Monaghan and Clare face off in the All-Ireland senior football championship for the first time this weekend.
There’s a certain unfamiliarity to tomorrow’s crucial Group 4 clash [throw-in 2pm], but the Banner will have an inside track on the opposition as they make the long journey to Clones.
Mark Doran, who coaches Colm Collins’ side, helped Ballybay Pearse Brothers to Monaghan senior championship glory last year.
Key Farney men Ryan Wylie and Dessie Ward played under Doran as Ballybay bridged a 10-year gap for county success in October. Eight months on from combining to end Scotstown’s dominance, they return to St Tiernach’s Park as opponents.
Another Ballybay player, Paul Finlay, will be in the stands watching on with his sons.
A Monaghan senior star from 2002 to 2016, Finlay was one of the club’s main men at the age of 39 last year, and he’s set to go again after recently returning to the club fold.
He’s well versed to speak about this one — and one of the masterminds behind Ballybay’s brilliant win.
“Mark Doran, he’s a very good coach,” Finlay tells The 42. “Well known within all circles around Ulster.
“He played football with Down and he’s been in coaching circles ever since We had him in Ballybay, he was our coach along with Jerome Johnston for two years. The first season didn’t go so well, second season we won the Monaghan championship, and we went on to beat Crossmaglen [in Ulster].
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Paul Finlay celebrating Ballybay's championship success. John McVitty / INPHO
John McVitty / INPHO / INPHO
“Mark was a huge part of our set-up, he was instrumental in getting us prepared and his coaching throughout the two years was something that the whole squad enjoyed. I know I really enjoyed it — and I’ve been around a while!
“You can see he’s one of these top-level coaches. You knew he was that inter-county standard and I wasn’t surprised at all to see Clare looking for him. I’m sure there’s been others knocking on his door as well.
“He certainly ticks all the boxes. I would imagine Clare is better off for having him this year. He’ll certainly know a good deal about Monaghan coming up this weekend.”
Doran departed Ballybay to concentrate on his role with the Banner, initially turning down the offer before deciding the opportunity was too good to pass up. It’s a round-trip of over 400 miles, but worth every single one for someone who just loves football, learning and challenging himself.
The Longstone clubman started his managerial journey with his native club and later Castlewellan, before working under Paddy Tally with the Down seniors for two years.
And then it was onto Ballybay, where the 1999 All-Ireland minor winner and 2010 All-Ireland senior final panellist, worked the oracle with Johnston to dethrone three in-a-row chasing Scotstown and secure the club’s first-ever Ulster championship victory when they stunned Cross. Defending All-Ireland champions Kilcoo ended their magical season.
Dessie Ward played under Doran for Ballybay. Tom Maher / INPHO
Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
“He demands very high standards from himself — and from the groups and teams he has been with,” says Finlay.
“From speaking to him since that, I know that he was approached by Colm Collins and he was very impressed. I guess the opportunity was too good to pass up for Mark.
“He brings a wealth of knowledge on all the things Ulster football and then he’ll have seen an awful lot of the other Monaghan players in action through his time in Monaghan as well.
“That will be a serious help to Clare coming into this weekend and it’s certainly one that Monaghan need to be wary of. It’s a tricky one for Monaghan coming off a really good performance against Derry, but just not getting over the line. A draw is decent but only if they can go ahead and win their remaining games. There’s a lot on the line for both teams.”
In terms of Monaghan’s 2023, Finlay has been impressed.
From another great escape to stay up in Division One to an impressive Ulster championship win over Tyrone and mixed fortunes against Derry, Vinny Corey’s first season at the helm has been a success so far.
But tomorrow is a big one, as is their final group game against Donegal at a neutral venue in two weeks’ time.
“I think Monaghan have had a very positive season so far,” Finlay nods.
“Vinny in his first year, he had a difficult job in trying to hold on to Division One status. We know that the team is still evolving. We’re still hanging onto Conor [McManus], the Hughes brothers, Kieran and Darren, Karl O’Connell is playing the football of his life at the minute. There was a sort of a realism that it could have been a difficult season and maybe a drop back to Division Two was on the cards, but it didn’t happen.
“Brilliant performance against Tyrone, really positive again but didn’t back that up against Derry in Omagh and that was really disappointing. But have bounced back again, have learned a lot of lessons.
“Some might say Derry weren’t at their best [last weekend], which is fair enough but Monaghan came with a game plan to Celtic Park, which is never an easy place to go and they really delivered. I think everybody in Monaghan can be proud of the way the guys performed in Celtic Park. There’s this renewed optimism that they can come back to Clones now and really kick on.”
“I think they’ll carry some pressure into this game, whereas maybe the expectations weren’t on Monaghan to go up and beat Derry,” he adds. “They’re at home, they’re expected to beat Clare and that’s a challenge in itself.
“Can they really rise to that and make sure they get the performance levels? I’d be confident that they can, the set-up that they have within Vinny’s regime; how they go about their business, plan and prepare for matches.”
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'He demands high standards' - The Clare coach with an inside track on Monaghan
A NOVEL MEETING and a unique insight.
Monaghan and Clare face off in the All-Ireland senior football championship for the first time this weekend.
There’s a certain unfamiliarity to tomorrow’s crucial Group 4 clash [throw-in 2pm], but the Banner will have an inside track on the opposition as they make the long journey to Clones.
Mark Doran, who coaches Colm Collins’ side, helped Ballybay Pearse Brothers to Monaghan senior championship glory last year.
Key Farney men Ryan Wylie and Dessie Ward played under Doran as Ballybay bridged a 10-year gap for county success in October. Eight months on from combining to end Scotstown’s dominance, they return to St Tiernach’s Park as opponents.
Another Ballybay player, Paul Finlay, will be in the stands watching on with his sons.
A Monaghan senior star from 2002 to 2016, Finlay was one of the club’s main men at the age of 39 last year, and he’s set to go again after recently returning to the club fold.
He’s well versed to speak about this one — and one of the masterminds behind Ballybay’s brilliant win.
“Mark Doran, he’s a very good coach,” Finlay tells The 42. “Well known within all circles around Ulster.
“He played football with Down and he’s been in coaching circles ever since We had him in Ballybay, he was our coach along with Jerome Johnston for two years. The first season didn’t go so well, second season we won the Monaghan championship, and we went on to beat Crossmaglen [in Ulster].
“Mark was a huge part of our set-up, he was instrumental in getting us prepared and his coaching throughout the two years was something that the whole squad enjoyed. I know I really enjoyed it — and I’ve been around a while!
“You can see he’s one of these top-level coaches. You knew he was that inter-county standard and I wasn’t surprised at all to see Clare looking for him. I’m sure there’s been others knocking on his door as well.
“He certainly ticks all the boxes. I would imagine Clare is better off for having him this year. He’ll certainly know a good deal about Monaghan coming up this weekend.”
Doran departed Ballybay to concentrate on his role with the Banner, initially turning down the offer before deciding the opportunity was too good to pass up. It’s a round-trip of over 400 miles, but worth every single one for someone who just loves football, learning and challenging himself.
The Longstone clubman started his managerial journey with his native club and later Castlewellan, before working under Paddy Tally with the Down seniors for two years.
And then it was onto Ballybay, where the 1999 All-Ireland minor winner and 2010 All-Ireland senior final panellist, worked the oracle with Johnston to dethrone three in-a-row chasing Scotstown and secure the club’s first-ever Ulster championship victory when they stunned Cross. Defending All-Ireland champions Kilcoo ended their magical season.
“He demands very high standards from himself — and from the groups and teams he has been with,” says Finlay.
“From speaking to him since that, I know that he was approached by Colm Collins and he was very impressed. I guess the opportunity was too good to pass up for Mark.
“He brings a wealth of knowledge on all the things Ulster football and then he’ll have seen an awful lot of the other Monaghan players in action through his time in Monaghan as well.
“That will be a serious help to Clare coming into this weekend and it’s certainly one that Monaghan need to be wary of. It’s a tricky one for Monaghan coming off a really good performance against Derry, but just not getting over the line. A draw is decent but only if they can go ahead and win their remaining games. There’s a lot on the line for both teams.”
In terms of Monaghan’s 2023, Finlay has been impressed.
From another great escape to stay up in Division One to an impressive Ulster championship win over Tyrone and mixed fortunes against Derry, Vinny Corey’s first season at the helm has been a success so far.
But tomorrow is a big one, as is their final group game against Donegal at a neutral venue in two weeks’ time.
“I think Monaghan have had a very positive season so far,” Finlay nods.
“Vinny in his first year, he had a difficult job in trying to hold on to Division One status. We know that the team is still evolving. We’re still hanging onto Conor [McManus], the Hughes brothers, Kieran and Darren, Karl O’Connell is playing the football of his life at the minute. There was a sort of a realism that it could have been a difficult season and maybe a drop back to Division Two was on the cards, but it didn’t happen.
“Brilliant performance against Tyrone, really positive again but didn’t back that up against Derry in Omagh and that was really disappointing. But have bounced back again, have learned a lot of lessons.
“Some might say Derry weren’t at their best [last weekend], which is fair enough but Monaghan came with a game plan to Celtic Park, which is never an easy place to go and they really delivered. I think everybody in Monaghan can be proud of the way the guys performed in Celtic Park. There’s this renewed optimism that they can come back to Clones now and really kick on.”
“I think they’ll carry some pressure into this game, whereas maybe the expectations weren’t on Monaghan to go up and beat Derry,” he adds. “They’re at home, they’re expected to beat Clare and that’s a challenge in itself.
“Can they really rise to that and make sure they get the performance levels? I’d be confident that they can, the set-up that they have within Vinny’s regime; how they go about their business, plan and prepare for matches.”
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Clare Mark Doran Monaghan Novel Meeting