags of chips made things better. Francis enjoying his first bag of Irish chips with salt and vinegar was an added bonus

It was a great day and just about 24 hours later I'm recounting it from our living room. Just one more piece to write about this experience  and that's about the town of Clones.

Pints, a Cemetery and a Man from Castleblayney

Quick thoughts from a busy 24 hours in Dublin.

As the boys have gotten into the GAA more, the desire for jerseys has increased exponentially. We visited the O'Neill's shop in Enniskillen last summer and made sure we hit the Dublin store this time. A good few finds with the discount racks being a a big hit. Definitely a cab ride out of the City Centre but recommended.

I think high expectations are generally a bad thing because they never seem to be met but our lunch in Dublin feature an exception. 

I'll leave it to Cassie Stokes and the good people of Dublin to expand more on John Kavanaugh's (aka The Grave Diggers) but it just might be the best Guinness I've ever had. Solid lunch and location adjacent to the gates of the historic Glasnevin Cemetery (hence the nickname) allows a chance to walk off the pints and visit the graves of the most important figures of the 1916 Rising and the independence movement. 

Pints and a cemetery might just be the most Irish thing ever.

Pints

                        Cemetery

                    

After dinner, as we dragged our tired bodies back to the hotel, a booming voice grabbed our attention.

"COME ON MONAGHAN!"

The voice came from a man walking home from work at a construction site. He saw the boys in their Monaghan gear and gave us a shout. We learned he was from Castleblayney originally but was now working in Dublin. He has been a the Athletic Grounds for the Derry match and shared the general sentiment circling the match: sure Armagh were favored but so were Derry. He'll be on a bus back home after work on Saturday and will be at the match on Sunday.

We're on that bus now (earlie than our Castleblayney friend), churning up the M1 on the way to Monaghan town and then Clones where in addition to catching up with family there will be...pints and a cemetery.

As I was saying....

So You're Telling Me There's a Chance

After briefly digesting the news that his chances of landing the girl were “…one in a million,” Lloyd Christmas paused and excitedly proclaimed, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance!” This is the type of optimism often needed in life: a hope that no matter the odds, things are still there to be had.

Before Ulster GAA finalized the venues and dates for this year’s championship, there wasn’t much reason for high hopes for Monaghan to be at St. Tiernach’s Park on 17 May.  Although they had played a tight match they very well could have won, a third consecutive League One loss to Dublin had Monaghan on the skids. Yes, there were injuries. Yes, the Scotstown players were missing after their run to the All-Ireland Club Semifinal, but with the 2024 All-Ireland Champions in Armagh and the 2025 All-Ireland finalists, Donegal, both in the province the road looked rough.

But when looking at the draw, and I had one thought: you’re telling me there’s a chance.

With Armagh and Donegal on the other half of the bracket, there were two matches standing between the Farney men and the final: a local clash with Cavan and a more daunting potential semifinal with 2023 Ulster Champions, Derry. While no GAA pundit, I viewed these games as winnable even as the League ended winless, with 7 straight defeats.

They came out flying in the first half of the quarterfinal against Cavan and did enough to get over the line, helped by a Man of the Match performance from Dessie Ward and two massive saves from Rory Beggan, including a penalty, proving his worth is much more than his booming kicks. A semifinal awaited against Derry, who throttled Antrim in their own quarterfinal.

We had booked our plane tickets weeks before and were already talking with people to secure tickets but after Cavan, I spoke with the boys: we’re one game away from Monaghan in the Ulster Final. We were already excited for the trip, but if Monaghan were there, it would be that much bigger.

Then came the first 60 minutes against Derry.

A text from my cousin said it all: “Monaghan are a disgrace. So poor.”

He wasn’t wrong. As the minutes melted away, they were 10 points down. Even in the new GAA world of the two-pointer, where no lead is totally safe, it seemed like Derry had it. But bit by bit, point by point, they climbed back into it. More heroics from Beggan (this time of the airborne variety, intercepting a kickout and feeding Micheál Bannigan in for a crucial goal) would eventually get them to within one. But as the hooter sounded with Derry up two points, it appeared to be over.

Until it wasn’t.

That man Beggan again, using his leadership and knowledge of the rule book to insist that Monaghan get the line ball they deserved, led to one of the great kicks you will ever see from Jack McCarron. The angle. The pressure. The poise. Off to extra time.

It ended in the most fitting way, Beggan doing what he does best: booming a kick from beyond the 45 to send Monaghan to Clones.

The boys and I absolutely lost it in our living room over 3,000 miles away. We were going to the Ulster Final, and now Monaghan was as well. Shocked, celebratory texts from cousins in Clones followed, along with an excitement that had to wait two more weeks.

The boys and Beggan (in the back) after the win!

Now they have Armagh.

A team that roughed them up on the same pitch in Clones to kick off the winless League 1 season.

A team that set Ulster Championship scoring records in dominant wins against Fermanagh and Down to reach this point.

A team that must feel its time has come after losing three straight Ulster Finals.

While this is a different Monaghan team than in January, with more players returning from injury each week, in some instances it’s also the same Monaghan team that we have seen over the years: tough, resilient, and never out of a fight.

The bookies have Armagh as heavy favorites, sitting at 1/5, but Ulster provides drama and surprise each year (see Down over Donegal), and odds like that?

They’re telling me there’s a chance.

The Road to Clones

The planning is done. The bags are packed. We're ready to go.

Every trip back "home" is a special one but the weekend ahead is one we've been talking about for months.

After a night in Dublin, we will head to Clones. Home to my aunts, uncles and cousins. Home to the Round Tower and the beautiful Ulster Canal (again). 

And since 1906, home to the Ulster Final.

I attended the Ulster Final with my dad and brother-in-law in 1995, a story I was lucky enough to share with Joe Finnegan on Northern Sound radio yesterday morning (you check it out HERE, thanks Joe!) In the 31 years since, I have followed the GAA from this side of the Atlantic, always aware of the Ulster Final and just how important it is to Clones.

During a visit last year, my cousin Eamon and I were out for a pint and over the course of the night the conversation with some locals turned towards the future of the Ulster Final in Clones. With the never ending saga of Casement Park we wondered just how long the final would remain in the town that has helped define the match for over a century.

It was at that point that I knew that my family had to come back for the final while we still could. Conversations were started, plans were mapped out and the wheels were in motion.

Tonight we leave for Clones and the Ulster Final.

I will be chronicling this trip here on the blog with plans to share our experience following the Championship from New York over the last few weeks, the excitement of the day in Clones and most importantly a call to keep the match where it belongs.