WHILE MAYO WAS in mourning last September, Gary Boylan shared in the pain being felt throughout the county following their defeat in the All-Ireland senior football final.
He sympathised with the lads he knew on the team, although he couldn’t afford to devote too much time and thought to the result. In the midst of a relegation battle in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division, Sligo Rovers were experiencing their own problems and Boylan had an important role to play in resolving them.
Gary Boylan of Sligo Rovers keeping tabs on Cork City's Sean Maguire in March 2017. Eóin Noonan
Eóin Noonan
The 1-17 to 1-16 loss to Dublin six months ago represented Mayo’s ninth consecutive failure on All-Ireland final day since their last victory in 1951. Many fine footballers, including the mercurial Ciaran McDonald, have been unable to contribute to a successful challenge for the Sam Maguire Cup on Mayo’s behalf in over six decades.
McDonald, a 2004 All-Star and four-time Connacht title winner, was a childhood idol of Boylan’s. But so too was Steven Gerrard, Liverpool’s talismanic ex-captain. Boylan emulated McDonald by representing Mayo at Croke Park, but he has ultimately opted to pursue success in a different variety of football.
The Belmullet man was a star of the Mayo minor team that claimed provincial honours in 2014 before being eliminated by Kerry in an All-Ireland semi-final, a game in which the half-forward kicked four points at GAA headquarters.
Since then he has been fully committed to Sligo Rovers, for whom he made his first-team debut three months earlier. However, they haven’t forgotten about his Gaelic football talents in Mayo.
After helping Rovers to preserve their top-flight status last October, Boylan had options for 2018. Manager Gerard Lyttle was keen for him to stay at The Showgrounds. There had been interest from the likes of Cork City and Shamrock Rovers too. Mayo senior football boss Stephen Rochford also made an approach.
“For the last month or six weeks of last season, my head was a bit all over the place in terms of decisions,” Boylan says. “There were a few different possibilities. I had a lot of thinking to do. One night you’d be thinking you’re going to stay here, another night you’re thinking you’ll go there.
“The Gaelic [football] was something I really considered last September and October. I was very close to going back a couple of years ago when Pat Holmes was in charge. I met him several times and gave it a lot of thought. It came back into my head again towards the end of last season. I spoke to Stephen Rochford a couple of times, Andy Moran [Mayo forward and 2017 Footballer of the Year] as well, and I was really, really tempted.
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“In Mayo, Gaelic is like a religion and all my mates are big into it, so it was hard. I was really close to going back with Mayo, but in the end I just felt that packing in the soccer at 21 probably would have been a stupid decision. I wanted to keep going with it for now but I definitely wouldn’t rule out a return to the Gaelic in the next couple of years, depending on how things go.
“Eventually I decided to stick with Sligo. Gerard kept us up last season with a good style of play and I got on very well with him, so that was a massive attraction for me. I felt this year could be a good year for the club too so I decided to stay here after a lot of thinking over a few weeks.”
Boylan in possession for Mayo during the 2014 All-Ireland minor football semi-final against Kerry. Donall Farmer / INPHO
Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO
There has never been any doubt over Gary Boylan’s commitment to the cause at Sligo Rovers. That much becomes clear as soon as one observes his wholehearted approach on the pitch. Barring injury or suspension, he’s likely to make his 100th appearance for the club a few days prior to his 22nd birthday next month.
He’s not reluctant to admit that he’s passionate about two codes of football, and while there will always be a curiosity about wearing the Mayo jersey again as long as he’s on the outside looking in, he remains dedicated to his aim to make a good living from professional soccer.
Like the vast majority of his peers in the domestic game, the hope for Boylan is that the League of Ireland can act as a platform for a move to the next level overseas. His involvement with Sligo Rovers has seen him miss out on winning All-Ireland medals at minor and U21 level, but he believes they’re necessary sacrifices if he’s to succeed elsewhere.
Boylan hasn’t set himself a deadline for making a breakthrough. He’ll take the journey year by year before deciding on his next move. Nevertheless, the 21-year-old acknowledges that the lure of playing a role in Mayo’s quest for an elusive All-Ireland senior title will always be strong.
“It’s been a long wait for Mayo,” he says. “It’d be a massive deal to end that. To miss out on it if it does happen, you’d obviously be a bit envious. It would be a huge thing at home. I’ve missed out on minor and U21 All-Ireland wins, which is obviously frustrating, but you can’t be everywhere. I made a decision to play soccer and I don’t regret that all.”
Boylan, who previously had a trial with Scottish Premier League champions Celtic, has been fully immersed in life at Sligo Rovers since he joined the club’s U19 side while attaining his Leaving Cert at Our Lady’s Secondary School in Belmullet.
He adds: “I suppose the reality is that if you play in the League of Ireland for your entire career, when you retire you can’t just sit back and relax for 20 years. You obviously have to go and do something else. The League of Ireland doesn’t set you up for life.
“That’s obviously something that came into my head last year. You can’t make a career out of GAA, but you’re working a job at the same time which won’t come to an end when you’re 34 or 35, like professional soccer does. It’s something for me to consider. I’m not putting a time limit on the soccer but the Gaelic is definitely in the back of my head.”
In some respects, Boylan is making a fresh start in 2018. Having previously led a somewhat nomadic lifestyle on the pitch for Sligo Rovers, he has now settled on a role at right-back. His versatility may be an asset in the eyes of managers, but instead of attempting to become a jack of all trades, he feels it’s more feasible to concentrate on becoming a master of one.
Boylan had just turned 18 when he debuted for Sligo Rovers in 2014. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“That’s my mentality now,” he says. “There’s no point starting the season at right-back for six or seven games, then playing the next six or seven in midfield. My main priority this year was to nail down one position. If a player gets injured or suspended I don’t mind doing a job somewhere else for the team, but from a personal point of view I’m looking to push on as a right-back for the future.
“I spoke to the gaffer at the start of the year and I was still undecided myself about whether I wanted to play in midfield or right-back. Eventually I came to the decision that I’d go for right-back. I came to the club at 17 or 18 as a right-back. Different managers came in and had different opinions about what my best position was.
“I’m happy now that I have a position nailed down because I’m getting to a stage in my career where I need to work on one position. You can’t master a position when you’re chopping and changing all the time, which was a bit of a nightmare.”
When Boylan decided to sign a new contract with Sligo Rovers following the conclusion of the 2017 season, he did so in the belief that the club had the potential to be successful this year. Five games in, it has been a mixed campaign for Gerard Lyttle’s side.
Four of those fixtures have been at home, only one of which — against Derry City — yielded a win. They did, however, take all three points from their first away game of the season on Monday night, when Caolan McAleer’s brace was enough to see off Bray Wanderers.
The Bit o’ Red face two more trips to the east coast in the next four days. Tomorrow night’s meeting with Bohemians at Dalymount Park will be followed by Monday afternoon’s clash with St Patrick’s Athletic at Richmond Park.
“Our home form has been disappointing early on, but we’ve had a lot of new faces who have come in so it takes time to get settled,” Boylan says. “The win away to Bray was a big result for us too because we took a long time to get our first away win last year.
“People are saying — and they’re right — that it’s been a bad start but I’ve heard as well that it’s our best start since 2013, so if you look at it that way it’s a positive. There are 36 league games and we’ve only played five, so there’s no need for anyone to be panicking or making judgements yet. It’s a long season.”
Gary Boylan is eager for that long season to produce something promising, both on a personal level and for his club. What transpires between now and the end of October could have a significant bearing on his future when decision time arrives again in the winter.
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'I was close to going back with Mayo but giving up soccer at 21 probably would have been stupid'
WHILE MAYO WAS in mourning last September, Gary Boylan shared in the pain being felt throughout the county following their defeat in the All-Ireland senior football final.
He sympathised with the lads he knew on the team, although he couldn’t afford to devote too much time and thought to the result. In the midst of a relegation battle in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division, Sligo Rovers were experiencing their own problems and Boylan had an important role to play in resolving them.
The 1-17 to 1-16 loss to Dublin six months ago represented Mayo’s ninth consecutive failure on All-Ireland final day since their last victory in 1951. Many fine footballers, including the mercurial Ciaran McDonald, have been unable to contribute to a successful challenge for the Sam Maguire Cup on Mayo’s behalf in over six decades.
McDonald, a 2004 All-Star and four-time Connacht title winner, was a childhood idol of Boylan’s. But so too was Steven Gerrard, Liverpool’s talismanic ex-captain. Boylan emulated McDonald by representing Mayo at Croke Park, but he has ultimately opted to pursue success in a different variety of football.
The Belmullet man was a star of the Mayo minor team that claimed provincial honours in 2014 before being eliminated by Kerry in an All-Ireland semi-final, a game in which the half-forward kicked four points at GAA headquarters.
Since then he has been fully committed to Sligo Rovers, for whom he made his first-team debut three months earlier. However, they haven’t forgotten about his Gaelic football talents in Mayo.
After helping Rovers to preserve their top-flight status last October, Boylan had options for 2018. Manager Gerard Lyttle was keen for him to stay at The Showgrounds. There had been interest from the likes of Cork City and Shamrock Rovers too. Mayo senior football boss Stephen Rochford also made an approach.
“For the last month or six weeks of last season, my head was a bit all over the place in terms of decisions,” Boylan says. “There were a few different possibilities. I had a lot of thinking to do. One night you’d be thinking you’re going to stay here, another night you’re thinking you’ll go there.
“The Gaelic [football] was something I really considered last September and October. I was very close to going back a couple of years ago when Pat Holmes was in charge. I met him several times and gave it a lot of thought. It came back into my head again towards the end of last season. I spoke to Stephen Rochford a couple of times, Andy Moran [Mayo forward and 2017 Footballer of the Year] as well, and I was really, really tempted.
“In Mayo, Gaelic is like a religion and all my mates are big into it, so it was hard. I was really close to going back with Mayo, but in the end I just felt that packing in the soccer at 21 probably would have been a stupid decision. I wanted to keep going with it for now but I definitely wouldn’t rule out a return to the Gaelic in the next couple of years, depending on how things go.
“Eventually I decided to stick with Sligo. Gerard kept us up last season with a good style of play and I got on very well with him, so that was a massive attraction for me. I felt this year could be a good year for the club too so I decided to stay here after a lot of thinking over a few weeks.”
There has never been any doubt over Gary Boylan’s commitment to the cause at Sligo Rovers. That much becomes clear as soon as one observes his wholehearted approach on the pitch. Barring injury or suspension, he’s likely to make his 100th appearance for the club a few days prior to his 22nd birthday next month.
He’s not reluctant to admit that he’s passionate about two codes of football, and while there will always be a curiosity about wearing the Mayo jersey again as long as he’s on the outside looking in, he remains dedicated to his aim to make a good living from professional soccer.
Like the vast majority of his peers in the domestic game, the hope for Boylan is that the League of Ireland can act as a platform for a move to the next level overseas. His involvement with Sligo Rovers has seen him miss out on winning All-Ireland medals at minor and U21 level, but he believes they’re necessary sacrifices if he’s to succeed elsewhere.
Boylan hasn’t set himself a deadline for making a breakthrough. He’ll take the journey year by year before deciding on his next move. Nevertheless, the 21-year-old acknowledges that the lure of playing a role in Mayo’s quest for an elusive All-Ireland senior title will always be strong.
“It’s been a long wait for Mayo,” he says. “It’d be a massive deal to end that. To miss out on it if it does happen, you’d obviously be a bit envious. It would be a huge thing at home. I’ve missed out on minor and U21 All-Ireland wins, which is obviously frustrating, but you can’t be everywhere. I made a decision to play soccer and I don’t regret that all.”
Boylan, who previously had a trial with Scottish Premier League champions Celtic, has been fully immersed in life at Sligo Rovers since he joined the club’s U19 side while attaining his Leaving Cert at Our Lady’s Secondary School in Belmullet.
He adds: “I suppose the reality is that if you play in the League of Ireland for your entire career, when you retire you can’t just sit back and relax for 20 years. You obviously have to go and do something else. The League of Ireland doesn’t set you up for life.
“That’s obviously something that came into my head last year. You can’t make a career out of GAA, but you’re working a job at the same time which won’t come to an end when you’re 34 or 35, like professional soccer does. It’s something for me to consider. I’m not putting a time limit on the soccer but the Gaelic is definitely in the back of my head.”
In some respects, Boylan is making a fresh start in 2018. Having previously led a somewhat nomadic lifestyle on the pitch for Sligo Rovers, he has now settled on a role at right-back. His versatility may be an asset in the eyes of managers, but instead of attempting to become a jack of all trades, he feels it’s more feasible to concentrate on becoming a master of one.
“That’s my mentality now,” he says. “There’s no point starting the season at right-back for six or seven games, then playing the next six or seven in midfield. My main priority this year was to nail down one position. If a player gets injured or suspended I don’t mind doing a job somewhere else for the team, but from a personal point of view I’m looking to push on as a right-back for the future.
“I spoke to the gaffer at the start of the year and I was still undecided myself about whether I wanted to play in midfield or right-back. Eventually I came to the decision that I’d go for right-back. I came to the club at 17 or 18 as a right-back. Different managers came in and had different opinions about what my best position was.
“I’m happy now that I have a position nailed down because I’m getting to a stage in my career where I need to work on one position. You can’t master a position when you’re chopping and changing all the time, which was a bit of a nightmare.”
When Boylan decided to sign a new contract with Sligo Rovers following the conclusion of the 2017 season, he did so in the belief that the club had the potential to be successful this year. Five games in, it has been a mixed campaign for Gerard Lyttle’s side.
Four of those fixtures have been at home, only one of which — against Derry City — yielded a win. They did, however, take all three points from their first away game of the season on Monday night, when Caolan McAleer’s brace was enough to see off Bray Wanderers.
The Bit o’ Red face two more trips to the east coast in the next four days. Tomorrow night’s meeting with Bohemians at Dalymount Park will be followed by Monday afternoon’s clash with St Patrick’s Athletic at Richmond Park.
“Our home form has been disappointing early on, but we’ve had a lot of new faces who have come in so it takes time to get settled,” Boylan says. “The win away to Bray was a big result for us too because we took a long time to get our first away win last year.
“People are saying — and they’re right — that it’s been a bad start but I’ve heard as well that it’s our best start since 2013, so if you look at it that way it’s a positive. There are 36 league games and we’ve only played five, so there’s no need for anyone to be panicking or making judgements yet. It’s a long season.”
Gary Boylan is eager for that long season to produce something promising, both on a personal level and for his club. What transpires between now and the end of October could have a significant bearing on his future when decision time arrives again in the winter.
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