Derry City and Drogheda United clash in Sunday's FAI Cup final at Aviva Stadium, with the game kicking off at 3pm
Mark Connolly will be proud as punch flying the flag for Monaghan at Aviva Stadium tomorrow - even if some of his mates get lost on the way!
READ MORE: FAI Cup final latest as Derry City ace Patrick McEleney eyes silver lining to frustrating seasonHe grew up across the road and Ulster final day was the highlight of every summer, the unique sights, sounds and smells still fresh in his mind with Clones mobbed and at a standstill. Connolly and his pals would weave in and out of the crowd as youngsters, surveying nothing but the back of hundreds of heads and a sea of legs marching to the gates.
Monaghan wasn’t renowned as a conveyor belt of footballing talent, but Jonathan Douglas had broken into the Ireland team when Connolly was making his big decision. Wolves wanted to sign him as a teenager, a move that would later end in Bolton Wanderers splashing out £1 million to lure him from Molineaux in 2010. His love affair with GAA - or at least playing it - had to end.
“They’re probably looking at me coming up to a FAI Cup, this man, a Monaghan man, I’m sure people from Monaghan will be cheering me on and I’ll get a few messages. But I don’t think some of them will be going to the Aviva whether I’m playing or not, they’re just gaelic men!.” “A good friend of mine, Larry Fryers, is in America and he's boxing professionally. He’s fought in Madison Square Garden so he’s someone I keep an eye on. The two McKenna boys, Aaron and Stephen, they’re from just out the road in Newbliss and hopefully more titles will come their way.
Derry City FC Monaghan GAA Barry Mcguigan League Of Ireland
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