Even if Christmas did come early, in the form of Donegal and Ulster JFC titles, there was no hint of a festive break for the Naomh Colmcille footballers this winter.
Ryan McKinley says his team trained 15 times since beating Dunedin Connollys in Edinburgh in the All-Ireland quarter-final in December.
Challenge games against Moy and the Donegal Under-20s have kept Naomh Colmcille ticking ahead of Saturday’s All-Ireland semi-final against Knocknagree at Cusack Park, Mulling.
“We never switched off at all. We kept the machine going,” McKinley says.
“The reason we’re in the semi-final is that we have a fantastic panel of players. The team really, really want to push on now.”
There will be an exodus from the parish on Saturday as supporters will flock to the Midlands with their men just one hour from a game at Croke Park.
McKinley said: “Any questions that have been asked of them, they have answered them. We only have one opportunity here. We’re an hour away from every boy’s dream – getting to play or manage at Croke Park.”
Listen to the full interview below …
https://soundcloud.com/donegalsportstalk/ryan-mckinley-looks-forward-to-naomh-colmcille-v-knocknagree
